Valerio has specialised in aerospace & defense investing for over 20 years, and has been acquiring and investing in companies for over 25 years.

He started his career as at McKinsey & Co in 1997, later joining Softbank as a Principal and then becoming a Founding Partner of $100m venture capital fund REV Venture Partners, where he led a number of investments. 

In 2002, Valerio moved into mid-market private equity and, in 2004, joined pan-European large-cap private equity firm Cinven. While at Cinven, he invested in a range of sectors, working on the buyouts of Eutelsat (€4bn EV) and sitting on the board of Smutfit-Kappa (€7bn EV) until its IPO in 2007.  In 2006, Valerio led Cinven’s $3.5bn buyout of Avio SpA, Italy’s second largest aerospace company, from Carlyle and sat on the board of directors. Avio was sold to General Electric in 2012, generating a $1.5bn+ capital gain.

In 2014, he co-founded Auctus Industries to consolidate niche aerospace manufacturers in the US. In 2014, he led the sourcing and transaction of the platform company, Shimtech Industries, in a $220m off-market buyout from private equity firm Bridgepoint, sitting on its Board of Directors from close in May 2015. 

He then oversaw the transformation of the business into Avantus Aerospace and led multiple bolt-on acquisitions of privately-owned commercial and military aerospace manufacturers in California, including Fastener Technology Corporation in 2019, Fastener Innovation Technology in 2020, and California Screw Products in 2020. Valerio then oversaw the sale of three non-core composite assets in 2021. Avantus now has nine group companies and is headquartered in Los Angeles.

Valerio is the Managing Partner of Ventus Industrial Partners, a highly operational private equity form focused on regulated sectors critical to national security, founded alongside Admiral William Hilarides and Irwin Edenzon in 2023.  He is a board member of Ventus portfolio company, Aeron Defense, which was established in 2025 and acquired General Tool Company and Magna Machine in 2026.

Valerio holds a BA/MA in Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University (Starred First Class) and an MSc in the History of International Relations from the London School of Economics (Distinction).