Summit 2026

Adam Shepherd

Investment Partner, TempoCap

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.

Alex Mathers

Partner, Inflexion

Alex Mathers is a Partner in the Value Acceleration team, with a particular focus on Digital, helping our portfolio businesses and investment teams across technology, product development, digital marketing, and data analytics / data science. He also co-ordinates the work of our broader value acceleration team ensuring we bring our full capabilities to the support of our portfolio companies. Since joining Inflexion in 2018 he has worked with a wide variety of Inflexion investments including Alcumus, CMSPI, Lintbells, Marley, Medik8, Medivet, Scott Dunn and Rosemont.

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. More recently he was an Associate Partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants in London, focused on technology, digital media and ecommerce.

Amo Anim-Addo

Private Equity Coverage Partner, Grant Thornton

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, Amohas 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

Political broadcaster & author

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

Director, Industry Development, UK Private Capital

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.

LinkedIn:

https://linkedin.com/in/amy-abbott-8295964/

Andrew Dowler

Senior Managing Director & Head of Government Relations in Europe, Blackstone

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.

Anita Rana

Principal, Portfolio Management Group, Hamilton Lane

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.
 

Aubain Noel

Director, Portfolio Risk, Hayfin

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

Co-Founder, Gilion

Axel Bruzelius is the 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.

Blair Jacobson

Co-President, Ares Management

Blair Jacobson is a Partner and Co-President of European Credit in the Ares Credit Group and serves on the Ares Executive Management Committee and the Ares Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council. He also serves on the boards of Ares Management Limited and Ares Management UK Limited.

Additionally, Mr. Jacobson serves on the Ares Credit Group's European Direct Lending and European Liquid Credit Investment Committees, the Ares Secondaries Group's Credit Investment Committee and the Ares Sports, Media and Entertainment Investment Committee. Prior to joining Ares in 2012, Mr. Jacobson was a Partner at The StepStone Group, where he focused on building and running European operations, including oversight of private debt and equity investments.

Previously, Mr. Jacobson was a Partner at Citigroup Private Equity and Mezzanine Partners in London and New York. In addition, he has held a variety of roles in investment banking and mergers and acquisitions in a broad range of industries, including at Lehman Brothers. Mr. Jacobson holds a B.A., magna cum laude, from Williams College in Political Economy and an M.B.A., with honors, from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in Finance.

Catherine Haumesser Balthasar

Managing Director, ARMEN

Catherine Haumesser Balthasar 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.
 

Chris Elphick

Head of Venture Capital, UK Private Capital

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 Kay

Partner, FPE Capital

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.

Dan Neale

Responsible Investment Social Lead, Church Commissioners

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

Dana Haimoff

UK Private Capital Vice Chair 2026-27 and Managing Director & Portfolio Manager, JP Morgan Asset Management

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.

Currently, Dana serves on numerous private equity fund and direct co-investment advisory committees. Prior to joining the Group, she spent six years with Merrill Lynch working with alternative asset funds and initiating, developing and servicing new and existing client accounts. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Dana worked at Prudential Securities in the Corporate Finance Group’s private equity practice and at Ernst & Young as an International Tax Consultant. She earned a BS from Skidmore College and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Dana is the co-Founder of Level 20, a not-for-profit organization set up to encourage women to succeed in the private equity industry. She is the Vice Chair and member of the UK Private Capital's Council. Dana is a director on the board of JP Morgan Asset Management International Ltd and JP Morgan Asset Management (UK) Ltd and is responsible for the firm’s SMCR’s EMEA Alternatives.
 

Dasha Nechayevska

Managing Director , CPPIB

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.

David Clark

CIO, VenCap International

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 Ordonez

Deeptech Partner, NATO Investment Fund

David Ordonez is a senior associate in the investment team looking at direct deals through the lens of science, technology, and R&D. He is particularly keen on artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, space, and hypersonic technologies. David is based in London, from where he also pays a closer attention to the Baltics and South European ecosystems, particularly in Spain, Greece, Lithuania, and Latvia.

Prior to joining the NIF, David was in the field of Formula 1 engineering, where he has held various operational roles – from developing and integrating new technology into wind tunnel systems to designing a race-winning car. During his longest stint at Alpine, he worked on bringing data insights to optimize the car’s performance and worked with the fastest drivers in the world to come out on top during race weekends. His curiosity for technology and other industries has led him to the startup and venture world, where he has helped startups evaluate their technology and the market, as well as scouting early-stage companies in the UK.

David holds a BSc and MSc in Aerospace Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and TU Delft, as well as an MBA from the Quantic School of Business and Technology. In his free time, David enjoys travelling and outdoor sports. Although he is retired from his snowboarding competition days, he takes the chance to return to the slopes whenever he can. And when there is no snow, he chases waves on his surfboard.

Edmund Phillips

Senior Investment Partner, NSSIF

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.
 

Evgenia Plotnikova

General Partner, Dawn Capital

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.

Gary Tipper

Managing Partner, Palatine

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.

Hamza Azeem

Managing Director, Hamilton Lane

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.

Henry Philipson

Director of Marketing & Communications, Beringea

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

Mayor London Business and Growth

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

Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Bullhound Capital

Hugh Campbell is a co-founder and Managing Partner of GP Bullhound. 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.
 

Ian McCaw

Managing Director, Aon

Ian McCaw, a former software engineer who graduated from Napier University in Scotland, Ian has gone onto build multiple technology ventures internationally in Silicon Valley, New York and London over the last 20 years. Both working with entrepreneurs and as an entrepreneur himself.

Ian is a pioneer of tackling Cyber risks across the transaction lifecycle and built one of the first specialist European practices for a well-known advisory firm. Ian now leads Aon’s Digital M&A practice that specialises in Cyber Security, Intellectual Property and Technology in M&A deals and across the investment lifecycle.

He continues to be active in the European tech start-up scene, including being co-founder & chairman of a FinTech venture. 
 

Imogen Richards

Partner & Head of European Primaries, Pantheon

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

Director of Policy, UK Private Capital

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

Partner, Mourant

James Cousins Partner is our Guernsey Corporate practice, specialising in investment funds.

James 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

Senior Director, SS&C

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

Senior Account Executive, SS&C

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

Head of Public Affairs, UK Private Capital

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.

Karim Palant

Director of External Affairs, UK Private Capital

Karim Palant is Director of External Affairs at UK Private Capital, where he leads the Public Affairs, Communications and Research functions.

Karim and his colleagues tell the story of private capital through high-impact engagement with policymakers, stakeholders and the media.

Karim also oversees UK Private Capital’s agenda-setting research programme, which includes the Performance Measurement Survey - the largest primary research survey of its kind in the UK, and the annual Report on Investment Activity. 

He has two decades of experience in tech and economic policy. From 2015, he led public policy and economic impact work at major tech firms -  at LinkedIn and previously Facebook. Earlier in his career, he served as Head of Policy to the Shadow Chancellor. 

Karim studied PPE at the University of Oxford, following his education at Calderstones Comprehensive School in Liverpool.

Katie Ramsey

Head of the Global Venture Capital Unit, Office for Investment

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

Head of Industry Development, Membership, UK Private Capital

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.

Leon de Bono

Managing Director, Industry Development, UK Private Capital

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

Partner, Investor Relations, Endless

Since joining Endless in 2008, Lucia has gained a wide range of experience across both transactions and portfolio. She now brings that experience 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.

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.

Martin Senk

Senior Research Manager, UK Private Capital

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

EY UK&I Macro and Geostrategy Leader and Former Downing Street Advisor, EY

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.

Michael Moore

Chief Executive, UK Private Capital

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

Head of Corporate Affairs, Cambridge Innovation Capital

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

Director, EMEA Private Capital Research, PitchBook

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

Executive Director for Financial Stability Strategy and Risk, Bank of England

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

Senior Analyst, EMEA Private Capital, PitchBook

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

Partner, Hg

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

Partner, Amadeus Capital Partners

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

Partner, Bain Capital

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

Chief Executive, FCA

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.

Patricia Volhard

Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton

Patricia Volhard is head of the firm’s European Funds Regulatory practice. She is based in the Paris and Frankfurt offices, and also spends substantial time in the London office.

She is a member of the firm’s Corporate Department, and Private Equity and Funds/Investment Management Groups. She is also a member of the firm’s core group of ESG partners. Her practice focuses on advising private funds and fund managers on structuring and setting up funds for a European investor base, as well as advising on European financial regulatory aspects for fund managers and corporates, including on SFDR, CSRD, CSDDD and other ESG-related regulation.

Ms.Volhard is one of Europe’s leading private funds regulatory lawyers and has played a prominent role in the ongoing development of the area. She is Chair of Invest Europe’s Financial Services/Regulatory Working Group, a member of its SFDR working group, and former Chair of its Tax, Legal & Regulatory Committee.

She is also a member of the Investment Management Consultative Working Group of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). In Germany, she is a member of the Board of the BVK, and heads its Legal Committee. In the UK, she is a member of the regulatory committee of the BVCA.
 

Peter Barkley

Partner, WestBridge

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

Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of Senior Debt Partners strategy, ICG

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.
 

Professor Sir Ian Chapman

CEO, UK Research & Innovation

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.

Rebecca Ajulu-Bushell

Chief Executive Officer, The 10,000 Interns Foundation

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

Partner, Oakley Capital

Rebecca Gibson joined Oakley in 2014 as a partner and has over 22 years of investment experience. Her responsibilities include managing the Investment Team, as well as leading the Investor Relations Team. Prior to joining Oakley, Rebecca was a partner at Cinven where she worked for 12 years.

Before that, Rebecca spent five years working as a strategy consultant at Bain & Company. Rebecca is also chair of level 20, a nonprofit organisation which aims to improving gender diversity in the private equity industry.Rebecca holds a BA (Hons) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University.

Richard Swann

UK Private Capital Chair 2026-27 and Partner, Inflexion

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

General Partner & Chair of the Seraphim Space Accelerator, Seraphim Space

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 over 115 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. 

Rosie Bennett

Executive Director, SETSquared

Rosie Bennett is the Executive Director for SETsquared, an enterprise partnership of six universities (Bristol, Bath, Southampton, Cardiff, Exeter and Surrey) on a shared mission to turn world class research into world leading companies. She is an accomplished, pro-active entrepreneurial leader with a strong track record in innovation strategy, venture creation and scaling business operations.  Previous roles include; start-up founder x 2, COO, business incubator lead and VC associate.

Rosie has a professional foundation in emerging technology having held senior positions in R&D at Liberty Global (UPC) and the BBC. She is passionate about fostering collaboration and championing technology innovation ecosystems, and is involved on a number of advisory boards as well as being a Non-Executive Director for EarSwitch Technologies.

Ross Hamilton

Managing Director, Private Equity Partnership Investments, Partners Group

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

Executive Director, Head of Impact, Scottish National Investment Bank

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

Director of Policy, UK Private Capital

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

Director at EY Parthenon, EY

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

Co-Founder, Soho Square

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

Head of Research, UK Private Capital

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.

Veronica Aroutiunian

Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton

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.”