We're often told that Ireland, and Europe generally, struggles in terms of providing access to growth and late-stage venture capital - so it's a rare opportunity to get to hear from one of the few VCs in Ireland dedicated to this space. Startup Grind Dublin is delighted to announce our September event, where we'll host Tony Zappala, a Partner at Highland Capital Partners Europe, and hear his thoughts on the Irish tech startup and venture scene since his arrival here in early 2013.

Tony currently represents Highland Europe on the boards of AMCS, WeTransfer and Talentsoft, and is involved with the investments in Malwarebytes, Intersec and Social Point. He is excited about working with passionate entrepreneurs that are making technology accessible to new markets and new users via great design and careful focus.

Prior to joining Highland, Tony worked with Index Ventures for over 7 years, where he was part of the team which raised and invested the firm’s first dedicated Growth fund in 2007 and second fund in 2011. While at Index Tony gained extensive board experience with companies such as Privalia, Moleskine (Milan: MSK), Nasty Gal, Milestone Systems (Canon), Ozon, RPX (Nasdaq: RPXC), Telegent (Spreadtrum) and VirtualLogix (Redbend). Tony previously worked with STMicroelectronics in Corporate Development and M&A and with LEK Consulting in London and Boston.

Tony is a British and Italian national, and holds an M.Eng in Electrical and Information Sciences from Cambridge and an MBA from INSEAD. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters as well as getting out and doing some sport such as running, football or triathlon.