Walter Butler is a French/American businessman. He is the founder of Butler Capital Partners, an investment and private equity firm.
Walter Butler was born in Brazil [1] to a Brazilian mother and an American father. [2] [3] He moved from Brazil to France when he was a child following his parents' divorce. [4]
Butler attended Instituts d'études politiques de Bordeaux where he received a Master of Law degree. He later attended ÉNA, an elite school for high-level civil servants, where he received a degree in 1980. [4]
He is a United States citizen. [1]
After completing studies at the ÉNA, Walter Butler served from 1983 to 1986 as an Inspector of Finances at the French Ministry of Finances. [2] [3] From 1986 to 1988,[ citation needed] he was an advisor to the Minister of Culture and Communication François Léotard. [2] [5] In this position, he played a key role in the privatization of French television channel TF1, working alongside Jean-Marie Messier. [4]
In 1988, he joined investment bank Goldman Sachs in New York. [1] From 1988 to 1990, he was executive director of Goldman Sachs in New York City, then London. [6] He has stated that his experience with the firm was where much of his business knowledge was formed. [7]
In 1991, he founded Butler Capital Partners, an investment fund and venture capital business. [1] [2]
Through Butler Capital Partners, Butler is known for his involvement with companies including Flo, Sernam, Ipsos, BDDP, PSG and Virgin. [7] Butler is also known for his role in the privatization of ferry company National Corsican-Mediterranean Co., SNCM, in 2006. [1] [8]
In 2008, Butler became a stakeholder in Virgin Megastores when Butler Capital Partners purchased a majority stake in Virgin Group from Lagardère. [9] [10]
In 2015, Butler led the acquisition of Isodev, an SME loan platform that had been liquidated earlier that year. [8] [11]
In 2018, Butler became the largest shareholder of Noerden, a Shanghai-based startup that manufactures smart watches and other devices. [3] [12]