Robert Hough is Chairman of the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA). The NWDA is one of nine Regional Development Agencies established by the Government to develop the English regions. Robert Hough was previously Deputy Chairman of Peel Holdings and an Executive Director for over 13 years. He is also Non-Executive Director of a number of other companies, including Provident Financial plc and Styles & Wood Group PLC. He is a member of the Steering Group of the Northern Way, a member of the Learning and Skills National Council and also a board member of the University of Manchester and of Northwest Business Link. He was previously Chairman of the urban regeneration company New East Manchester Limited, a member of the North West Regional Assembly Executive Board, and Chairman of the North West Business Leadership Team.
Anthony Clarke, Chief Executive, Angel Capital Group; Managing Director, London Business Angels; President Emeritus, European Business Angels Network (EBAN); co-Chair, World Business Angels Association (WBAA). Anthony qualified as a Chartered Secretary in 1977 and a Chartered Accountant in 1980 whilst with Deloitte Haskins & Sells (now PWC). Thereafter, he worked on a full time basis as a Finance Director and Chief Executive of a number of SME companies and since 1995 he has been a Business Angel Investor/Non Executive Director of many start up/early stage businesses. Anthony was a Main Board Director of GLE Group and Managing Director of its early stage fund management arm GLE Growth Capital from 2002-2009. During this time he set up with Government the UK’s first angel co investment fund in 2002 being London Seed Capital. His latest venture is Angel Capital Group which includes fund management activities as well as London Business Angels, which is the UK’s oldest Network having been established in 1982. Anthony is a co founder and Advisory Board Member of the UK’s first Enterprise Capital Fund being the £30m Seraphim Capital Fund. He is a member of the BVCA’s Venture Capital Committee, is President Emeritus of the European Business Angels Network (EBAN), and co founder and co Chair of the World Business Angels Association (WBAA).
Matthew Mead is a partner in 3i's venture team with more than 10 years of active investment experience specialising in software and software services investments across Europe. He is also a member of 3i's Software investment committee. Key deals that Matt has led include Vistorm, the specialists in the security and infrastructure services that enable organisations to deliver IT solutions that meet these constantly evolving user needs; Nimbus Partners, the process and performance management company; Aim Technology, a market leader in enterprise performance management and analytic applications for strategic business decisions; and Datanomic, Europe’s fastest-growing data quality company. Matt also represents 3i on the board of these innovative businesses. He has a degree in Economics and is also a qualified Chartered Accountant.
Simon Walker- Between 2003 and 2007 Simon worked at Reuters as Director of Corporate Communications, subsequently becoming Director of Corporate Communications and Marketing. Before joining Reuters, he was Communications Secretary to HM The Queen at Buckingham Palace. He was previously Director of Corporate Affairs at British Airways and a non-executive director of Comair Ltd (South Africa). From 1996-1997 Simon was a special adviser in the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit at 10 Downing Street. Simon was also a partner at Brunswick, the public relations group, and Director of European Public Affairs for Hill & Knowlton in Brussels. He was a member of the Better Regulation Commission and is a Trustee of the New Zealand-UK Link Foundation, and the Hillary Summit. Simon was born in South Africa, and has worked as a journalist and consultant in New Zealand, Belgium and the UK. He read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was President of the Oxford Union. He was a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University. He is married with two children.
John Ashcroft is chief executive of pro-manchester, an organisation which represents the financial and professional sector in the Manchester City Region. It is the biggest professional advisory group in the North West of England representing the largest financial and professional community outside of London. pro∙manchester has more than 270 member firms, including heavyweight international corporate and financial brands. John was one of the leading entrepreneurial figures of the 1980s as the former chairman of Coloroll and was once described as “one of Thatcher’s favourite businessmen”. John graduated from the London School of Economics and completed a PhD in economics at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), He is a visiting professor at MMU Business School specialising in business, economic and financial modelling.
Dr. Gordon Murray holds a Chair of Management (Entrepreneurship) at the University of Exeter Business School. He is a senior adviser on policy related issues concerning the financing and growth of high potential young firms to the UK government’s Enterprise Directorate and is a member of the Department of Business Innovation and Skills’ Expert Group on Access to Finance. He also advised the European Commission (2000-2006) on the financing of high growth young firms and was a founder member of the Professional Chamber of the Enterprise Policy Group as well as having served on the Risk Capital and Gazelle Expert Groups. In 2008 he was appointed to the newly formed Research Advisory Board of the British Venture Capital Association. He recently co-authored a formal evaluation of the Finnish National Innovation Strategy 2008 and provided analysis for a 2009 review of ‘hybrid’ (public and privately joint financed) VC funds for the UK’s National Audit Office. Since 2005 he has run an annual EXPRESS policy seminar involving senior entrepreneurship and innovation policy makers from some sixteen developed economies meeting leading research academics to debate the role of current research knowledge in informing key contemporary policy measures. In Autumn 2009 was a member of the UK government’s four person Rowlands Growth Capital Review panel looking at growth finance for British small and medium enterprises. In Summer 2010, he will be involved in a review of venture capital policy for the Chinese government in a project involving Tsinghua University Beijing and managed by the World Bank and the Ministry of Finance.
Andrew Burton, Chair, Yorkshire Association of Business Angels, has dealt with early-stage, technology companies for most of his working life. After graduating from the University of Leeds, as a 24-year old engineer he set up his first company with a business partner designing and manufacturing industrial and automotive electronics, which they took to market leadership and exited via a trade sale after nine years. In 2002, he set up what was then Inkopo Limited and in 2004 set up and managed one of DBIS’s Early Growth Funds. Under Andrew’s guidance, Viking Fund made over 70 investments into 27 early-stage technology companies in the Yorkshire and Humber region. One company is now AIM-listed, three have raised significant capital from external VC funds, 13 are trading, seven are in development phase and one was sold to its founders. Alongside Viking Fund, Andrew helped create Viking Club, a syndicate of 25 High Net Worth Investors in Yorkshire, who collectively co-invested £4.0m to match the Fund. He has been closely associated with the Yorkshire Association of Business Angels (YABA), having been Secretary for nine years and recently elected Chairman. He also sits on the board of Yorkshire Concept, a “proof-of-commercial-concept” fund for Yorkshire-based Universities. Inkopo, which recently changed its name to Viking Fund Managers, is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Perth-based, AIM-listed Braveheart Investment Group plc, following its acquisition in June 2009.
Gaynor Dykes, Manager of the Access to Finance Service at Business Link Northwest. After working in the banking industry for 18 years, Gaynor has spent 9 years working in business support and heads the Access to Finance team at Business Link Northwest. As well as being the primary source of information about publicly-funded finance products, the Access to Finance service supports Small and Medium size enterprises across the Northwest to become investment ready and enhance their appeal to lenders and investors.
Adam Workman is Investment Partner at CT Investment Partners LLP, the fund advisor to Carbon Trust Investments. Carbon Trust Investments is one of the leading investors in UK clean energy businesses. Our business incubators and links to world class R&D ensure a strong deal flow. We invest on strictly commercial terms and have co-invested in 25 businesses to date. These companies between them have raised a total investment of £150 million, two of which have resulted in a successful IPO. Adam is also the Partner responsible for managing the newly created North West Energy and Environment fund. He has over ten years experience in the energy and venture capital sector. His investments include CamSemi, Whitfield Solar, Marine Current Turbines and Intamac. Recently he co-authored the Carbon Trust’s report into investment trends the European Clean Energy Sector with New Energy Finance. Adam also sits on the European advisory panel for the Cleantech Group. He formerly worked with 3i and Shell Exploration. He has an MA in Natural Sciences and a Postgraduate diploma in Computer Science from Cambridge University.
Mark Hawkes was an investment analyst for almost two decades and best known as the former Head of Media Research at Charterhouse Securities, where he was also a Director and Deputy Head of Research. Unusually amongst City analysts, over the years he covered a number of different sectors. He combines strong analytical and marketing skills, placing in the top ten in Extel/Reuters industry rankings in every sector he followed, ranging from Insurance, through Paper, Packaging & Printing, to Media itself. More recently, Mark has been an active Angel investor with interests in several early stage ventures. As such, Mark has significant experience in advising and dealing with senior executives at companies ranging from start-ups to FTSE 100 constituents. Mark recently formed his own company, Stragenda (Stragenda.com), which acts as a corporate mentor/sounding board. Stragenda helps businesses in a number of areas, from core strategy, through the explanation of financial jargon, to the formulation of investor releases and presentation rehearsal. It also offers analyst training/mentoring. Brian is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser with over 25 years experience of advising leading entrepreneurs. He is a Tax Partner with Deloitte, and although based in Manchester, he represents entrepreneurs across the whole of the UK and outside of the UK. He is well known for his creativity, negotiation skills and ability to solve complex technical issues. He won first place in the country in all his professional exams. He is Chairman of Medequip4kids and numerous other local charitable organisations. The tax world today for high net worth individuals contains many unknown traps for the unwary: so forewarned is forearmed!