Insights
Clavana Welcomes Olympic Rower Teal Cohen to the Origination Team
Clavana is thrilled to welcome Teal Cohen, Olympian and World Champion rower, to its Origination Team. Fresh off gold medals at the World Rowing Championships in Shanghai and the Head of the Charles Regatta, Teal continues to train with Team USA whilst building her career in private-markets origination with Clavana.
Clavana is proud to announce the addition of Teal Cohen to our Origination Team
Fresh off a string of remarkable achievements, Teal recently captured Gold in the U.S. Women’s Quad at the World Rowing Championships in Shanghai, and just this past weekend claimed victory in the Championship Women’s 8 at the Head of the Charles Regatta. Already an Olympian, having represented Team USA at the Paris Games, Teal now has her sights firmly set on Los Angeles 2028.
A student-athlete alumna of the University of Washington, Teal continues to train and compete out of Princeton, NJ, balancing her elite sporting ambitions with a growing career in private-markets origination.
In her new role at Clavana, Teal will leverage her background in the expert-network and insights industry to connect private equity investors and corporate acquirers with compelling off-market opportunities across a range of sectors.
“Elite athletes bring an unmatched level of discipline, resilience, and focus - qualities that translate perfectly to origination and deal sourcing” said Lara Hughes-Francis, Co-Founder of Clavana. “Teal’s drive, humility, and global mindset embody exactly what we’re building at Clavana: a culture that blends high performance with human connection.”
The Clavana Elite Athlete Program
Clavana’s Elite Athlete Program was created to support world-class athletes as they pursue their competitive ambitions while building meaningful careers beyond sport.
We recognize that elite athletes share many of the same qualities that make outstanding dealmakers: resilience, competitiveness, focus under pressure, adaptability, and exceptional communication. They are driven, disciplined, fiercely independent, and equally at home collaborating in teams to achieve something greater than themselves. These are the same traits that power success in origination, relationship management, and leadership within the financial and professional services industries.
Through the program, Clavana provides hands-on professional experience in origination, business development, and deal sourcing. This naturally aligns with the athlete mindset of persistence, curiosity, and continuous improvement.
The initiative offers both economic and structural support, creating a bridge between athletic excellence and future professional pathways. It helps athletes gain transferable skills, build networks, and develop commercial acumen while maintaining the flexibility required to train, travel, and compete at the highest level.
“Our goal is to create opportunities that not only recognize the discipline and intensity it takes to compete globally, but also provide a meaningful platform for transition, from sport to professional life,” said Clive Cooper, Co-Founder of Clavana, who has also enjoyed a remarkable career representing New Zealand in duathlon and continues to compete internationally. “This is about empowering exceptional individuals to thrive both on and off the field.”
By launching the Clavana Elite Athlete Program, the firm aims to champion those who embody the same grit, intelligence, and focus that drive success in investment and entrepreneurship - and to help them build futures that are as purposeful as their athletic careers.
About Clavana
Clavana partners with leading private equity funds, portfolio companies, and acquisitive corporates to deliver AI-driven market mapping, proprietary research, and fiercely effective deal origination.
Built on a simple belief - people power deals, not spreadsheets - Clavana represents a new breed of M&A origination: modern, human, and results-driven.
By combining data science with senior origination expertise, Clavana cuts through noise to uncover the right off-market opportunities and connect clients with the deals that move the needle.
Headquartered in the United States with a global, remote-first team, Clavana helps today’s dealmakers buy better, build better, and sell better.