Speakers
Summit provides unmatched insight from 110+ industry expert speakers.
Hear intelligence from a range of speakers across the private capital ecosystem, including global industry, business, and political leaders, discussing the operational changes private capital firms are adopting to create value in the current macroeconomic and political environment.
Across all Summit events, our experts will discuss the most important issues impacting private capital over 12 hours of debates, panel discussions, interviews, and presentations.
Click a tab to filter speakers by event, and click their headshot to view their profile to learn more about them. More speakers are to be confirmed soon.
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Summit Main Conference
Meet the Summit Main Conference speakers
Adam Shepherd
Adam Shepherd joined TempoCap in 2017, bringing his software investing experience and a wider macro perspective. He leads TempoCap’s efforts in the UK, and has led or managed TempoCap’s investments in Depop (sold to Etsy), Talentsoft (sold to Cegid), Streetbees, Token, Panaseer and Tessian (sold to Proofpoint), while also working on the firm’s investments in Currencycloud (sold to Visa), Onfido (sold to Entrust) and Azimo (sold to Papaya Global).
Before TempoCap, Adam spent several years making direct investments in B2B software businesses at early-stage venture firm Notion Capital.
Prior to joining Notion, Adam helped fintech business Currencycloud raise a series-C financing round from a group of international investors. He also worked with a number of other early-stage companies, as well as establishing a successful Mexican street food business in his spare time.
Adam started his career at BP, negotiating financing and structuring M&A transactions, before working for several years as a global macro trader in financial markets. He holds a BSc honours in Politics & Philosophy from the University of Bristol.
Outside of work, Adam enjoys spending his spare time with his two young children, and once appeared in a Malaysian war film.
Alan O’Dea
Alan O’Dea has been with Beechbrook for 7 years and is a director in the investment team responsible for investments across Ireland, the UK and Northern Europe. His role includes origination, execution and ongoing portfolio management of invested companies.
Alan is a board observer on a number of portfolio companies and is a member of the ESG Committee at Beechbrook.
Alex Mathers
Alex Mathers is a Partner in the Value Acceleration team and is responsible for ensuring that the team provide Inflexion’s portfolio companies with skilled support from pre-deal through onboarding and all the way to exit. He also works with individual portfolio companies on strategy, technology, data and product development.
Alex started his career at Accenture, working in a variety of technical architecture and ‘hands-on’ technology roles before working in digital transformation in the music industry. Before joining Inflexion, he was an Associate Partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants in London, focused on technology, digital media and ecommerce.
Amelia Armour
Amelia Armour joined Amadeus Capital Partners in 2009 and is a Partner in the Early Stage Fund. Her current investment focus is on AI, Photonics, and Novel Materials.
She is a Director on several boards including Xampla, who have developed novel plant-based materials to replace single-use plastics; iPronics who are building lossless optical switches for AI networking at the speed of light ; Riverlane a developer of the operating system for error corrected quantum computers; sprout.ai a provider of fast and accurate insurance claims automation and SLAMcore, a spin-out from Imperial College, developing spatial intelligence for autonomous robotics and drones.
Amelia is also an active board observer at Paragraf, the first company to mass produce graphene-based electronic devices.
Prior to Amadeus, she worked at Barclays Investment Bank as a manager in the structured capital markets team with responsibility for running a portfolio of multi-jurisdiction transactions. Amelia has also worked in structured finance at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. She qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte in London in the corporate tax department.
Amelia joined the UK Government’s Semiconductor Advisory Panel in August 2023, established to deliver the National Semiconductor Strategy. She is a mentor on the Judge Business School’s Accelerate Programme and holds a BSc in Chemistry and Biology from Durham University.
Amo Anim-Addo
Amo Anim-Addo's role primarily involves building relationships with private equity firms and other capital providers (including institutional funds, family offices and sovereign wealth funds across the UK, Europe, and the US), and ensuring that GT is well positioned to provide our multi product client offering.
Having worked across M&A and private equity for over 25 years, Amo has significant experience advising on acquisitions, disposals, management incentive plans, strategic options and valuations, supporting funds and management teams across the private equity lifecycle.
Amol Rajan
Amol Rajan is the BBC's first ever Media Editor, covering the global impact of the rapidly changing media landscape across politics, business and culture for the BBC's biggest outputs: Today on Radio 4, and the Six O'Clock News and Ten O'Clock News.
Amol has also presented The One Show for BBC One and is a regular presenter on Radio 2, on both The Jeremy Vine Show and Drivetime.
Before joining the BBC, Amol was Editor of The Independent. When appointed to the role in 2013, aged 29, he was both the youngest ever Editor of a British broadsheet title and the first non-white Editor in Fleet Street history.
Prior to becoming Editor, he served as Comment Editor, Sports News Correspondent and Reporter for the title. For two years, he was also an adviser to Evgeny Lebedev, the paper's owner.
Amol hosted a weekly interview programme on London Live called The Headline Interview, where he spoke one-to-one with many influential Londoners, including Boris Johnson and Sadiq Khan.
A prolific writer across a range of subjects, he wrote a weekly column for the Evening Standard, served as restaurant critic for The Independent on Sunday for six years, and continues to write regularly for publications including GQ, Politico Europe, The Spectator and the New Statesman.
His television appearances have included Question Time, MasterChef, Great British Menu, Newsnight, The Daily Politics, The Andrew Marr Show and Lorraine. Before joining The Independent, he was the "mic boy" on Channel 5's The Wright Stuff, to which he later returned as a panellist.
Amol combined his interest in cricket with his passion for writing in his first book, Twirlymen: The Unlikely History of Cricket's Greatest Spin Bowlers, published by Random House in 2011.
He is now the host of University Challenge and a presenter on the Today Programme.
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.
Andrew Dowler
Andrew Dowler is a Senior Managing Director and is Head of Government Relations in Europe. He helps navigate political, legislative, and regulatory risk for the firm and advises Blackstone's portfolio companies on related matters, drawing on his extensive knowledge and expertise built up over more than 30 years advising alternative investment companies.
Mr. Dowler played a major role on many of the most high-profile mergers and acquisitions (hostile and agreed), re-financings and restructurings of the European market since deregulation in the 1980s.
Mr. Dowler was previously a Partner at one of the UK’s leading public affairs consultancies (where his clients included Blackstone) and started his career in politics in Westminster as a researcher and speechwriter. He received a BSc (Hons) from the University of Southampton.
Andy Barrow
Andy Barrow is the MD of PXN Ventures, the VC arm of PXN Group, overseeing all venture investment activity and portfolio performance. Before the merger between Par Equity and Praetura Ventures to create PXN Group, Andy was a Partner at Praetura Ventures, involved in the day-to-day operations of the business and its investments.
Previously Andy held the role of CTO at ANS Group, a Manchester-based cloud and digital transformation company that scaled to over 300 people before its acquisition by Inflexion Private Equity. Andy brings deep experience in technology, product development and leadership, working hands-on with founders as they scale.
Angus Hume
Angus Hume is the Chief Executive Officer of Vanda, having taken on this role in June 2020. He has a strong background in finance, previously serving as the Partner and Global Head of Distribution at Vanda Research and holding various leadership positions at BCA Research and other firms.
His appointment reflects the firm's growth and the need for leadership as it continues to expand its client base and data offerings.
Aubain Noel
Aubain Noel joined Hayfin in 2021 and is a Director, Portfolio Risk. Prior to joining Hayfin, Aubain worked for CQS as a Risk Manager.
Aubain graduated from London Business School with a Masters in Finance and from Imperial College with an MSc in Optics and Photonics and an MSci in Physics.
Axel Bruzelius
Axel Bruzelius is the COO & Co-Founder of Gilion, an AI native growth lender and provider of investment platforms. Axel has spent 15 years in the intersection of data and lending at Gilion, and prior to that Bain, Investor AB and Nordea.A.
Ben Alfert
Ben Alfert joined Mobius in 2022 and is a CFA Charterholder. As part of the Client Solutions team, Ben works closely with asset managers and institutional partners to develop innovative investment solutions across asset classes. His focus has increasingly turned to private markets and, in particular, the opportunities and challenges of broadening access to private market investments for DC and SIPP investors.
Through Mobius’s support of both LTAF and non-LTAF structures, Ben has a practical perspective on how private market solutions can be developed and implemented for the evolving retail and workplace savings market
Birgit Neu
Birgit Neu is a UK-based independent Senior Advisor with award-winning expertise centered on inclusion strategy design, change management, research and communications practices. She previously held a variety of global roles at HSBC including Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, and she has had a broad career spanning multiple sectors including digital, retail, publishing and financial services. Birgit is a regular speaker, panellist and facilitator focussing on the crossroads of inclusion, AI and the future of work.
She is a Visiting Lecturer for Warwick Business School and has various UK network leadership roles, including co-founder and co-chair of KNIT for corporate inclusion specialists, senior advisor to Nexus LGBTQ+ for LGBTQ+ employee network leaders, and co-chair of Gender Networks for women’s/gender employee network leaders. As one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices, she is an influencer with a wide international reach in her field.
Callum Gallacher
Callum Gallacher is a National Sales Director focused on supporting Financial Advisors across Scotland and Northern Ireland. He promotes Beringea’s retail funds, including the ProVen Venture Capital Trusts and the PEPS Business Property Relief product for inheritance tax planning.
Before joining Beringea, Callum worked for a national provider of tax efficient products helping IFAs with their tax planning propositions. He also worked closely with the company’s product managers and tax specialists to provide training for its sales & customer teams.
Callum holds a Master’s degree in advanced pharmacology from the University of Strathclyde.
Catherine Fredette
Catherine Fredette is an Economic Strategy Manager at UK Private Capital, driving forward to the organisation's engagement on sector across the real economy. She joined UK Private Capital three years ago on the Public Affairs team, where she focused on political and parliamentary engagement.
Catherine has an academic background in international relations and political economy.
Catherine Haumesser
Catherine Haumesser is a founding team member at Armen, where she heads the London office and leads the firm’s investment activity across Northern Europe. Since Armen’s inception, she has spearheaded several mid-market European GP stake transactions.
Prior to joining Armen, Catherine was a Partner at SVG Advisers, where she executed numerous investments on a global basis across four platforms, representing over €3.5bn in assets under management. She was responsible for the firm’s European investment strategy and operations, building an extensive network of GPs across the region.
Catherine holds a MA in Management from HEC, Paris, and is a CFA charterholder.
Charlie Walker
Charlie Walker is Deputy CEO of the London Stock Exchange plc having joined in to lead the Equity and Fixed Income Primary Markets businesses.
Charlie is a capital markets specialist and previously worked within J.P. Morgan Cazenove’s Equity Capital Markets team responsible for originating and executing equity transactions. He has assisted in raising over £bn of equity capital across five continents on behalf of clients.
During his time at JPMC, Charlie also worked in Sydney raising capital for companies on the Australian Stock Exchange as well.
Charlotte Lawrence
Charlotte Lawrence joined the Bank in February 2026 as Managing Director of Direct Equity. She leads the Bank’s direct and co-investment activity, which provides equity scale up funding to fast growing UK companies.
Charlotte has two decades of experience across corporate finance and growth equity. She joins the British Business Bank following previous roles as a Managing Director investing in European software businesses for PSG Equity, a $28bn AUM growth equity firm, as well as over a decade investing for the European Technology fund at global investment firm The Carlyle Group. Her early career was spent working at Merrill Lynch in investment banking.
Charlotte also has extensive Board experience, including former positions on the boards of Zenchef, Visualfabriq Revenue Management, Nalanda Global, Mapal OS, Eggplant Software, Itconic, Nature Delivered and The Foundry Visionmongers, as well as currently as an advisory Investment Committee Member at Albion Capital, a £1bn AUM UK venture capital firm.
Charlotte holds an MPhysPhil in Physics and Philosophy from the University of Oxford.
Chris Bulger
Chris Bulger joined Vitruvian Partners in 2018 as General Counsel. In 2019, he was also appointed as Vitruvian’s Chief Risk Officer and Money Laundering Reporting Officer (UK Senior Manager Function 17), as well as assuming responsibility for Compliance Oversight (UK Senior Manager Function 16). Chris is also a Director of various Vitruvian entities and from 2022 to 2024 served as a Board Observer of Snow Software Inc.
Chris is currently a member of the UK Private Capital Legal Committee and Pensions & Private Capital Technical Expert Group and was previously a member of Invest Europe’s Financial Services / Regulatory Working Group. Prior to Vitruvian, Chris was an Executive Director and Senior Counsel at Goldman Sachs, where he supported the Merchant Banking Division, the Principal Strategic Investments Division and various Firmwide Investments. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Chris was at Slaughter and May for nine years, where he specialised in public and private M&A.
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.
Chris Hill
Chris Hill is Investment Programme Manager at SETsquared, where he supports a portfolio of high-growth companies on their journey to investment readiness. Drawing on his own experience in a start up, he brings first-hand insight to the entrepreneurs he works with. Working at the intersection of innovation and investment, he builds and maintains relationships with a broad network of investors from angels and venture capital to institutional funds to connect the right capital with the right opportunities.
Chris plays a central role in driving SETsquared's mission to accelerate some of the UK's most promising technology ventures.
Chris Kay
Chris Kay is a Partner at FPE. After spending five years advising technology entrepreneurs and UK private equity funds at PwC, he joined FPE’s growing investment team, excited by the opportunity to partner with management teams with ambitious long-term plans.
Today, he works closely with the FPE portfolio and has broad responsibility for identifying growth businesses where FPE can add real value, as well as executing those investments.
Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with friends and family. Having retired from his amateur rugby career in favour of the slightly safer hobbies of cycling and skiing, he remains a long-suffering supporter of his hometown club, Sale Sharks.
Christian Dybdahl-Ovesen
Christian Dybdahl-Ovesen joined CORDET in 2013 after working in Credit Suisse's Financial Sponsors Group, where he was involved in the origination, structuring and execution of financing transactions for leveraged buyouts (LBOs) and other private equity-related transactions. Before that, he worked at StormHarbour and Dresdner Kleinwort in leveraged finance. Earlier in his career, Christian served in the Royal Danish Armed Forces (Navy).
Christian holds a MA (Honours) in Financial Economics from the University of St Andrews and an MBA from INSEAD. He speaks Danish (native), Swedish (fluent), Norwegian (fluent), German (conversational) and French (basic). Certified Function, SMF27 (Partner).
Claudio Siniscalco
Claudio Siniscalco, prior to founding Fiduciary Co-investment Partners, served as Global Co-Head of Co-investments for Deutsche Bank, and previously co-head of HarbourVest Partners’ London based co-investment team. Claudio has 29 years of financial services and investing experience, of which 19 years have been spent exclusively on co-investments. He estimates he has reviewed over 4,000 co-investments, with the ~1% he chose to pursue generating over $1bn in realised proceeds to date. He has served as a board member / observer of several companies including Clearway Group Ltd, Polynt SpA, Panda Security SL, Tyntec Ltd, and Welcome Break Ltd.
Previously, Claudio spent a decade gaining traditional direct private equity and M&A experience at Salomon Brothers, Hicks Muse Tate & Furst, Investcorp and Audley Capital (which he co-founded).
Educated in the US and UK, Claudio speaks English, Italian, German and French fluently. He holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. with honors in Economics from Harvard University.
Dan Neale
Dan Neale leads on social issues within the Church Commissioners for England’s endowment fund, looking at human rights, responsible technology, conflict and systemic risks. He is chairing the Steering Group for GRID (Guidance for Responsible Investment in Defence related companies) and co-leads the Investor Initiative on Human Rights Data.
Dan’s first degree was in Physics, followed by a MSc in Security, Conflict and International Development. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability.
Prior to the Commissioners, Dan spent five years working for not-for-profits, managing the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark and leading Social Transformation at the World Benchmarking Alliance. He spent five years consulting with extractive and renewable companies, supporting social and human rights risks management and responsible security in the Middle East and Africa.
He also spent his twenties as an officer in the British military, deploying worldwide with the Royal Navy and NATO.
Dan Perkins
Dan Perkins is Commercial Director at Founder Liquidity Fund (FLF), an innovative venture strategy providing structured liquidity to founders. A Fellow of the ICAEW, Dan trained at Deloitte and has over 15 years’ experience in alternative asset management, fundraising and investor relations.
Prior to FLF, he was Investor Relations Partner at YFM Equity Partners, working across LP and VCT fundraising with investors, family offices, wealth managers and advisers.
Dana Haimoff
Dana Haimoff, Managing Director, joined the Private Equity Group in 2002. Dana is a Portfolio Manager responsible for sourcing, due diligence, leading investment recommendations and monitoring private equity funds, co-investments and secondary opportunities. She leads the European team and office.
Currently, Ms.Haimoff serves on numerous private equity fund and co-investment advisory committees. Prior to joining the Group, she spent six years with Merrill Lynch’s Investment Bank advising institutional clients on alternative investment opportunities. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Ms.Haimoff worked at Prudential Securities in the Investment Banking divisions of private equity and debt practice and at Ernst & Young as an International Tax Consultant. She earned a BS from Skidmore College in finance and economics and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Dana is the co-Founder of Level20, the largest organization set up to encourage women to succeed in the private equity industry. She is a director of the UK Private Capital trade body.
Daniel Smith
Daniel Smith is a Partner in the investment team, having joined the firm in 2003.
Daniel has led on a broad range of investments since joining Livingbridge from RBS in 2003, spanning the travel industry, ticket distribution and software. This has included investments in Enigma Group, On the Beach, Travel Jigsaw, Sykes Cottages and Direct Ferries & Loveholidays. He currently holds Non-Executive Director roles at Imagesound, Loveholidays and Venatus.
Daniel studied Sport Science at Loughborough and worked in the Midlands at RBS in Corporate Banking then Leveraged Finance.
David Clark
David Clark leads the Investment Team, with overall responsibility for developing VenCap’s investment strategy, fund identification, selection and monitoring. He has an extensive background in both venture fund and public company investment and is a regular guest on leading industry podcasts and panels.
He is an Associate of the CFA Society of the UK. He received his BA (Hons) in Philosophy and Politics from the University of Warwick and his MA in Political Philosophy from the University of York. Outside of VenCap, David is a UEFA A Licence football coach, having previously coached at Oxford United FC and worked as a coach mentor for the English FA. He also cycles, plays golf and can talk for hours on the merits of Bitcoin.
David Townsend
David Townsend joined IP Group's Global Capital team in June 2025.
Most recently he was the Managing Director responsible for the EMEA business & global consultant relations at Value Partners Group. Prior to this he was Head of Investor Relations at Alderwood Capital, Head of the EMEA and Australian institutional businesses at First Eagle Investment Management and was the Managing Director responsible for the EMEA institutional business, global consultant relations and the UK wholesale businesses at Martin Currie.
David previously served as Head of International and Institutional Sales at Framlington and Head of UK Institutional Sales as AXA IM, and before that Director of Sales at Scottish Life International Investment Group.
David began his career at Fidelity Investments International, working in the UK and European retail businesses and in international business development across the Middle East and Africa.
David holds a Master's Degree in Near and Middle East Area Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies at University of London and a Bachelor's Degree in Modern European Studies from Trent Polytechnic.
David Wilmot
David is a Founding Partner of Apera, responsible for developing the Apera platform and business in the United Kingdom and in the Nordic region.
David has extensive experience in deal origination and portfolio management in the European leveraged finance market, most recently having spent 16 years at Babson Capital where he was Joint Head of European Private Finance. David was instrumental in establishing Babson’s presence in the European buyout finance market, and served as either an Investment Committee member or co-Chairman for several of Babson’s private debt and CLO funds.
Prior to joining Babson, David led the UK leveraged finance team at Société Générale. David holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in Banking and Finance from Loughborough University, a MBA from Cass Business School and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers.
Donat Rétif
Donat Rétif joined loveholidays in 2019 to lead the business through its next phase of growth as a leading online travel platform in the UK and internationally. Donat steered loveholidays through the pandemic and has led the transformation of the business, more than tripling the size of the business and expanding into Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
Earlier in his career, Donat was CEO of weather forecasting supplier MeteoGroup, where he led the sale of the business to DTN. He also spent over 11 years at search and advertising firm Truvo and six years at telecommunications company Verizon.
Dr Raj Shah
Dr Raj Shah joined in 2015 and has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Raj holds non-executive positions on the boards of several Nordic Capital portfolio companies as well as healthcare charities. Prior to joining, Raj was Co-Head of Goldman Sachs healthcare investment banking practice where he advised private equity and corporate clients. Raj’s healthcare experience also includes working as a practitioner, having initially qualified and practiced as a cardiac surgeon at Oxford.
Raj holds degrees in medicine and surgery from Imperial College, London as well as being Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and an MBA from London Business School.
Ed Lascelles
Ed Lascelles has been investing in tech since 2004. Having started out on his career during the dotcom cycle, Ed has seen many trends emerge and disappear over the years, has fallen in love with the software industry, and consistently backs disruptive players.
He has backed many of Europe’s leading companies including Credit Kudos (Apple), Quantexa, Elliptic, Runa and many others. Ed is always on the lookout for trends shaping the industry and implications they have not just on startups but also on VC funds themselves.
Edmund Phillips
Edmund worked for fifteen years in investment and advisory roles in clean energy, financing novel energy businesses across Europe and advising corporates and governments on decarbonisation and technology strategy.
After a technology and venture focussed MBA, in 2021 he joined the National Security Strategic Investment Fund, the corporate venture capital fund of UK national security and defence. Edmund leads investments across deep tech sectors including space, sensors and quantum, and works with founders post-investment to position their companies to solve challenges for national security customers.
Alongside direct investments, he also leads NSSIF investments into other VC funds.
Edward Foxon
Edward Foxon is the Chief Compliance Officer at Vitruvian Partners. He has responsibility for Vitruvian’s global compliance programme, with regulatory oversight across the Firm’s corporate, funds and investment platforms. Edward is a member of UK Private Capital’s Regulatory Committee and regularly contributes to industry advocacy efforts on key regulatory themes.
Prior to his role at Vitruvian, Edward was in legal private practice with Kirkland & Ellis in London.
Edward Little
Edward Little joined Ardian in 2018 and is based in London. He is a Managing Director, Head of Buyout UK and a member of the Buyout Management Committee. He has a track record of investments across sectors and geographies, with a focus on Technology, Media and Services investments in the UK.
Prior to joining Ardian, he worked at TPG in their London private equity group. He previously worked at HIG Capital and Rothschild M&A advisory. Edward holds a First Class Honours degree in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences.
Eimear Fagan
Eimear Fagan is an Executive Director within Aon’s M&A and Value Creation team, specialising in helping financial sponsors and their portfolio companies unlock value across risk, insurance, and human capital. Over the past four years, she has partnered with private equity firms globally to identify opportunities to reduce cost, improve resilience, enhance governance, and support value creation throughout the investment lifecycle.
With more than eleven years of M&A experience, Eimear previously led Aon’s London's Risk & Insurance Due Diligence practice, advising on both buy-side and sell-side transactions across a broad range of sectors, including manufacturing, life sciences, financial services, aviation, and rail. Prior to joining Aon in 2015, she held roles at Arthur J. Gallagher in London and Frank Glennon Ltd in Dublin.
Eimear holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University College Dublin and is ACII and CIRM qualified.
Eimear Palmer
Eimear is a Partner, Global Head of Sustainability, with responsibility for overseeing and developing Pantheon’s established sustainability strategy and range of initiatives. Prior to joining the firm, Eimear worked for 14 years in private equity-focused ESG roles, including most recently as Managing Director and Head of Responsible Investment at Intermediate Capital Group (ICG). Before that she worked at the Carlyle Group, where she implemented an enhanced ESG framework for Carlyle Europe Partners.
Eimear is recognised across the industry for engagement with key industry stakeholders and previously co-founded the UK network of Initiative Climat International, an investor-led platform focused on climate action among leading global private market organisations, of which Pantheon is a signatory.
Eli Krieger
Eli Krieger joined Lansdowne Partners in 2019. Prior to joining Lansdowne, Eli held positions as a consumer analyst at Citadel Global Equities and as an equity research associate at Citigroup.
Eli holds a BA (Hons) in History from UCL.
Eric Arnould
Eric Arnould invests in European Deeptech companies and leads the development of global LP relationships to support the firm’s growth funds. He has over 20 years of experience in Private Equity and Investment Banking including roles as Global Head of ECM and Senior Banker at Natixis, focusing on growth technology and renewable energy companies. Eric is a graduate of HEC Paris, University of St-Gallen, and holds an Executive Master’s degree from Ecole Polytechnique.
Evgenia Plotnikova
Evgenia Plotnikova is a General Partner at Dawn Capital, leading investments across AI, infrastructure, and automation. Her first love was political science, which still underpins how she invests: she is drawn to moments when a step change in technology meets a structural need the market has underestimated. Her conviction has driven some of Dawn’s most defining investments including Dataiku, the platform for AI success; Fonoa, solving tax compliance across hundreds of jurisdictions; and inforcer, delivering AI to millions of small businesses through the power of Microsoft. She has also supported founders through major exits, including to Intel and Nvidia.
As one of Dawn’s earliest employees, Evgenia knows what it means to be in the room when something is small and to stay through every stage of the growth journey. She is a superconnector whose greatest joy is putting her network to work for founders; unlocking new hires, partnerships, and markets.
Evgenia is the youngest woman in Europe to be internally promoted to General Partner, a Kauffman Fellow, and a Forbes 30 Under 30 honouree. Before Dawn, she spent over a decade advising and investing at Atomico, TPG Capital, and J.P. Morgan, and studied at Sciences Po Paris and at the Wharton School.
Gareth Llewellyn
Gareth Llewellyn is an Investment Director at Northern Gritstone, where he focuses on backing university spinouts and IP-rich Deep Tech and Health Tech businesses emerging from the North of England’s world-class research base.
With over fifteen years’ experience in investing, Gareth works closely with founders, academics, and commercialisation teams to translate breakthrough science into investable, scalable companies. His work spans the full spinout journey – from early engagement with research institutions through to building management teams, structuring first rounds, and supporting long-term growth.
Gary Tipper
Gary Tipper is the Group Managing Partner of Palatine having co-founded the business with Ed Fazakerley and Tony Dickin in 2005. Gary is also the Chairman of Palatine’s Buyout Investment Committee.
Gary’s passion lies in identifying and supporting ambitious, entrepreneurial management teams in achieving their ambitions. As an entrepreneur, Gary understands the challenges businesses face and how these challenges can be overcome. Gary is proud of the developments Palatine has led in sustainability and being the first mainstream PE house to raise an Impact Fund. Gary is also responsible for fundraising and relationships with investors within Palatine.
With over thirty years’ experience in private equity and having held several non-executive board positions, Gary has been instrumental in helping many management teams execute their business plan successfully, whilst generating excellent returns for investors.
Outside of work, Gary is a big sports fan. He follows Manchester City, home and away, and enjoys golf and boxing. Gary is also Chair of City in the Community (“CITC”), which is Manchester City’s charity, supporting people across Greater Manchester by empowering healthier lives through football.
Greg Jackson CBE
Greg Jackson CBE is the founder and CEO of Octopus Energy Group, the UK's largest energy supplier and a global energy and technology company that's driving the affordable, green energy system of the future.
It now serves 11 million customers globally, including 8 million in the UK. Operating across 27 countries, the Group manages a £8 billion renewables portfolio and leads thriving businesses in EV leasing, heat pumps, and solar.
Greg is a thought leader on innovation and energy and a serial tech unicorn founder. He has built two tech giants valued at billions of dollars – Octopus Energy and Kraken.
In 2024, Greg was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders. He was appointed a Non-Executive Member of the Cabinet Office Board in 2025.
Hamza Azeem
Hamza Azeem is a Managing Director on the Portfolio Management Group team. Based in the London office, he focuses on investment management of open-ended private markets solutions.
Prior to joining Hamilton Lane in 2021, Hamza was an Associate Director at HSBC where he focused on originating strategic multi-asset risk management solutions for a broad spectrum of financial sponsors, corporates and sovereign wealth funds.
Hamza received a B.Sc. in Economics from The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and is a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder.
Harriet Assem
Harriet Assem is UK Private Capital’s Head of Sustainability Policy. 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.
Henry Philipson
Henry Philipson leads marketing and communications for Beringea in the UK, working closely with the investment and fundraising teams.
Henry also advises the portfolio on PR and communications, and he leads the Beringea Scale-Up Academy, an annual series of workshops and webinars for portfolio companies. Henry has also led Beringea’s work on ESG, including co-founding ESG_VC, an industry initiative to help portfolio companies improve their ESG performance.
Henry previously advised VCs, founders, and financial institutions on communications campaigns at Seven Hills, a London-based agency. Henry read History at the University of Durham and holds an MPhil in Latin American Studies from the University of Cambridge.
Howard Dawber OBE
Howard Dawber OBE is the Deputy Mayor of London for Business and Growth, having been appointed to the role in December 2023. The focus of his role is to champion London’s interests across the globe as a place to visit, expand to and invest in, and working to protect jobs and growth in the capital.
He is also focusing on supporting the thousands of small and medium-sized businesses at the heart of London’s economy.
Hugh Campbell
Hugh Campbell is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Bullhound Capital. Hugh is passionate about technology innovation and entrepreneurs with many years’ experience advising and investing in Europe’s current and future Unicorns. He has worked with all the leading growth equity funds in Europe and has sold businesses to Real Networks, Disney, Accenture and Experian amongst others.
Hugh started his career at Citibank in M&A before moving on to Goldman Sachs where he worked in Equity Research. Hugh is from an entrepreneurial publishing family who sold John Murray Publishers to Hachette in 2002 and founded an e-learning business, Pastest Limited, where Hugh is Chairman.
In 2000, Hugh left Goldman Sachs and spent most of the year working and living in Beijing, China before going back to his investment banking roots by co-founding GP Bullhound. Hugh opened the Manchester office in 2013, is a Manchester Grammar School alum and graduated from Pembroke College, Oxford.
Imam Hoque
Imam Hoque has spent 38 years in IT, graduating with a master's in AI from NorthWestern, specializing in data-driven decision intelligence and graph analytics. Formerly the CTO, Founder, and Board Director for BAE Systems Detica NetReveal, he grew this international team to more than 500 specialists. Prior to Quantexa, Imam led the SAS’ EMEA/AP Financial Crime and graph analytics practice, and was CTO at an Internet startup.
Since pioneering big data techniques, entity resolution, graph analytics, and AI in 2004, Imam and his team have used AI to save billions in tax evasion and fraud across government and financial institutions. On the growth agenda, Quantexa AI solutions are helping Banks improve customer intelligence and credit risk decisioning. He was instrumental in setting up Insurance Fraud Bureaus worldwide, fighting organized crime, corruption, and money laundering.
Imogen Richards
Imogen Richards is a Partner and Head of Primaries in Pantheon’s European Private Equity team and also a member of the Global Primary Committee, ESG Committee and Allocation Committee. Imogen joined Pantheon in 2005, and prior to joining the primaries team, she was a member of Pantheon’s secondary team and also headed up the Investment Structuring and Strategy division. Imogen is also on the board of Level 20 and chairs the Senior Leader’s Committee.
Prior to Pantheon Imogen worked on small and mid-market private equity and mezzanine transactions for Anglo Irish Bank. She holds a master’s degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University. Imogen is based in London.
Isobel Clarke
Isobel Clarke 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.
James Cousins
James Cousins is a Partner in Mourant's Guernsey Corporate practice, specialising in investment funds. He spent over nine years in-house within the investment management industry, latterly as Partner and General Counsel at Coremont, a fintech providing investment management technology to financial institutions. Prior to that, he worked within the legal teams of Brevan Howard and BlueCrest, both global macro hedge funds.
James started his career in private practice from 2004 to 2013 at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in London and Silicon Valley, where he trained and qualified into the Capital Markets team. During this time, he was also seconded to the ECM and M&A Legal team of Deutsche Bank in London.
His practice spans all aspects of asset management. Drawing on a strong private practice foundation and broad in-house experience, James brings a commercial, pragmatic and client-focused approach to his advice.
He has a particular interest in hedge funds and other alternative investments but advises broadly across all fund types and asset classes. His practice encompasses the full fund lifecycle, from formation and ongoing maintenance through to distributions and dissolutions, in addition to general corporate, finance and regulatory advisory work.
Jamie Villiers
Jamie Villiers is a seasoned leader serving as Senior Director and Head of International Private Markets Business Development at SS&C. With an illustrious career spanning over 25 years in the Financial Services industry, Jamie brings extensive expertise and leadership acumen to his role.
Joining SS&C in August 2020, Jamie has cultivated a distinguished career trajectory, holding key positions at reputable institutions such as Pershing, Northern Trust, HSBC, and BNY Mellon in both the UK and the US, accumulating six years of valuable experience across various leadership roles. Most recently, Jamie served as the Head of Business Development in EMEA at SANNE (now Apex), where he played a pivotal role in driving strategic growth initiatives.
With a deep understanding of market dynamics and a proven track record of fostering client relationships, Jamie is renowned for his ability to navigate complex landscapes and deliver innovative solutions. His commitment to excellence and passion for driving business growth make him a trusted leader in the financial services realm.
Joe Cullinane
Joe Cullinane is a Senior Account Executive in the Alternative Investments team at SS&C Intralinks, where he works with leading private markets firms across EMEA to support fundraising, investor onboarding and reporting.
Partnering with general partners and fund administrators, Joe helps firms streamline investor communications and deliver secure, scalable technology solutions throughout the fund lifecycle.
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 agencies Portland and Lexington.
Kaasim Mahmood
Kaasim Mahmood joined Advent in 2005 with a background in clinical medicine, finance, and mergers and acquisitions.
Kaasim gained an MB BS from the Royal Free and University College Medical School in London, after which he joined Cutfield, Freeman and Co, a London based corporate finance boutique.
Since joining Advent, Kaasim has worked on numerous direct investments and has also assisted with the legal and financial aspects of many more. Example portfolio companies include KaNDy Therapeutics, CN Creative and Speciality European Pharma.
Kaasim currently serves on the Board of F2G, NeRRe Therapeutics, Orphalan and Ventus Medical.
Kamil Kluza
Kamil Kluza is Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Climate X, with over 20 years of experience in risk modelling, analytics, and large-scale operations across Tier 1 banks, PE firms and consultancies. His background spans retail mortgages, complex derivatives, and cross-jurisdictional R&D programmes.
At Climate X, Kamil has led the firm’s science, data and innovation strategy. He oversees methodology design, model validation, and integration to ensure analytical rigour, transparency, and regulatory alignment. Working closely with Product, Engineering, and Professional Services, he ensures that data workflows and risk models are technically robust, defensible, and fit for enterprise deployment.
Karim Palant
Karim Palant is Director of External Affairs at UK Private Capital, where he leads the organisation's public affairs, communications and research work.
With over twenty years' experience spanning politics, technology and economic policy, Karim works at the intersection of business, government and public debate. He leads UK Private Capital's engagement with policymakers, stakeholders and the media, and oversees the industry's flagship research programme on investment activity and long-term fund performance.
Prior to joining UK Private Capital, Karim held senior public policy roles at LinkedIn and Facebook. Earlier in his career, he served as Head of Policy to the Shadow Chancellor.
He studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford and was educated at Calderstones School in Liverpool.
Katie Ramsey
Katie Ramsey is Head of the Global Venture Capital Unit in His Majesty’s Government’s Office for Investment, and previously served as the Head of Fintech at the Department for Business & Trade, Co-Founder of The Power Collective and angel investor.
Ex-BlackRock, she was Shortlisted for Angel of the Year 2024, invests across sectors including fintech and is a former fund manager and algorithmic trader, and previously twice winner of Financial News’ Top 40 Under 40, UN Women UK Delegate, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader nominee and Fintech Power List Power 45 winner.
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.
Leandros Kalisperas
Leandros Kalisperas is the Chief Investment Officer of the British Business Bank. Prior to that, he was Chief Investment Officer of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF), based in Bradford, leading an in-house investment office managing £20bn of assets across public, private and alternatives markets for its more than 300,000 members.
Before joining WYPF, Leandros was Head of Portfolio Solutions at abrdn, based in London, responsible for asset allocation, implementation and ongoing portfolio management of customised, complex mandates for a range of institutional clients.
Prior to that, Leandros spent six years at the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) in several senior investment roles supporting the development of USS’s regulated in-house investment office following the global financial crisis. His time at USS also informed his subsequent policy thinking about the importance of building wealth creation across the UK.
His early career included experience in investment banking and boutique asset management businesses, as well as setting up his own small business.
Leandros is a Companion Caller for the Alzheimer’s Society, which helps people with dementia feel more connected and less lonely. He is also a former Chair of the Staffing and Resources Committee for a state school in North-West London.
Leandros has an MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford and an MBA from INSEAD. He has also completed the Oxford Fintech Programme at the University of Oxford.
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.
Lucia Villamor
Lucia Villamor joined Endless in 2008 and has built a broad range of experience across both transactions and portfolio management. She now brings this depth of knowledge and perspective to our investor relations function.
A qualified chartered accountant, Lucia joined Endless after four years in professional practice. Her time at Endless has seen her cover transactional, portfolio and marketing roles. She now heads Investor Relations at Endless and Enact, looking after our existing investors as well as looking to build relationships with new ones and project managing our fundraising processes.
“The best thing about Endless is working with like-minded individuals.”
Lucia enjoys spending her spare time keeping fit and she has also recently taken on new hobbies like water skiing and horse riding, both of which often result in her three young children laughing at her distinctively average efforts.
Madeleine Farman
Madeleine Farman is the editor of PEI Group’s Secondaries Investor title based in London. Prior to joining PEI, she had covered private equity, private capital and advisers associated with the industry for other newsrooms and publications since 2016.
Mark Brenke
Mark Brenke has over 20 years’ private investment experience in the European markets, encompassing both private credit and private equity. Over that time period he has played a leading role in the institutionalisation of the European Private Credit market and has successfully navigated multiple investment cycles.
Before joining Ardian, Mark established Intermediate Capital Group’s Direct Lending business and began his career with Goldman Sachs in investment banking.
Martin Senk
Martin Senk is the Senior Research Manager at UK Private Capital. He holds a Statistics, Economics and Finance degree from University College London and is responsible for project managing the Report on Investment Activity publication, producing industry insights and actively engaged in ESG data analysis.
Mats Persson
Mats Persson leads EY UK&I’s Macro and Geostrategy practice. He helps businesses navigate complex global challenges, turning macro trends into actionable strategies that protect and enhance value across capital allocation, transactions, supply chain and strategic risk.
Mats advises multinationals, with a particular focus on utilities, automotive and infrastructure. He has extensive experience in growth and supply chain strategy, scenario planning, energy transition, business economics and policy-led transformation.
He was previously Head of International Trade, Economics and Policy Unit and Brexit Lead at EY UK, Chief of Staff to the UK Chancellor (2019–2020) and Special Advisor to the UK Prime Minister (2015–2016). Prior to this, Mats was a Director at the think tank, Open Europe.
Mei Lim
Mei Lim is the Group CFO and Managing Partner at Anthemis. With over 20 years of experience within the financial services industry, Mei brings deep insight and relationships across M&A, Corporate Development and Finance.
Prior to joining Anthemis, Mei was a Managing Director at Barclays, in a variety of different areas namely Corporate Development, Strategy, Principal Investments and Finance. She lives in London and outside the office, you can find her going on muddy runs with her working cocker spaniel or spending time with her equally energetic young family.
Michael Joyce
Michael Joyce leads direct investing at Isomer Capital. Prior to Isomer, Michael was an Investment Director at Cambridge Associates (CA) in London, where he worked with sovereign wealth fund, pension, and family office clients on asset allocation and strategic investment initiatives.
Earlier, he spent time in CA’s Silicon Valley office researching and conducting due diligence on VC and other private fund strategies globally. Earlier at Fidelity Investments, Michael led emerging technology research and analysed relevant startups to help the firm’s CTOs identify and adopt disruptive technology.
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.
Michelle Lamprecht
Michelle Lamprecht is Head of Corporate Affairs and manages CIC’s ESG and Impact strategy, marketing strategy, and is a communications advisor/mentor to CIC’s portfolio companies.
She brings 20 years of international leadership experience in strategic communications and business, spanning both publicly listed and privately owned organisations.
Michelle has held several governance and advisory roles, including serving as a board member for Byte Night (Action for Children) and as a trustee for Citizens Advice. She is currently a Non-Executive Director at Form the Future and a member of UK Private Capital's Value Creation Taskforce, UK Private Captial's External Affairs Advisory Committee, and the Reframe Venture Portfolio Support Committee.
She holds a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry and a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing.
Nalin Patel
Nalin Patel is Director of Research, EMEA Private Capital at PitchBook, where he oversees a team of analysts covering private markets in the EMEA region. Prior to joining PitchBook, Patel was an analyst at Goldman Sachs in London, conducting due diligence for investment banking transactions.
Patel’s coverage included the Merchant Banking Division and European Special Situations Group, where he focused on private equity, venture capital and debt transactions, as well as investments in startups, real estate, technology and growth capital.
Patel received a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Bristol. He is based in PitchBook’s London office.
Nathanaël Benjamin
Nathanaël (Nat) Benjamin was appointed as the Bank of England’s Executive Director for Financial Stability Strategy and Risk and a member of its Financial Policy Committee (FPC) in December 2023. The FPC is the United Kingdom’s ‘macroprudential’ authority and it is tasked by Parliament with ensuring financial stability so that the UK financial system is able to absorb rather than amplify shocks, and serve UK households and businesses. Nat is responsible for the Bank of England’s work to deliver this objective.
Before that, from October 2021 to December 2023 Nat was the Executive Director in charge of Authorisations, Regulatory Technology, and International Supervision.
Nat originally joined the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) in 2004, where he held a range of risk specialist roles: supervising how firms measure credit, market, insurance, and counterparty risks. During this time he also participated in policy developments under the Basel Committee and the European banking and insurance authorities.
He became closely involved in the management of the global financial crisis, first in the UK and then at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he was seconded from 2008 to 2010. After returning from secondment, he became head of the Prudential Regulation Authority’s division responsible for equipping the Bank of England with the capability to run concurrent public stress tests of major banks.
In 2015, he was appointed to head the newly-created financial risk oversight function for the Bank of England's own balance sheet. In 2020 he became interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO), acting as the Executive Director in charge of the Finance & Performance directorate.
Nat graduated from the École Centrale de Paris and has a doctorate in applied probability from Oxford University.
Navina Rajan
Navina Rajan is a Senior Research Analyst at PitchBook, covering venture and private capital in EMEA. Prior to PitchBook, she was a lead equity research analyst at Morgan Stanley where she covered single stock and thematic research over Chemicals, Internet, and Food Retail sectors.
Rajan received a first-class bachelor’s degree in economics from Warwick University. She is based in PitchBook’s London office.
Nick Jordan
Nick Jordan is a Partner in the Mercury and Genesis funds. Nick focuses across the Hg funds on investments in the Tech Services sector, companies that provide high-value digital services and infrastructure to help their customers be more successful and compliant. Nick is currently on the boards of team.blue, Trackunit, Citation and Focus.
At Hg he has also worked with Netnames, Zitcom, Register, itm8, F24, Commify, and Silverfin.
Nick Kingsbury
Nick Kingsbury is a director on the boards of XYZ Reality, the company bringing augmented reality to the construction industry, Brytlyt, who have built the world’s most advanced data analytics and visualisation software, DirectID, the Scottish FinTech start-up whose products leverage the identity and data that customers have with their banks, and most recently Sitehop who have built a high bandwidth, low latency encryption appliance.
He is also the investment manager for Altana.ai, who use AI to analyse billions of data elements on global trade to help governments, enterprises, and financial institutions understand risks and build better global commerce; and SandboxAQ, the acquirer of Amadeus portfolio company Cryptosense. SandboxAQ bring together AI and Quantum technologies for security, molecular modelling and other advanced applications.
Nigel Walder
Nigel Walder joined Bain Capital Private Equity as a Partner in 2015. He co-leads the Services & Media vertical and our UK coverage efforts. He sits on a number of Bain Capital portfolio company boards, including HSO, Valeo Foods, Maesa & Bugaboo. Prior to joining Bain Capital, Mr. Walder was an investment banker with J.P. Morgan.
He occupied a variety of positions in London & Hong Kong. and most recently was a Managing Director in their European leveraged finance business. Mr. Walder received a BA (Hons) from Oxford University.
Nikhil Rathi
Nikhil Rathi was appointed Chief Executive of the FCA on 1 October 2020. He began his career in HM Treasury before serving as Private Secretary to the Prime Minister between 2005 – 2008.
Nikhil then became Head of the Financial Stability Unit, overseeing a number of the UK’s financial stability interventions before becoming HM Treasury’s Director of the Financial Services Group from 2009 – 2014. In that role, he also served as the UK representative to the EU Financial Services Committee.
Nikhil joined the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in 2014, and was appointed CEO in 2015. Nikhil holds a BA in philosophy, politics and economics from the University of Oxford.
Noreen Aldworth
Noreen Aldworth is UK Private Capital’s Head of Commercial, Events, Learning & Development. Prior to joining UK Private Capital in 2023, she held several commercial and operational event roles, including leading the events programme at techUK, the UK’s technology trade association.
Noreen has a BA in European Studies and French from University College Cork and an MA in Gender, Globalisation and Human Rights from the University of Galway.
Patricia Volhard
Patricia Volhard is a European based partner and European Chair of Debevoise’s Investment Management Group.
She is a member of the firm’s Funds/Investment Management Group and her practice focuses on advising private funds and fund managers on structuring and managing European funds. She is also a member of the firm’s Funds/Investment Management Regulatory Practice and advises on European financial regulatory aspects for fund managers and in a fundraising context.
Ms.Volhard is a leading European lawyer in the field of fund formation and regulation and plays a prominent role in the ongoing development of this area. She is Chair of Invest Europe's Financial Services/Regulatory Working Group and a member of its SFDR Working Group. In Germany, she is a member of the legal committee of the German Private Equity Association (BVK). In the UK, she is a member of the Regulatory Committee of the British PE Association (UK Private Capital).
Ms.Volhard has been named amongst Europe’s most influential lawyers by Financial News and by Private Equity News, and has also been consistently recognised by the major legal directories as a leader in her field. She is recommended by JUVE (2023/24), where she receives praise for her “unbelievable knowledge of the law and of market standards,” and where sources note “she negotiates calmly but unerringly in the interest of her clients.” The Legal 500 UK (2026) recognises Ms.Volhard for her work in private funds, regulatory matters and ESG, where clients note that she has “the best oversight of the European regulations affecting the PE market” and that she is “an absolute market leader.”
Patrick Knechtli
Patrick Knechtli is a Partner at Patria Investments. He is Head of Secondaries in Patria’s Global Private Markets Solutions (GPMS) division and is a member of Patria GPMS’s Investment Committee and Senior Management Team.
Patrick has been active in secondaries for over 25 years, having spent 8 years at Coller Capital before building the secondary operations at Patria GPMS’s predecessor firms, Standard Life Investments, Aberdeen Standard Investments and abrdn Private Equity. His early career was in investment banking roles at Baring Brothers and ABN Amro.
Paul Lamacraft
Paul Lamacraft covers Schroders Capital Private Equity investment activities in Europe and is Head of Sustainability & Impact. Paul has a particular focus on opportunities in the UK and Europe and has passion for Sustainability & Impact. He has recently launched and now manages the Schroders Capital Circular Economy Private Plus, Semi-Liquid Fund, a global private equity strategy investing into positive impact investments with attractive return expectations and also manages the private equity component of several other private markets impact portfolios. He is also very keen to continue the work to expand the private equity asset class to a wider range of investors.
Before joining Schroders in 2020, Paul worked for 8 years in private equity and public markets investing with an emphasis on direct venture and growth equity transactions. Prior to this Paul spent over 12 years advising companies in their private equity fundraising and M&A activities, including 5 years at Deutsche Bank. Paul started his career at EY where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.
Paul is a qualified ACA and holds a BSc in Economics & Accounting from the University of Bristol, UK.
Peter Barkley
Peter Barkley joined WestBridge in 2019 and co-leads origination and execution across the UK. Pete set up the Manchester office and now splits his time between London and Manchester, supporting new deal activity across the UK.
Prior to joining WestBridge, Peter worked as a corporate finance advisor specialising in advising management teams, both buy and sell side. He has previously held roles at BDO and Dow Schofield Watts.
Peter sits on the board of Causeway Securities, Aptus, Alpine Fire Engineers and Survey Solutions and is heavily involved in value creation at all of these companies. Peter played a significant role in our investments in APEM and Eque2 delivering 11.5x and 5x money respectively.
Peter is a chartered accountant and graduated from the University of Hull with a degree in Accountancy.
Peter Lockhead
Peter Lockhead joined ICG in 2017 and is Co-Head of Senior Debt Partners at ICG. Prior to joining ICG, he was a portfolio manager for Avenue Capital's direct lending business in Europe, having joined Avenue Capital in September 2012 to establish that business.
Prior to that, Peter was a Managing Director and Head of Sponsor Leveraged Finance at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and before that a Managing Director in the Financial Sponsor Coverage and Leverage Finance groups at Merrill Lynch. Previously, he worked for Barclays Capital in their Leveraged Finance & Sponsor Coverage Group and NatWest Markets in their Acquisition Finance team.
Peter is a graduate of Loughborough University and holds a first-class honours degree in Banking & Finance.
Peter Mitchell
Peter Mitchell is a Director at Future Planet Capital, leading data science and technology alongside his investing responsibilities. He is currently deploying the British Co-Investment Fund, a UK growth-stage fund backed by UK pension funds that invests in UK category winners at Series B and beyond.
His background is in academia, having worked on large-scale statistical research for the UK Cabinet Office, the OECD and the Department for Education. He holds a PhD from Oxford, completed on a full All Souls College scholarship, and a master's from Harvard.
Professor Sir Ian Chapman
Professor Sir Ian Chapman is the CEO of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). He joined from the UK Atomic Energy Authority, where he’d been CEO since October 2016.
Winner of multiple international awards for his work on fusion. He was made a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 2013, became a visiting Professor at Durham University in 2015 and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2022.
In 2023, he was knighted in the King’s New Year’s Honours, made an Honorary Fellow of the Nuclear Institute and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Ralph Welsch-Lehmann
Ralph Welsch-Lehmann joined FCP in January 2021, and serves as a fractional CFO for each FCP Limited Partnership, on behalf of FCP Private Markets GP Limited. Ralph is an active early-stage investor and serves as fractional CFO for several companies in sectors ranging from private real estate, hospitality, SaaS, and gaming. Before joining, Ralph was the Global Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Deutsche Bank's DB Private Equity business, where he worked alongside Claudio Siniscalco for 3 years.
As COO for DB PE, he was responsible for the operational readiness of the business and managed Finance, Operations, Risk Management, IT, HR, Fund Finance and outsourced vendors. Before that Ralph held other senior-level positions at Deutsche Bank in Finance, Private Clients and Asset Management and Corporate Development. Ralph started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Financial Services and International Business Practice in New York.
He holds a Master of Business Administration from James Madison University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from EBS University of Business and Law. He a registered Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.
Rebecca Ajulu-Bushell
Rebecca Ajulu-Bushell is the CEO of the 10,000 Interns Foundation, a role she has held for almost four years, and serves as a board member and advisor across arts, education, purpose-driven ventures and policy-making institutions (Modern Art Oxford, British Chamber of Commerce, Pembroke College, Cambridge).
She was included in the 2024 TIME’s list and is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honouree. With a background in strategic communications and an academic grounding in Fine Art & Philosophy (Oxford University), she is also a writer. Her first book, These Heavy Black Bones, won the 2025 Sports Writing Award and was shortlisted for both the William Hill Sports Book of the Year and the Hatchard’s First Biography Prize.
Rebecca Gibson
Rebecca is a Managing Partner at Oakley and is responsible for Strategy, IR and Talent and she is a member of the Investment Committee. She has been at Oakley since 2014 and has over 24 years of private equity investing experience. Rebecca is also Chair of Level 20, the leading industry body for women in private equity focussed on increasing their representation at senior levels.
Prior to joining Oakley, Rebecca was a partner at Cinven where she worked for 12 years. Prior to joining Cinven, Rebecca spent five years working as a strategy consultant at Bain & Company in the UK and South Africa.
Rebecca holds a BA (Hons) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University.
Richard Coldwell
Richard Coldwell leads on the BBB’s private credit portfolio and has been with the BBB since 2012. The British Business Bank invests in private credit funds, focusing on UK strategies and those supporting smaller companies. This portfolio invests across a range of strategies including hybrid capital and venture debt.
Richard Grindrod
Richard Grindrod is a Partner in the Investment Team, based in the London Office.
Richard joined Hollyport in 2015 as an Associate. During his time in the business he has worked on over 80 successful transactions, building strong relationships with fund managers and intermediaries and sourcing proprietary investment opportunities.
He became Partner in 2021, and in addition to being a member of the Investment Committee is responsible for sourcing, negotiating and executing both LP portfolio and GP-led transactions. He works alongside the other investment team Partners to lead and develop the junior team, chairing internal projects to challenge thinking and lead innovation.
Richard is a qualified ACA having started his career at PwC where he worked in transaction services prior to joining Hollyport. Richard graduated from Newcastle University with a First Class Honours in BA Business, Accounting and Finance.
Richard Swann
Richard Swann chairs Inflexion’s Investment Committee and is a member of the Executive Committee, Realisation Committee and Responsible Investment Steering Committee. He previously chaired the Executive Committee and Responsible Investment Steering Committee and was the Head of Buyout.
Richard joined Inflexion in 2008 and has since been involved in many of Inflexion’s current and previous investments.
Outside of Inflexion, Richard is passionate about the role education plays in society, and is a member of the Council of the University of Birmingham. Richard also sits on the Board of UK Private Capital.
Richard has a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham and an MBA from the University of Warwick, and was previously a partner with Deloitte and its predecessor firm Arthur Andersen.
Rob Desborough
Rob Desborough is a General Partner at Seraphim Space Manager LLP and Chair of the Seraphim Space Accelerator, the world’s first and leading SpaceTech accelerator program. Previously, he was an Investment Director at YFM Equity Partners. Rob holds a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Glasgow and a Postgraduate Diploma in Information Technology Systems from the University of Strathclyde.
Under his leadership, the Seraphim Space Accelerator has graduated 119 SpaceTech start-ups, which have collectively raised over $1 billion in co-investment. He serves as a fund representative on the boards of Xona Space Systems and other early-stage category leaders, helping guide the next generation of transformative SpaceTech companies.
Ross Hamilton
Ross Hamilton is Co-Head of the Partners Group London office and Managing Director in the Private Equity business unit. He is an Investment Committee member for Private Equity and Private Markets Royalties investments. He has been with Partners Group since 2014 and has over 20 years industry experience. He is a Board Representative at Phenna Group and Advisory Board member at several Private Equity and Venture Capital firms.
Prior to Partners Group he worked at BGF Investments and Standard Life Investments. He holds a master’s degree from Strathclyde Business School and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
Sandy MacDonald
Sandy MacDonald is Executive Director, Head of Impact at Scottish National Investment Bank, tasked with ensuring they deliver the impact aspect of their missions as a development bank. He has a professional background working within and across sectors to drive positive social and environmental change. Before joining SNIB he was Director of Public Policy and Communications at Scottish Financial Enterprise, the membership body for the financial services industry in Scotland. Before that he was at Standard Life, and Standard Life Aberdeen, including eight years as Global Head of Sustainability, with responsibility for sustainability strategy, ESG reporting, and social, environmental and community impact.
Sandy’s active interest in the environment and tackling inequalities is also reflected in his voluntary and non-Executive career. He is currently a trustee of Turn2Us, the UK financial inclusion charity, and independent Chair of the Nominations Committee for the National Trust for Scotland.
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.
Srikanth Sridhar
Srikanth Sridhar is a AI strategy leader within EY-Parthenon's Analytics & AI practice and sits at the intersection of transactions and corporate AI strategy. Over the last 18 years he has advised large buy-out PE funds and corporates across Software, Professional Services, Consumer & Industrial sectors on buy and sell side as well as value creation led by Digital & AI. Most recently, Srikanth has been anchoring our AI diligence capability helping PE funds assess underlying exposure to AI driven risks as well as enabling a view of the value creation potential leveraging AI across portfolio.
Away from transactions he advices boards and C-suite on Enterprise AI strategy, Functional transformation and AI operating models.
Prior to EY Parthenon, Srikanth co-founded a PE focussed digital advisory firm (acquired in 2021) and is an alumnus of Infosys Consulting and Tata Strategic Management Group (TSMG). Srikanth is an alumni of the London School of Economics.
Stephen Edwards
Stephen Edwards leads Soho Square’s investment activities. Prior to Soho Square, he co-founded the private equity firm Core Capital in 2004 and has over 25 years’ experience in investing in SMEs. Stephen was formerly Managing Director at Beringea Private Equity and a Director of Hg Capital and Grosvenor.
He is a Chartered Accountant and started his career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in London working in Corporate Finance where he spent six years advising on numerous private equity transactions. Stephen has led, managed or arranged over 25 transactions and is a board member of several portfolio companies. He has a BA (Hons) Economics, Durham University, and is an ACA (ICAEW).
Suzi Gillespie
Suzi Gillespie leads the Research Team at UK Private Capital ensuring 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 holds a degree in Economics from the University of Warwick.
The Rt Hon Lucy Rigby KC MP
The Rt Hon Lucy Rigby KC MP is the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister at HM Treasury. Lucy leads the Government's work on financial services policy, regulation and reform.
She has previously served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister, and Solicitor General.
She was elected as the Labour MP for Northampton North in July 2024.
Tom Taylor
Tom Taylor is Head of Policy, Legal & 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.
Veronica Aroutiunian
Veronica Aroutiunian is a Partner in Debevoise & Plimpton Europe, S.à r.l., the managing general partner of Debevoise & Plimpton (Luxembourg) SCS. She is a member of the firm’s Funds/Investment Management and Private Equity Groups.
Ms. Aroutiunian advises clients on the regulatory and corporate aspects of structuring, establishing, operating and marketing Luxembourg regulated and unregulated investment vehicles.
She is an active member and contributor to key industry trade organisations, including the Luxembourg Investment Funds Association (ALFI) and the Luxembourg Private Equity Association (LPEA), where she regularly participates in initiatives focused on marketing, distribution, and the democratization of private assets. Her involvement has included input on key industry publications and thought-leadership projects, such as ALFI’s guidance on marketing and distribution considerations and contributions to industry discussions around ELTIF 2.0.
Ms. Aroutiunian was named by Law.com International as amongst Europe’s best up-and-coming female lawyers in 2024, and again in 2026, describing her as “one of the outstanding women lawyers in Luxembourg's investment funds industry.”
She is also recognized by Chambers Europe (2025) as an Up and Coming Partner, in Legal 500 EMEA (2025) as a Next Generation Partner, and in IFLR1000 (2025) as a Notable Practitioner. Chambers Europe quotes one client as saying Veronica is “highly intelligent, commercial and a pleasure to work with. She is great at solving problems for her clients, super-responsive and laser-focused on meeting her clients’ demands.”
Pensions Investment Summit
Meet the Pensions Investment Summit speakers
Amar Shah
Amar Shah is the Senior Director of Managed AI Services at SS&C, leads strategic client engagements centered on AI governance, security, and operationalization. He guides organizations in integrating AI agents, human expertise, and automation into their processes while ensuring compliance and transparency.
In addition to his AI expertise, he is a seasoned technology and cybersecurity leader, specializing in secure IT operating models for financial services. He advises executive teams on technology strategy, cloud transformation, and risk management, translating complex cyber risks into actionable insights for informed decision-making.
Andy Gregory
Andy Gregory is Chief Executive Officer of BGF and a member of the company’s Board. A founding member of BGF’s management team, Andy became CEO in 2022, having previously served as Chief Investment Officer. Over the past 15 years, Andy has played a central role in building BGF into the UK and Ireland’s most active growth capital investor, with a platform that spans every region and major sector of the economy. Andy brings over 30 years of experience in private equity.
His career has included senior roles at Livingbridge, Bridgepoint and Royal Bank Development Capital. Andy combines financial rigour with a long-standing commitment to supporting ambitious entrepreneurs and growing companies. He is a vocal advocate for diversity in business and currently sits on the Board of the Invest in Women Taskforce as well as NatWest’s Mid Market Council.
Andy is Chair of the BGF Foundation, BGF's independent charitable arm, which supports initiatives that improve the lives of young people across the UK.
Ben Wilkinson
Ben Wilkinson is CEO of Molten Ventures, a FTSE 250 venture capital firm. Appointed in October 2024 after eight years as CFO, Ben brings extensive leadership experience across multiple industries.
As CFO, he shaped corporate strategy, led key initiatives, and oversaw Molten’s transition to the Main Market. He was previously CFO of President Energy PLC and held senior roles in cross-border M&A at ABN Amro/RBS. A Chartered Accountant (FCA) with a BSc in Economics from Royal Holloway, Ben also serves on Molten’s Sustainability Committee and UK Private Capital’s Pensions & Private Capital Expert Panel.
Caroline Escott
Caroline Escott is Co-Head of Sustainable Ownership & Head of Investment Stewardship at Railpen - the in-house manager for the UK railways pension schemes - leading their work globally across £35bn of assets under management.
She is Co-founder and Chair of the $4.5tn Investor Coalition for Equal Votes (ICEV) and the $2.5tn Workforce Engagement Coalition (WEC), Chair and founder of the multi-trillion Governance for Growth Investor Coalition (GGIC) as well as an accredited professional pension trustee at the Standard Life Master Trust, where she is also Chair of its Investment Committee.
She has received various industry awards for her work, including "Investment Woman of the Year ", “Investment Manager of the Year” and “Sustainable Investment Woman of the Year”, and in her spare time is a Board Director of the Social Market Foundation (SMF), a cross-party UK think-tank.
Dame Anne Glover DBE
Dame Anne Glover DBE is Chief Executive & Co-Founder of Amadeus Capital Partners, a leading European technology investor. With over 30 years of experience in venture capital, Anne has backed high-growth companies across the UK, Europe and emerging markets.
She is a Non-Executive Director of the Court of the Bank of England, serves on the Yale Corporation Investment Committee and is an External Investment Committee of BII’s venture capital programme. Anne has held advisory roles to various UK governments on capital markets, inward foreign direct investment and pensions reform. She was awarded a CBE in 2006 for services to business.
Hannah Gurga
Hannah Gurga is Director General of The ABI, where she leads the insurance and long-term savings sector’s engagement with government, regulators, parliamentarians, and stakeholders. She is responsible for overseeing The ABI’s strategic direction and driving its member priorities, focusing on customer outcomes, investing in people and the planet and supporting an effective market.
Hannah also serves on the Boards of TheCityUK and the Fire Protection Association. She is a member of the Executive Committee of Insurance Europe, as well as the UK government’s Financial Inclusion Committee and Joint Fraud Taskforce.
With nearly 20 years of experience in financial services across public and private sectors, Hannah has previously held senior roles at the London Stock Exchange Group, LCH, and ICAP. She began her career in the civil service, serving in a number of government departments including HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office.
Harry Raikes
Harry Raikes is Head of UK Venture Investments in Schroders Capital’s global venture capital team, where he is responsible for investments in the UK. He serves as Portfolio Manager for the Schroders Capital UK Innovation LTAF, a newly established £500 million UK venture capital fund, anchored by the British Business Bank and the Phoenix Group (via Future Growth Capital), as well as the Schroders Capital Global Innovation Trust plc.
Before joining Schroders Capital in 2020, Harry spent five years in the investment team at Woodford Investment Management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Bristol and the Investment Management Certificate.
Ian Connatty
Ian Connatty is the first Managing Partner for BBB Investment Services Limited, leading its regulated investment advisory and fundraising activities. As Managing Partner, Ian serves on the BBB Investment Services Limited Board, contributing to the Partnership’s governance and strategic oversight.
He is also the British Business Bank’s Deputy Chief Investment Officer. He brings with him a wealth of experience in direct, co-investment and venture capital fund investing having worked for British Business Bank and its forerunner organisations since 2009. Ian joined British Patient Capital when it launched in 2018 where he was Managing Director of the Funds business until 2021. After this he was appointed Managing Director, Direct and Co-investment, where he established the £425m Future Fund: Breakthrough programme. He previously worked in corporate finance at technology company Infinity SDC and in financial modelling at the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Joanna Sharples
Joanna Sharples is a Partner in Aon’s Investment Practice and the Chief Investment Officer for Aon’s DC Solutions. She has over 20 years’ experience in the pension and investment industry and is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.
Joanna is responsible for the development and implementation of delegated investment solutions for DC pension schemes, working closely with Aon’s UK delegated team.
John Taylor
John Taylor is head of the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer private equity practice in London. He has worked for investors, corporates and management teams on numerous significant and high-profile transactions, including UK and international buyouts, mergers, acquisitions, disposals, takeovers, joint ventures, minority investments and equity financings.
The focus of John's work is acting for private equity and growth capital funds, investee companies and management teams on investments and disposals. John also brings his investor-side experience to bear in acting for management teams and issuer companies in relation to private equity and growth capital investments. Through quotes collated by the Legal 500 research team, clients have stated ‘John Taylor is a thoughtful, calm and experienced private equity lawyer - I would strongly recommend him.’
John is ranked as a 'notable lawyer' for private in the 2026 IFLR 1000 guide.
Karen Hurst
Karen Hurst is Senior Policy Manager, Pensions & Investment at UK Private Capital, where she leads policy and engagement on pensions.
Prior to joining UK Private Capital she worked at PwC, and the Pensions & Lifetime Savings Association.
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.
Liz Fernando
Liz Fernando is Nest's Chief Investment Officer, helping to develop Nest's investment proposition and manage its strategic allocation across asset classes.
Prior to joining Nest, Liz was Head of Equities at the Universities Superannuation Scheme and had ExCo responsibility for the Responsible Investment activities. Liz started her career as part of the portfolio management team at Lloyds Investment Managers before spending 25 years at USS. She’s also an Investment Advisor to the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme’s Investment Sub-committee.
Liz holds an MA degree in Philosophy Politics and Economics from Oxford University, as well as an ASIP qualification from CFA UK. She has passed CFA’s Investing in ESG Certificate.
Mel Butler
Mel Butler is Senior Pensions Manager, Investment & Stewardship at Surrey Pension Fund, a Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) fund with more than £7.4bn in assets under management, including a significant allocation to private markets. She is responsible for supporting the Fund's investment strategy, stewardship activities and relationships with investment managers and pooling partners.
Mel joined Surrey in 2021 and brings over 35 years of experience spanning investment, accounting and technology across the UK, the United States and Europe. Throughout her career, she has worked with a broad range of institutional investors, gaining a strong understanding of investments, operations, governance and technology.
Prior to joining Surrey Pension Fund, Mel held senior business development roles within the financial services industry, where she led the sale and implementation of enterprise-wide technology platforms for institutional investors globally.
Mel holds a BSc (Hons) in Finance and Accounting from The Ohio State University.
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.
Nigel Peaple
Nigel Peaple, as Director of Policy at LGPS Central Limited, is responsible for all our policy, regulatory and advocacy work both at national and local level. Nigel has 35 years’ experience of public policy, research, stakeholder relations and media management. Prior to joining LGPS Central Limited, Nigel was Director of Policy and Advocacy for 8 years at Pensions UK (previously the PLSA).
Whilst there he created the widely used Retirement Living Standards. His earlier career included being Director of Policy at The Pensions Regulator and being a Policy Fellow at the Department of Work and Pensions. His subject specialisms include pensions, investment and environmental policy. During his career he has appeared as a witness before Parliamentary select committees, represented the UK in the EU, and appeared on national television and radio, including BBC Breakfast and the Radio 4 Today Programme and Money Box.
Ross Morrison
Ross Morrison focuses on the primary portfolio within the UK, Nordic Region, and France. He also covers pan-European managers and the large cap space. He is responsible for venture capital and growth equity in Europe.
Prior to joining Adams Street, he was an Investment Associate with Horsley Bridge, a global private equity fund of funds. Before that, he was in the Private Equity Group at Ernst & Young.
Ross sits on the board of over twenty advisory boards for Adams Street including Index Ventures, Highland Capital, Mosaic, Aleph, TLV, HgCapital, Keensight, Livingbridge, Vitruvian, and TDR.
He is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. He was also named one of venture capital’s 40 Rising Stars under 40 by Venture Capital Journal (VCJ) in January 2020. Winners were selected based on their accomplishments, expertise, and contributions to their firms and the industry.
Ross is a member of Adams Street’s Charitable Giving Committee.
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.
Simon Menashy
Simon Menashy is a General Partner at MMC Ventures, a leading European VC focused on early-stage investments in transformative technology companies. As a research-led investor with one of the largest portfolios of AI companies in Europe, MMC backs founders across enterprise software, cloud and data infrastructure, fintech and digital health. Backed by long-term institutional capital, including UK and European pension funds, MMC's latest deep tech fund focuses on creating value through innovation in these sectors.
Simon joined MMC in 2011. He is a member of the Investment Committee and leads the investment team. He specialises in AI companies within enterprise software, and the cloud and data infrastructure they are built on. Investments include Signal AI, Ably, Masabi, Brightpearl, Senseye, MUBI, Modo Energy and Lookiero.
Stephen Budge
Stephen Budge is a Partner in LCP’s DC team and leads the development of LCP’s DC investment proposition and research alongside client advisory.
Stephen has advised DC pension schemes for 25 years. During his career, he has had the privilege of advising some of the largest sponsored DC pension schemes in the UK.
His work on private markets with several of these schemes received two innovation awards from Professional Pensions in 2018.
Stephen has also advised eight different master trust arrangements during his career, including NEST.
Zoe Alexander
Zoe Alexander joined Pensions UK as Policy Director in November 2024.
Prior joining the association Zoe was Director of Strategy and Corporate Affairs at Nest. Earlier in her career she worked in policy, strategy and operational roles at DWP and HMT, with a focus on pensions.
LP-GP Summit
Meet the LP-GP Summit speakers
Alex Wolf
Alex Wolf joined HarbourVest in 2008 to focus on partnership investments in buyout, growth and venture capital opportunities across Europe and emerging markets, and serves on a number of advisory boards.
He joined the Firm from Deloitte in London, where he was in the strategy consulting group working on both commercial due diligence and corporate strategy engagements.
Alex received a BA (with first class honors) from the University of Bristol in 2005.
Amelia Armour
Amelia Armour joined Amadeus Capital Partners in 2009 and is a Partner in the Early Stage Fund. Her current investment focus is on AI, Photonics, and Novel Materials.
She is a Director on several boards including Xampla, who have developed novel plant-based materials to replace single-use plastics; iPronics who are building lossless optical switches for AI networking at the speed of light ; Riverlane a developer of the operating system for error corrected quantum computers; sprout.ai a provider of fast and accurate insurance claims automation and SLAMcore, a spin-out from Imperial College, developing spatial intelligence for autonomous robotics and drones.
Amelia is also an active board observer at Paragraf, the first company to mass produce graphene-based electronic devices.
Prior to Amadeus, she worked at Barclays Investment Bank as a manager in the structured capital markets team with responsibility for running a portfolio of multi-jurisdiction transactions. Amelia has also worked in structured finance at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. She qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte in London in the corporate tax department.
Amelia joined the UK Government’s Semiconductor Advisory Panel in August 2023, established to deliver the National Semiconductor Strategy. She is a mentor on the Judge Business School’s Accelerate Programme and holds a BSc in Chemistry and Biology from Durham University.
Anita Rana
Anita Rana is a Principal in the Portfolio Management Group, based in the firm’s London office, where she focuses on private markets portfolio management and research efforts in EMEA.
Prior to joining Hamilton Lane, Anita spent nearly 10 years at BlackRock where she specialised in multi-asset private markets portfolio management (across closed-end and evergreen), portfolio construction, research, and analytics.
Anita received a Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is also a CAIA charterholder.
Anita is a Principal in the Portfolio Management Group, based in the firm’s London office, where she focuses on private markets portfolio management and research efforts in EMEA.
Camilla Richards
Camilla Richards is Partner and Head of Investor Relations at Atomico, based in London. She oversees fundraising and the firm’s relationships with its investors globally. Camilla is passionate about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and is actively involved in furthering DEI across the alternatives industry as Chair of Atomico's DEI Task Force.
Dasha Nechayevska
Dasha Nechayevska is a Managing Director at CPP Investments, one of the world's leading institutional investors, where she leads private equity fund and co-investment investments across North America and Europe. With nearly 20 years of experience in private equity, she is a member of CPP Investments' Funds, Co-investments & Secondaries as well as Direct Private Equity Investment Committees and serves on the advisory boards of several leading private equity firms.
Based in London, Dasha is the incoming Chair of the UK Private Capital LP Forum, helping to foster engagement and collaboration across the institutional investor and private capital community. She joined CPP Investments in 2008 after roles at TD Bank and Siemens AG and holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance (Hons) from Ryerson University.
Isobel Clarke
Isobel Clarke 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.
Jamie Villiers
Jamie Villiers is a seasoned leader serving as Senior Director and Head of International Private Markets Business Development at SS&C. With an illustrious career spanning over 25 years in the Financial Services industry, Jamie brings extensive expertise and leadership acumen to his role.
Joining SS&C in August 2020, Jamie has cultivated a distinguished career trajectory, holding key positions at reputable institutions such as Pershing, Northern Trust, HSBC, and BNY Mellon in both the UK and the US, accumulating six years of valuable experience across various leadership roles. Most recently, Jamie served as the Head of Business Development in EMEA at SANNE (now Apex), where he played a pivotal role in driving strategic growth initiatives.
With a deep understanding of market dynamics and a proven track record of fostering client relationships, Jamie is renowned for his ability to navigate complex landscapes and deliver innovative solutions. His commitment to excellence and passion for driving business growth make him a trusted leader in the financial services realm.
Jennifer Choi
Jennifer Choi is CEO of the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA), a global membership organization dedicated to advancing the interests of Limited Partners through advocacy, education, research and industry engagement.
Prior to becoming CEO, Jen served eight years as ILPA’s Managing Director of Industry Affairs. During that time, she launched ILPA’s global advocacy platform to ensure that the LP perspective was being fully considered in global regulation and policymaking.
With a focus on robust LP-GP dialogue around emerging issues, Jen led the creation and adoption of best practices such as the ILPA Reporting Template, the ILPA Principles and ILPA’s guidance on subscription lines of credit and GP-led secondaries. In 2020, Jen founded the Diversity in Action initiative, a community of practice that has grown to more than 300 LP and GP signatories with the shared goal of taking concrete action to advance DEI in the private markets.
Before joining ILPA, Jen served as Vice President of Industry and External Affairs for the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA), now known as the Global Private Capital Association (GPCA), where she led the association’s research programs and industry engagement activities. Previously, Jennifer was a consultant with Boston-based Stax Inc., providing due diligence and advisory services for leading private equity and venture capital firms.
Jennifer holds a Masters in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a B.A. summa cum laude in Economics and Political Science from Augustana College.
Joshua Lowe
Joshua Lowe is Head of Data Science at Coller EQT, where he leads the development and adoption of data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence across the investment process. He has been with Coller EQT for six years, working with deal teams to improve the speed, scale, and consistency of analysis, from initial screening through to company-level underwriting. His work focuses on using proprietary data and empirically validated models to support the underwriting of secondaries investments.
Before joining Coller EQT, Joshua applied machine learning within the energy and commodities industry. He studied at Imperial College London and is particularly interested in how data and AI can strengthen investment judgement and support more disciplined underwriting.
Kristina Branum-Burns
Kristina Branum-Burns is Head of Private Markets Strategy at USS Investment Management, one of the UK's largest pension funds (£78bn). Since joining USS in 2015, she has been responsible for shaping private markets investment strategy, including strategic asset allocation, portfolio management, capital deployment and thematic development across the private markets portfolio.
Kristina chairs the Private Markets Allocation Committee (PMAC) and is a member of the USS Asset Allocation Committee, helping guide investment decisions and portfolio construction across the Fund. Kristina also serves on the UK Private Capital LP Forum, contributing to industry dialogue and policy engagement on behalf of long-term institutional investors.
Before joining USS, Kristina held investment and strategy positions at Old Mutual, Barclays Investment Bank and KKR Prisma. She holds an MSc in Finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Luke Mason
Luke Mason, Principal, joined Neuberger's Private Markets team in 2023 as part of the Private Markets Investment Solutions team, with a particular focus on supporting a range of clients, growing and developing the firm's evergreen product range, and the day-to-day management of Neuberger Private Equity Partners, a London listed investment company.
Prior to joining the firm, he was Head of IR and Business Development for the closed end fund business at abrdn, focusing on UK institutional and wealth clients. He began his career at J.P. Morgan Cazenove in the UK Funds team, and then at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Before that, Luke served for five years as an Infantry Officer in the British Army.
Mark Hogg
Mark Hogg is an experienced and successful international businessman and entrepreneur with over 25 years’ experience of doing business in Africa. Mark has a wealth of experience in numerous sectors including plantation development and management, media, television production, business services and marketing.
To date Mark has developed and managed several thousand acres of hardwood plantations in Africa.
Matt Yates
Matt Yates (London) joined KKR in 2021 and is a Director on the Global Client Solutions Product Strategy team. He is the Head of EMEA Product Development and also responsible for ongoing product management of KKR’s Evergreen Private Equity vehicles, K-PRIME and K-PEC. Previously, Mr. Yates worked at HSBC Alternative Investments Ltd., Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and Bank of New York Mellon. He graduated from the University of Newcastle with a BA (Hons) in Economics.
Michael Joyce
Michael Joyce leads direct investing at Isomer Capital. Prior to Isomer, Michael was an Investment Director at Cambridge Associates (CA) in London, where he worked with sovereign wealth fund, pension, and family office clients on asset allocation and strategic investment initiatives.
Earlier, he spent time in CA’s Silicon Valley office researching and conducting due diligence on VC and other private fund strategies globally. Earlier at Fidelity Investments, Michael led emerging technology research and analysed relevant startups to help the firm’s CTOs identify and adopt disruptive technology.
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.
Navina Rajan
Navina Rajan is a Senior Research Analyst at PitchBook, covering venture and private capital in EMEA. Prior to PitchBook, she was a lead equity research analyst at Morgan Stanley where she covered single stock and thematic research over Chemicals, Internet, and Food Retail sectors.
Rajan received a first-class bachelor’s degree in economics from Warwick University. She is based in PitchBook’s London office.
Nilam Statham
Nilam Statham is Head of Primary Product at London Stock Exchange (LSE), where she is responsible for the development and evolution of LSE’s products and services that support companies accessing capital markets. With extensive experience across primary markets, regulation, and market infrastructure, Nilam works closely with government, regulators and market participants to drive innovation and strengthen the UK's capital markets ecosystem.
With a background as a corporate legal partner advising both private and public companies, and previously as LSE’s Co-Head of Market Regulation responsible for the operation and development of LSE’s markets and most recently working closely with regulators and government in the design of PISCES framework, Nilam brings deep expertise in public and private markets. She plays a key role in shaping initiatives that enhance access to capital, support innovation, and strengthen the UK's capital markets ecosystem.
Philip Waller
Philip Waller is responsible for the distribution efforts for JP Morgan’s Global Alternatives Investment Solutions business internationally. This involves working with clients to provide insights and access into all of J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s +$600bn alternatives business, including both direct and third-party investments.
Philip joined J.P. Morgan over ten years ago and has served in several private markets roles, including most recently as a multi-alternatives portfolio manager where he focused on building diversified private markets portfolio, on both an advisory and discretionary basis, for a range of European clients. Philip is a CFA charter holder and obtained a B.Sc. from Loughborough University in Banking, Finance and Management.
Will Gow
Will Gow joined LSEG two years ago to build a private funds business within the Digital Securities Market to extend the funding continuum into private markets. 25+ years in senior sales and trading roles across prime brokerage and markets financing businesses at Societe Generale, Barclays, Merrill Lynch and eSecLending.
Led institutional market expansion and client acquisition across EMEA for eSecLending’s proprietary auction-based securities lending platform areas of expertise include business development, client origination and strategy, liquidity management and risk weighted asset (RWA) inventory optimisation.