UK Private Capital (formerly the BVCA) is the representative body and industry forum for private capital in the UK. Comprising 75 talented individuals, our team is led by our Chief Executive, Michael Moore, and the Executive Committee (ExCo), who are responsible for making key decisions on delivering our strategy and managing the Association. Learn more about the ExCo below.
Meet UK Private Capital's Executive Committee
Michael Moore
Michael Moore is Chief Executive of UK Private Capital (formerly BVCA) .
Michael and his colleagues are focused on supporting the development of the private capital industry, as it invests in thousands of businesses and supports millions of jobs across the UK. As policymakers work on the competitiveness of the UK’s investment climate, Michael is confident that private equity and venture capital will continue to create significant public value through investment in growth, innovation and people.
Over the past 30 years Michael has operated at senior levels in both politics and business. In his political career he served in the Cabinet at the time of the Coalition Government, as Secretary of State for Scotland. He was a Member of Parliament for 18 years.
After the 2015 General Election, Michael became a Senior Advisor at PwC. Prior to entering politics, he qualified as a chartered accountant with the firm.
Leon de Bono
Leon de Bono is UK Private Capital's Managing Director. Before joining the UK Private Capital in 2010 he was the Publishing Director and a member of the team that launched Private Equity News, part of eFinancialNews, which was acquired by Dow Jones in 2007. He began working in the private equity industry with Caspian Media in 2001. He has a BA from University College London and an MA from The Courtauld Institute.
Jayne Mould
Jayne Mould is UK Private Capital's Chief Operating Officer and Head of Finance. Jayne qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PwC where she worked in the audit, transaction services and structuring departments. Prior to joining UK Private Capital, Jayne was an Investment Manager at a LSE listed self-managed investment trust. She has also worked for an international media company where she was responsible for the assessment of investment opportunities and the on-going portfolio management held by the group. Jayne holds a B.A. (Hons) in Medieval and Modern History.
Amy Abbott
Amy Abbott is UK Private Capital's Director of Industry Development. Prior to joining UK Private Capital in 2012, she was Head of Events & Awards at the Royal Academy of Engineering where she led a small team of event managers to deliver a highly regarded programme of events for the engineering fellowship comprising eminent chartered engineers, business leaders and Royal patrons.
During her nine years at the Academy Amy was secretary to several awards committees including the prestigious MacRobert Award; involving events at Buckingham Palace. She also played a fundamental part in the launch of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering where she was responsible for the launch event involving the former three party leaders. She has a BA Hons in Business and Marketing from Oxford Brookes University.
Sarah Adams
Sarah Adams is Director of Policy at UK Private Capital, with Isobel Clarke. Isobel and Sarah have worked as a jobshare partnership since early 2020. They lead the Policy team and their work across tax, legal, regulatory, accounting and sustainability matters, working closely with members and UK Private Capital's committees to progress key technical and strategic policy issues.
Sarah has over a decade of experience making policy in the centre of government, mainly at HM Treasury. She has led on policy areas across tax, spending and financial services, including pensions tax, venture capital and insurance markets. With Isobel, she has been deputy director for business tax strategy at HM Treasury, and deputy director for open justice and dispute resolution at the Ministry of Justice.
Sarah lives in London with her family. She studied economics at the University of Cambridge and worked on global health economics before joining the civil service.
Isobel Clarke
Isobel is Director of Policy at UK Private Capital, with Sarah Adams. Isobel and Sarah have worked as a jobshare partnership since early 2020. They lead the Policy team and their work across tax, legal, regulatory, accounting and sustainability matters, working closely with members and UK Private Capital's committees to progress key technical and strategic policy issues.
Isobel has over 13 years’ experience of working on government policy, mainly at HM Treasury but also at the Ministry of Justice. She has led policy work on business rates, tax devolution and the scrutiny of tax reliefs. She was, with Sarah, deputy director for business tax strategy and then deputy director for open justice and dispute resolution.
Isobel lives in London with her family. She read French and German at the University of Cambridge, spending a year in Berlin. Before joining HM Treasury she was a research and evaluation consultant.
Karim Palant
Karim Palant is Director of External Affairs at UK Private Capital, where he leads the Public Affairs, Communications and Research functions.
Karim and his colleagues tell the story of private capital through high-impact engagement with policymakers, stakeholders and the media.
Karim also oversees UK Private Capital’s agenda-setting research programme, which includes the Performance Measurement Survey - the largest primary research survey of its kind in the UK, and the annual Report on Investment Activity.
He has two decades of experience in tech and economic policy. From 2015, he led public policy and economic impact work at major tech firms - at LinkedIn and previously Facebook. Earlier in his career, he served as Head of Policy to the Shadow Chancellor.
Karim studied PPE at the University of Oxford, following his education at Calderstones Comprehensive School in Liverpool.
The ExCo are supported by our Team Heads and together they make up UK Private Capital's Senior Leadership Team. Learn more about them below.
Meet UK Private Capital's Team Heads
Harriet Assem
Harriet Assem is UK Private Capital’s Head of Sustainability. Her role is focussed in supporting industry/market practice and delivering on strategic projects/initiatives with policy related work on new international sustainability standards (and other emerging initiatives).
Prior to joining UK Private Capital she spent a number of years in environmental consultancy.
Her most recent role included leading a team which provided ESG related strategy services to cross sector clients including private equity. She also played a lead role in developing and publishing the ESG Transparency A Private Equity and Venture Capital Index.
Previous to that, her career started in environmental due diligence where she worked on several high-profile merger and acquisition deals, providing environmental due diligence advice.
Clare Culf
Clare Culf is the Head of HR and is responsible for leading on all areas of the employee lifecycle to create an inclusive and performance focussed culture with UK Private Capital Values at its core.
Clare started her HR career at PwC followed by a move to COLT Telecommunications, and after a career break in New Zealand, worked with a number of SME's to support on HR projects before joining UK Private Capital. She is a chartered member of the CIPD and holds an Executive Coaching Qualification.
Chris Elphick
Chris Elphick is Head of Venture Capital at UK Private Capital. He leads on all policy areas related to venture capital and works closely with UK Private Capital members to promote the role the industry plays in the UK economy by supporting entrepreneurs and businesses.
Chris is a member of the Independent Advisory Board for the Government’s Digital Growth Grant (delivered by Barclays Eagle Labs) and is an adviser to the APPG for Entrepreneurship.
Juliette Gerstein
Juliette Gerstein leads the public affairs team at UK Private Capital, spearheading UK Private Capital’s political and parliamentary engagement and working alongside the policy and communications teams.
Juliette has spent over 10 years working in financial services public affairs, including a number of years at the FCA. Having started her career working in Parliament, she also previously supported clients with their external communications at communications agencies Portland and Lexington.
Suzi Gillespie
Suzi Gillespie leads the Research team at UK Private Capital ensuring that the organisation is at the forefront of crucial analysis of trends and issues surrounding venture capital and private equity and the impact of the industry on the economy.
Suzi previously spent over 15 years at PwC in a variety of roles including Valuations, Pensions and Consulting. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst and hold a degree in Economics from the University of Warwick.
Sarah Murdoch
Sarah Murdoch, FCCA, is Head of Finance, leading the team to deliver UK Private Capital’s finance reporting and business analysis requirements.
Sarah began as an Accountant in the media sector, from Mirror Group to setting up Channel 5’s Accounts department.
Sarah started her own company importing wine from France. A decade later, she returned to the corporate sector, with roles as a Finance Director, using her commercial experience to support companies through modernisation and acquisition.
Rachel Smith
Rachel Smith FRSA is Head of Industry Development, leading on Membership Engagement and Recruitment. Rachel is a client-focused leader with extensive experience spearheading member relations and stakeholder management, delivering high-quality service in corporate and business-focused organisations, including non-profits and membership group.
She has previously worked in similar roles at the IoD, Landscape Institute and ICAEW.
Tom Taylor
Tom Taylor is Head of Policy (Legal and Regulatory) at UK Private Capital, where he works with private capital firms, Government and regulators on policy issues and the development of UK, EU and US legal and regulatory frameworks affecting private capital.
Tom previously worked for eight years as a solicitor in the private fund formation teams of City law firms SJ Berwin/King and Wood Mallesons and Nabarro/CMS.
Laura West
Laura West is UK Private Capital’s Head of Industry Development, Membership. Prior to joining UK Private Capital, Laura was Head of Membership and Events at the Business Services Association (BSA).
Prior to this she spent over a decade working in television production and communications at BBC, ITV, and Viacom, producing and leading on global prime time, live events and productions.
Laura holds a B.A. (Hons) in Politics and History with Spanish from The University of Manchester and received a Distinction in Spanish Studies from The University of Málaga.
Natalie Whiley
Natalie Whiley is UK Private Capital’s Head of Industry Development focusing on Learning and Development for the membership and wider industry. Prior to joining UK Private Capital, Natalie worked in Continuing Professional Development at the British Medical Association and Royal College of Anaesthetists, focusing on CPD Approval, and implementing new training programmes and technologies. She is an Associate Member of The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) with a specialism in Learning and Development. She is passionate about D,E & I and Chairs the internal employee working group.
Careers at UK Private Capital
UK Private Capital's team is a group of talented individuals from many different backgrounds with a commitment to supporting the private capital industry and its stakeholders as a partner for growth. We share one mission, represent as one voice and operate as one team. Join us.
A history of UK Private Capital's leadership
