Impetus Trust has appointed Louis Elson as its new chairman.

Elson, who previously worked as managing partner and co-founder of Palamon Capital Partners and has been trustee of Impetus since July 2009, will officially take up the role on 24 March.

Elson said: “After more than two decades of active involvement in the charity world, I was attracted to Impetus because, quite simply, its venture philanthropy model works.

“It achieves phenomenal results in increasing the impact of the charities it supports, and does so in a way that resonates personally with my private equity background. I am tremendously excited by Impetus’ future growth plans, and I look forward to working with the Impetus staff and board to help make these plans a reality.”

Elson will take over the role from Impetus co-founder Stephen Dawson. Dawson held the role for seven years and will continue to contribute as a trustee.

Elson is also trustee for the Phillips Academy in Andover in the US and Impetus vice chair Nat Sloane said that this experience, coupled with his financial expertise should help the Trust achieve further expansion.

“Louis was a stand-out candidate for the chairmanship. Having served as a trustee, he has already demonstrated his understanding of, and passion for, the Impetus approach and our goals," says Sloane.

“Impetus has proven the success of its venture philanthropy model, so the time is right for us to expand our impact across many more charities and social enterprises.  We firmly believe that the leadership, perspectives, energy and networks that Louis brings will be invaluable as we enter this next stage of development.”

Created in 2002, Impetus currently has 14 organisations in its portfolio, including the Fairtrade Foundation, Leap Confronting Conflict, FRC Group and St Giles Trust.