The ever-expanding CFO role, with Giovanni Pericolini of Medicxi

Ten years after spinning out of Index Ventures, Medicxi's CFO looks back at one of Europe's earliest VC continuation vehicles, and why he runs LP relationships himself. 

Giovanni Pericolini joined Alice on On The Line to mark ten years since Medicxi spun out of Index Ventures as its dedicated life sciences arm. Pericolini talks through the early days of building a finance function from scratch, the 2020 continuation vehicle that enabled Medicxi to hold onto six portfolio assets through the depths of the pandemic (arguably one of the earliest CVs done in a European venture context), and providing a much-needed perspective on how the deal has played out (pretty well, given one of the assets, Centessa Pharmaceuticals, is now the subject of a $7.8bn agreed acquisition by Eli Lilly). Pericolini also discusses his role in Medicxi's recent €500m Fund V close, why he leads investor relations personally, and his take on the industry-wide re-up rate crunch. The conversation closes on team leadership, AI adoption in the finance function, and his advice to next-gen finance professionals stepping into a CFO seat for the first time. 

Highlights 

• Pericolini’s path into private capital: from product control at an investment bank to Index Ventures to ICG, and how those years shaped his approach at Medicxi 
• Building Medicxi's finance function from zero at spin-out: prioritisation, regulatory set-up in Jersey, and lessons for anyone taking a first finance hire role at an emerging manager 
• Why fund structures look similar across strategies, and what that means for operators moving between VC, growth and PE 
• The 2020 continuation vehicle: a €200m CV to acquire six portfolio companies from an Index fund, done at the height of the pandemic 
• Why biotech CVs carry a different risk profile to PE ones, and how Medicxi managed downside protection with LPs 
• Six years on: how the CV has played out, including Centessa Pharmaceuticals' agreed $7.8bn acquisition by Eli Lilly 
• What Pericolini would want standardised in the CV process next time round, including valuation and ILPA guidance 
• Fund V: closing on €500m in three months, lessons carried over from the tougher Fund IV raise, and why not every LP re-ups 
• Why Pericolini runs LP relationships and fundraising personally  
• Leadership style: empowering a small, senior finance team and giving people ownership of their area 
• Where AI and automation fit into Medicxi's finance function today 
• Pericolini’s advice to next-gen CFOs: imposter syndrome, saying yes to opportunities, and what he wishes he'd known at 32