Image of Carmelo Gordian

Carmelo Gordian

Partner

Email

carmelo.gordian@aoshearman.com

Phone

+1 512 647 1902

Offices

Austin

V-CARD
Carmelo focuses on cyber security, artificial intelligence, enterprise software, telecommunications, semiconductor, life science and energy sector companies.

He is known as a leader in the Texas venture capital and private equity community and was formerly the chairman of the San Francisco based Brobeck Business & Technology Group. He was named a Senior Statesperson by Chambers USA in 2021.

Carmelo has represented emerging growth companies in transactions in North America (United States and Canada), Europe and Asia. He has acted as counsel in 57 public offering transactions with 29 transactions representing the company, 25 transactions representing underwriters and three transactions advising significant shareholders. He has also acted as company and investment counsel on several hundred private offerings principally venture financings over the past 30 years.

Carmelo advises companies and boards of directors on corporate governance issues as well as serving as counsel to special committees formed by boards of directors and has an active practice representing GPs and LPs of hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital and real estate funds. These funds range from several tens of millions of dollars to multibillion-dollar funds.

He is often quoted in the press, and is a frequent speaker and author, on emerging growth, venture capital and IPOs among other topics.

Expertise

Experience

Representative matters

M&A and Special Committee Engagements
  • Passage Identity, a cybersecurity company based in Austin, in Series Seed financing and acquisition by 1Password.
  • Welltok, a healthcare technology services company based in Denver, in its acquisition by Virgin Pulse. 
  • A New York-based global asset management firm in its acquisitions of healthcare technology companies, Cantata Health, a division of NTT Data, Inc., and Health Prime International, Kareo, Inc., Advantage Health, and MDS Services.
  • LDR Holding Corporation, a medical device company based in Austin, in its $1.14 billion acquisition by Zimmer Biomet Holdings.
  • UnboundID, a cybersecurity company based in Austin, in its acquisition by Ping Identity®, a portfolio company of Vista Equity Partners.
  • A Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Group 42, an international oilfield services company.
Securities/Capital Markets Transactions
  • Ibere Pharmaceuticals, a blank check company based in Pennsylvania, in its $138 million initial public offering. 
  • LDR Holding Corporation, a medical device company based in Austin, in its: $86.25 million initial public offering; $111.9 million follow-on/secondary offering; $92 million follow-on offering.
Private Offerings and Other Financing Matters
  • As counsel and represented numerous U.S., Latin American and European companies and investors in venture capital financings in, various verticals, including FinTech, software, cybersecurity technology, social media technology, AI, digital entrepreneurship, electrical vehicles, and logistics optimization.
  • Datamart, a data management company based in Chile, in its $6.3 million Series A financing. 
  • Opscura, a cybersecurity company based in Spain, in its $9.4 million Series A financing. 
  • Evo Security Technologies, a cybersecurity company based in Austin, in its $3.9 million Series Seed financing. 
  • Volta Trucks, an electric truck company based in Sweden, in its €37 million Series B preferred shares financing, €230 million Series C preferred shares financing, and €60 million Series C-2 financing.
  • HiddenLayer, a cybersecurity company based in Austin, in its $6 million Series Seed financing and its $50 million Series A funding co-led by M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund, and Moore Strategic Ventures with participation from Booz Allen Ventures, IBM Ventures, Capital One Ventures and TenEleven Ventures.
  • Globus AI, an AI based software company based in Norway, in its $4.8 million Series Seed financing.
  • SimpliRoute, a logistics company based in Chile, in its $3.2 million Series A financing, and convertible note financings.
  • Verosint (fka443ID), a cybersecurity company based in Austin, in its $8 million Series Seed financings. 
  • NetRise, a cybersecurity company based in Austin, in its $6.8 million Series Seed financing. 
  • Semtive, an alternative energy company originally based in Argentina, in its $5.64 million Series A financing.
  • TalentGuard Holdings, a software company based in Austin, in its $4 million Series B financing, and convertible note financing.
  • Restream, an entertainment software company originally based in Ukraine, in its $50 million Series A financing 
Corporate Venture Capital
  • Various insurance, banking, technology, consumer product, and other corporate investors in numerous venture capital investments and secondary stock acquisitions

Published Work

Quoted in “What Not To Do When Raising Capital,” The Ambulatory M&A Advisor (January 11, 2016)

Speaking Engagements

Moderator, “Latin America: FinTech’s Hottest Market”, Shearman & Sterling Digital Finance Summit, November 2022
Presenter, “Challenges on Current Venture Capital Market and Best Practices in Response”, October 2022
Moderator, “How Corporates Should be Thinking about Cyber and Data Security and the Current Threats?”, Shearman & Sterling Corporate Venture Investor Summit, May 2022
Panelist, “Private equity and venture capital investments in Latin America”, IBA Mergers and acquisitions in Latin America in a challenging world conference, May 2022
Session facilitator, “Diversity & Inclusion as good business”, Shearman & Sterling Corporate Venture Investor Summit, November 2020
Presenter, “Venture Capital Investing in Healthcare in LatAm”, ECHAlliance Argentina and Chile chapters September 2020 and August 2020
Presenter, “Global Venture Investing for Family Offices,” presented in partnership with Sean O’Sullivan of SOSV (August 6, 2020)
Panelist, “Latin American Unicorns: Startups and Scaleups in Tech Companies”, IBA Latin American Entrepreneurship Conference, November 2019
Presenter, “Lessons in Access to Global Venture Capital”, Eretz.bio, August 2019
Presenter, “Lessons in Access to Global Venture Capital”, Startup Chile, July 2019
Co-presenter, “Venture Capital Roundtable,” with Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez S.C. and Angel Ventures, Mexico City, Mexico (June 13. 2019)
Presenter, “Lessons in Access to Global Venture Capital”, ACE (Aceleratech), August 2018 and March 2019
Presenter, “Lessons in Access to Global Venture Capital”, Legal Venture Capital Tech Camp co-hosted by Marval O’Farrel Mairal and Shearman & Sterling, October 2018
Presenter, “Maximizing Venture Capital Returns in a Competitive Market for Latin American Investors”, Market Group 6th Annual Private Wealth Latin America & The Caribbean Forum, October 2018
Participant, Hispanic National Bar Association, Corporate Counsel Conference, March 2017
Presenter, “Organizing an Emerging Growth Company in the U.S.”, Casa Mexico during SXSW Interactive, co-hosted by International Accelerator, March 2017
Presenter, BDO Year End Accounting and Tax Update - M&A Transactions and Trends (December 10, 2015)

Leadership Positions And Professional Affiliations

Board Member, International Accelerator
American Bar Association, Corporate Law Section

Awards

  • Senior Statesperson, Technology: Corporate & Commercial – Texas, Chambers USA, 2007-2023
  • Technology, 2010-2017, and Capital Markets Equity Offerings, 2016, Legal 500 US

Qualifications

Admissions

New York, 1984
Texas, 1985

Academic

B.A., Harvard University, 1980
J.D., Harvard Law School, 1983

Languages

Spanish
Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.