Chad Raube - Investment Partner
chad [at] dawncapital.co.uk
Chad brings to Dawn Capital in-depth experience in launching and rapidly scaling companies from small operations to mature businesses with blue-chip processes and organisations. Chad’s operational track record is complemented by strong marketing, strategy, and delivery skills, particularly in the converging TMT space where he has over 15 years of experience across both small and large organisations.
As Director of Consumer Internet for Virgin Media, Chad was responsible for leading the UK’s largest broadband ISP, managing a customer base of 3 million, and generating annual revenues in excess of $1 billion. From 2004 to 2006, prior to his role within Virgin Media (merger between ntl:Telewest) Chad was Director of Product Strategy and Delivery for Telewest reporting to the COO, and a member of the Senior Leadership Team. In this capacity he was responsible for identifying, evaluating, prioritising a $40M budget, and delivering Telewest's overall product strategy across television, telephony, Internet, and convergence. His team also lead market research and competitive intelligence functions. Chad joined Telewest permanently in June 2000 to launch and manage the blueyonder Internet business. Between 2000 and 2004, under Chad’s leadership, the blueyonder Internet grew from 0 to circa 1M customers and £0 in annual revenues to circa £315M, while establishing industry leading market share of over 75% and the top customer satisfaction ratings of all UK ISPs. During this time, blueyonder won over 20 awards for innovation, quality, and marketing creativity.
Chad's career began in 1994 as the new technologies business analyst for Cyberstar, with responsibility for evaluating business plans of companies seeking venture capital funding. From 1995, Chad served as general manager of Cyberstar, a start-up broadband service provider, in New Zealand. He then moved to Marketing Manager for US Cyber, a regional ISP and subsidiary of Cyberstar until its sale in 1996. After US Cyber’s sale, Chad joined the business development team at Corning, the world’s largest manufacturer of fibre optics, where he was responsible for identifying acquisitions to grow the business by $1 billion in revenues over two years. Chad also worked as interim Chief Commercial Officer for FiberNet, a Warburg Pincus porfolio company based in Budapest with cable operations in Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ukraine.
In 1998, Chad matriculated into the Harvard Business School, and has published two articles with Harvard Business School Press on emerging Internet business models. After graduating, Chad joined MediaOne Group’s the market strategy group. In this capacity he advised senior management at MediaOne (the 3rd largest cable company in the US, subsequently acquired by Comcast) on a variety of issues, including Internet, video on-demand, business planning, mergers and acquisitions, and online content. Chad later focused on MediaOne’s high-speed internet subsidiary - Road Runner Online - the world's first broadband portal and ISP. Chad's last assignment at MediaOne was a secondment to Telewest (a MediaOne subsidiary) where he was responsible the marketing launch of blueyonder.
Chad holds a MBA from the Harvard Business School, a Masters of Science in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London, and a BA in International Relations from Carleton College, magna cum laude where he was named an All-American Scholar. Chad has been named one of the “100 Most Influential People in the UK Internet over the past 10 Years” by NOP and E-consultancy, in 2007 was recognized by Cable and Satellite Magazine as “One of Europe’s Top 50 Executives in Broadband and Pay TV”. Chad is Chairman Emeritus of the European Chapter of the Cable and Telecommunications Association of Marketing (CTAM), which he lead as Chairman from 2007 through 2009. Chad has appeared on the BBC and Sky News, and is a regular speaker at conferences, including: Cable Europe, CTAM EuroSummit, ISP World Forum, Broadband Europe, the European Venture Capital and Private Equity Association.