UK Private Capital & Level 20 Diversity in UK Private Equity and Venture Capital 2025 Report: Launch Webinar
An integral part of UK Private Capital (formerly the BVCA) & Level 20’s missions is to promote diversity within our industry and support firms to build inclusive environments in which everyone can thrive.
This webinar shares the key findings of the latest survey conducted by the BVCA and Level 20 which looks at the diversity of GP teams in relation to gender and ethnicity by seniority and function. The panel reflect on the findings, share their experiences and give examples of best practice for how the private equity and venture capital industry can help attract and retain people of all backgrounds.
Suzi Gillespie, BVCA Head of Research, and Rebecca Gibson, Level 20 Chair and Partner at Oakley Capital, are joined by industry representatives Matthew Sabben-Clare, BVCA Chair 2024-25 and Senior Advisor at Cinven, and Rodney Appiah, Managing Partner at Cornerstone VC, to discuss the findings and implications for the industry.
Speakers
Rodney Appiah
Rodney Appiah is the Managing Partner of Cornerstone VC, an early stage fund focused on a ‘people first’ investment approach. Investing at pre-seed and seed, Cornerstone VC is focused on UK tech companies led by diverse teams building in the areas of Health & Sustainability, Future of Work and Social. Prior to founding Cornerstone VC, Rodney held roles at BGF, Foresight Group and Merrill Lynch and has more than 15 years of financial services, TMT and Consumer experience across UK and Europe. An experienced board director, Rodney serves as an NED for the UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA), the largest UK trade body for angel and early stage investing and Conduit Connect, a direct investment platform that focuses on connecting global high impact businesses with mission aligned investors. Additionally, he is a committee member of Innovate UK (Innovation Loans).
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.
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.
Matthew Sabben-Clare
Matthew is a Senior Advisor to Cinven.
He was Cinven’s Chief Administrative Officer from 2017-2023 and Head of its Capital Markets team from 2005-2017.
Before that, Matthew worked at Merrill Lynch in Leveraged Finance, and in the Financing & Structured Products Division at J. Henry Schroder & Co.
He graduated from Cambridge University and is AMCT-qualified.
