Swiftwater Capital

Founder and CIO Alexander Kotlar oversees all investment decisions, drawing on a derivatives and structured-products background that includes roles at Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. Dmitry Galkin, Partner and Head of Direct Investments, sources and executes technology and real-asset transactions. The principal is consulted on portfolio construction but does not participate in day-to-day underwriting.

Swiftwater is a single-family office in legal form — it manages permanent capital for one principal — but it behaves like a merchant bank, pursuing control and minority positions in late-stage companies and acquiring real estate in institutionally sized lots. It does not raise third-party capital, which eliminates the fund-cycle constraints that shape most venture and private equity firms' behavior.

The firm nearly exclusively executes direct deals. It has not publicly disclosed any fund-of-funds positions or LP commitments to external managers. When it gains exposure to venture-backed companies such as Revolut or Wefox, it acquires shares directly from employees, early investors, or through secondary market transactions rather than through fund vehicles.

The firm has not publicly stated negative sector screens, but its disclosed activity shows no exposure to oil and gas extraction, hard-rock mining, defense manufacturing, or consumer packaged goods. Its commodity-linked principal wealth has not led to direct commodity-investment mandates.

The principal's charitable giving flows through a Swiss-registered foundation that is legally and operationally separate from Swiftwater Capital. The investment team does not manage foundation assets, and the foundation does not co-invest in Swiftwater transactions, maintaining a clean fiduciary boundary.

Swiftwater rarely co-invests alongside external general partners in structured syndicates, preferring to lead or act as sole institutional capital. When it does appear alongside other investors — as in secondary Revolut share purchases — it typically executes on its own term-sheet timeline rather than joining a sponsor-led round.

The principal's wealth originated in Eastern European commodity-linked industries, though the specific enterprise and geography have not been publicly disclosed. The family's decision to route all public-facing investment activity through a London-based CIO reflects a deliberate separation between operating-company legacy and liquid-portfolio management.