Team

Our partnership includes experienced investors, engineers, operators, and entrepreneurs

Investment Team
  • Founder & General Partner
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Shakil Karim
  • Technical Partner
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Michael Dirk
  • Founding Associate
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David Dekel

Advisors
  • GCC Advisor
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Faisal Alhindi
  • Operating Advisor
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Paul Hughes
  • Senior Advisor

Malik Karim
  • Venture Advisor
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David Linsey
  • Operating & US Advisor
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Iván Markman
  • Capital Markets Advisor
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Maria Zaheer

Investment Partners to InfraTech Entrepreneurs

Information provided is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or an offer to buy/sell securities. Private market investments carry risks, including capital loss, and are not suitable for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Seek independent financial advice before investing.

Contact Us
  • info@actiapartners.com

Unit 105 65 – 69 Shelton Street,
London, United Kingdom,
WC2H 9HE

© 2025 Actia Capital Partners & Affiliates. All rights reserved.

Shakil Karim

  • Founder & General Partner

Shakil founded Actia to invest in InfraTech and build long-term partnerships with infrastructure entrepreneurs.

Previously on the investment team at GIC (Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund) and H.I.G. Capital ($75bn US PE firm), Shakil has worked on growth equity and buyouts across the infrastructure sector. He began his career at Greenhill & Co. in M&A.

Shakil is a multi-prize-winning Oxford-educated historian. He believes we are on the verge of historical infrastructure revolution.

Michael Dirk

  • Technical Partner

Michael brings operational and technical expertise to Actia.

He has 8 years of buildings and infrastructure project experience, spanning $1B+ mega-projects and direct leadership of works up to $40M. He owned and operated a project delivery consultancy, Cedar Bowl developments, delivering projects in Canada and China.

Michael is a professional engineer (P.Eng) by background and holds an MBA from INSEAD.

David Dekel

  • Founding Associate

David joined Actia at inception on a mission to back founders pioneering Physical AI. He drives origination at Actia and is developing strong relationships across sourcing and syndication channels. 
 
His business experience includes investing for his family office including in venture capital, as well as internships with top strategy consultancies.
 
David graduated with First Class Honours from UCL and holds an MSc in Management from LBS. He ranks in the top 1% of chess players globally.

Faisal Alhindi

  • GCC Advisor

Based in Riyadh, Faisal is an investor and operator in infrastructure and industrial technology.

Faisal co-founded a computer vision company for livestock health monitoring, and more recently, a real estate logistics investment platform.

Faisal was part of the Saudi Ministerial Committee for Power Sector Restructuring, contributing to large-scale market reform. Previously, he worked at Saudi Aramco on strategic investment initiatives.

Faisal is a Stanford MBA who also holds a Master’s in electrical engineering.

Paul Hughes

  • Operating Advisor

Paul is a Founder & CEO with a consistent record of building, financing and exiting high‑value businesses across renewable energy and industrial technology.

He has built and delivered complex turnarounds restoring value and securing exits through trade sales, IPOs and strategic buy‑backs.

Paul co‑founded and scaled Shift Clean Energy, a global energy storage company for marine and industrial clients, to a $100M+ exit; securing Fortune 100 customers and 30+ partnerships along the way.

Paul is an ACA Chartered Accountant with an Executive MBA.

Malik Karim

  • Senior Advisor

Malik is the Founder & CEO of Fenchurch Advisory Partners, the leading M&A advisory business for the financial services sector.

He established Fenchurch in 2003 and sold a majority stake to Natixis in 2018. Today Fenchurch operates from London, New York, and Paris as an independently-managed affiliate of Natixis.

In 2021, Malik was personally appointed by the Prime Minister as Treasurer of the Conservative Party and to the Party Board, on which he served until November 2022.

Malik graduated from the University of Manchester with a BA and MA in Economics and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen.

David Linsey

  • Venture Advisor

As the co-founder of a previously VC-backed fintech, David is well-networked within the European venture ecosystem.

David is currently an Investment Manager at BackedVC, a founder-centric European venture capital firm. BackedVC was founded in 2016 and is investing out of its Fund 3 into healthcare, fintech, and manufacturing.

David is an Oxford graduate. He set up and operates the Amelie & Daniel Linsey Foundation.

Iván Markman

  • Operating & US Advisor

Based on the West Coast, Iván is a c-suite operator, investor and advisor with over 25 years of experience in Technology with a focus on B2B, Marketing, Energy, Industrial Decarb, Climate Adaptation, Data, and AI.

Iván has a track record of transforming businesses into high-performance global organizations through a mission-driven, customer-centric approach. As Chief Business Officer, Iván was instrumental for Yahoo’s turnaround and subsequent $5bn sale to Apollo.

Iván has worked extensively with financial sponsors as well as private boards including on growth strategies, M&A, fundraising, and strategic partnership development. 

Maria Zaheer

  • Capital Markets Advisor

Maria brings nearly two decades of experience advising companies across the digital energy and infrastructure landscape. She is a Partner at Alexa Capital, a specialist energy transition advisory firm, where she focuses on complex M&A and capital raises for high-growth and infrastructure platforms. At Actia, she works closely with portfolio companies on capital strategy, investor positioning, and transaction execution, bridging venture-stage innovation with institutional capital.

She began her career at RBS, before moving to Credit Suisse and MUFG. Maria is a CFA charterholder and holds an Executive MBA from HEC Paris, where she remains active in the startup ecosystem.