Best Startup
At Best Startup UK we track over 130,000 UK startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United Kingdom based Associate operating in the Finance space. If you think a Associate is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.co.uk.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Companies House UK, Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Sarah Shanfield
Associate of Felix Capital
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About Felix Capital: Felix Capital is a venture fund that focuses on digital commerce, digital media, and information technology companies.
Rukshan Mehra
TMT Investment Banking Summer Associate of Goldman Sachs
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About Goldman Sachs: Goldman Sachs is a multinational financial services firm providing securities, investment banking, and management services.
Ziv Reichert
Associate of LocalGlobe
Ziv Reichert is an Associate at LocalGlobe.
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About LocalGlobe: LocalGlobe is a venture capital firm that focuses on seed and impact investments.
Archie Cochrane
Associate of Anthemis Group
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About Anthemis Group: Anthemis Group is a global platform that cultivates change in the financial system by investing in, growing, and sustaining businesses.
Alex Steiner
Associate of Anthemis Group
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About Anthemis Group: Anthemis Group is a global platform that cultivates change in the financial system by investing in, growing, and sustaining businesses.
Alexander Mayall
Associate of Anthemis Group
Alex Mayall is a member of Anthemis’ Advisory team, where he identifies and evaluates emerging technologies that will have impact on financial services. He also provides his technical know-how to the team’s venture design efforts. Before joining Anthemis, Alex worked for two years at Exceedra Software Ltd in an infrastructural role, performing information security accreditation, cloud and database administration and database software development. Alex has a Bachelors in Physics from St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, and a Masters in Cybernetics from the University of Reading with a focus on terahertz technology. He’s a keen futurist and has produced a wide variety of content on the subject. In his spare time, you can find Alex listening to podcasts or watching sci-fi movies.
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About Anthemis Group: Anthemis Group is a global platform that cultivates change in the financial system by investing in, growing, and sustaining businesses.
Stanimir Vasilev
Associate of Anthemis Group
Stanimir is an Infrastructure Analyst at Anthemis and monitors day-to-day information technology processes for the company. He is responsible for developing, testing and implementing new software systems across different business lines. Stanimir previously worked at Kelway, an IT services and solutions provider. He worked closely with luxury brand LVMH to provide dedicated user and desktop support for projects spanning across mainland Europe. Stanimir was born and raised in Bulgaria, where he received his Bachelors from the University of Food and Technology. Outside of work, you can find Stanimir tucked away in a good book or playing sports with friends.
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About Anthemis Group: Anthemis Group is a global platform that cultivates change in the financial system by investing in, growing, and sustaining businesses.
Katrina Cruz
Associate of Anthemis Group
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About Anthemis Group: Anthemis Group is a global platform that cultivates change in the financial system by investing in, growing, and sustaining businesses.
Gabby Wright
Associate of Anthemis Group
Gabby is an Associate, working across ecosystem development and marketing at Anthemis. Prior to joining the firm, Gabby worked on various personal projects within childcare, during which time, she opened her own child care provision. Previously to that, she worked as a product analyst for Barclays Stockbrokers. Gabby has a Bachelors in Business Administration with Child Development from the University of Greenwich. Outside of work, Gabby has a passion for Irish Dancing. She has competed internationally and starred in Lord of the Dance. She also enjoys travel, Pilates and spending time with her young family.
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About Anthemis Group: Anthemis Group is a global platform that cultivates change in the financial system by investing in, growing, and sustaining businesses.
Luís Torres
Associate of Anthemis Group
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About Anthemis Group: Anthemis Group is a global platform that cultivates change in the financial system by investing in, growing, and sustaining businesses.
Gabby Wright
Associate of Anthemis Group
Gabby is an Associate, working across ecosystem development and marketing at Anthemis. Prior to joining the firm, Gabby worked on various personal projects within childcare, during which time, she opened her own child care provision. Previously to that, she worked as a product analyst for Barclays Stockbrokers. Gabby has a Bachelors in Business Administration with Child Development from the University of Greenwich. Outside of work, Gabby has a passion for Irish Dancing. She has competed internationally and starred in Lord of the Dance. She also enjoys travel, Pilates and spending time with her young family.
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About Anthemis Group: Anthemis Group is a global platform that cultivates change in the financial system by investing in, growing, and sustaining businesses.
Imogen Mulliner
Associate of Sapphire
Imogen Mulliner is an Associate at Sapphire Ventures.
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About Sapphire: Sapphire is a venture capital firm that partners with visionary teams and venture funds to build companies.
Shaun Dunlop
Investment Associate of Summit Partners
https://about.me/shaundunlop
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About Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Robert L. Fee
Associate of Summit Partners
Founder at NewCo.
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About NewCo, Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Chris Bon
Senior Associate of Summit Partners
Chris focuses primarily on the growth products and services sector in Europe. He is a dual French and British citizen, and is bilingual in French and English. His investment experience includes Normec, OnRobot and Sipartech. Prior to Summit, Chris worked in M&A advisory at J.P. Morgan in London. He holds a BCom in economics, with high honors, from the University of Toronto and an MSc in finance, with distinction, from HEC Paris.
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About Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Jono Pagden
Senior Associate of Summit Partners
Jono focuses primarily on the healthcare and life sciences sector in Europe. He is a dual British and South African national. His investment experience includes Advance Medical (acquired by Teladoc) and zahneins. Prior to Summit, Jono worked on the Retail/Healthcare and U.K. M&A teams at Goldman Sachs. Jono holds a Bachelor of Business Science, with honors, in accounting and finance from the University of Cape Town.
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About Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Lina Wenner
Associate Partner of Firstminute Capital
Lina joined firstminute from the Boston Consulting Group, where she worked alongside global corporates across Consumer, Energy and Heavy Industrials, advising on digital strategy, restructuring and M&A as a member of the corporate finance team. She gained an MPhil in Management from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Economics and Statistics from the University College Utrecht, the Netherlands, where she graduated with Summa Cum Laude. At firstminute, Lina leads on sourcing for the Nordic and German-speaking regions and has a strong interest in digital health, robotics, direct-to-consumer brands and femtech. She sits as a board observer of Evolution AI.
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About Firstminute Capital: Firstminute Capital is an early-stage venture fund based in London, investing globally. Backed by 30 unicorn founders and global strategics.
Taylor Rampton
Associate of Scottish Equity Partners
Taylor works principally on deal origination, execution and support, and assists with the financial analysis and assessment of new investments. He joined SEP as an analyst in March 2017 from BlackRock Private Equity Partners. Taylor is based in SEP’s London office.
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About Scottish Equity Partners: Scottish Equity Partners is a technology focused growth equity firm operating across the UK and Europe.
Magda Lukaszewicz
Investment Associate of Balderton
Magda joined Balderton in 2018. Prior to Balderton, Magda spent three years at Goldman Sachs, where she first worked in the financing group covering Nordics and later moved to the Consumer, Retail & Healthcare M&A team, where she was an associate and worked on a number of Nordic transactions. Before joining Goldman Sachs, Magda was involved in politics and worked in startups. Magda has an MSc in Business & Economics from Lund University, where she was admitted to the Venture Lab for a one-year entrepreneurship programme. She also studied Business at Copenhagen Business School.
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About Balderton: Balderton is a venture capital firm focused exclusively on backing European-founded startups.
Magda Posluszny
Associate of Speedinvest
Magda Posluszny is an Investment Associate at Speedinvest. Prior to joining Speedinvest, She was part of the investment team at Seedrs, Europe’s leading online investment platform for early-stage and growth equity. Ms. Posluszny received a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics at Jagiellonian University in Cracow and a bachelor’s degree in Business, major in Logistics at the Cracow University of Economics.
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About Speedinvest: Speedinvest is a venture capital fund investing in pre-seed, seed, and early-stage tech startups.
Harriet Hamblin
Associate of Northzone
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About Northzone: Northzone is an early-stage venture capital fund built on experience spanning multiple economic and disruptive technology cycles.
Diana Krantz
Associate of Molten Ventures
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About Molten Ventures: Molten Ventures is Europe’s largest listed tech VC firm. We inject the most visionary companies with energy to help them transform and grow.
Ajit Mehta
Debt Finance Associate of OakNorth
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About OakNorth: OakNorth is the creator of the ON Credit Intelligence Suite – proven cloud software that transforms commercial lending
John Messamore
Associate of Advent International
John Messamore joined Advent in 2011 from Evercore Partners where he worked in the European M&A team. Prior to Evercore, John completed internships in M&A at Lazard and in private equity at Roark Capital Group and Valcapital Gestión.
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About Advent International: Advent International is a global private equity firm that invests in the business and financial services.
Namrata Turaga
Associate of Apple Tree Partners
Namrata Turaga, an associate with ATP, brings a mix of professional and medical experience to her role. At Boston Consulting Group, she worked as a management consultant across the pharmaceutical, private equity, and consumer industries. Her venture capital experience includes work with Flagship Ventures and Oxford Sciences Innovation. She gained broad expertise across the healthcare industry through previous collaborations with Genentech, DaVita, and the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement. She is a member of the Royal College of General Practitioners and is a practicing physician. Namrata earned an MA in medical sciences with a focus on neuroscience, as well as her medical degree, from St John’s College at Oxford University. She then pursued her MBA at Harvard Business School as a Fulbright Scholar before completing her medical training and residency in the Oxford Deanery.
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About Apple Tree Partners: Apple Tree Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in pharmaceuticals, biotech, medtech, and healthcare services.
Brett Cook
Senior Associate of F-Prime Capital
Brett Cook joined Fidelity Biosciences in 2013. Prior to Fidelity Biosciences, he was a Business Analyst at McKinsey & Company. At McKinsey, he advised hospital & health systems, pharmaceutical / medical device, non-profit, and retail clients. His engagements covered a variety of topics, including strategy, organization, operations, and pricing. Brett received his B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University, graduating cum laude and Tau Beta Pi.
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About F-Prime Capital: F-Prime Capital is a venture capital firm investing in healthcare and technology.
Stephanie Opdam
Associate of Notion Capital
Stephanie Opdam is an Associate at Columbia Lake Partners. She is responsible for the screening of investment opportunities, financial analysis, structuring, due diligence and portfolio management of debt relationships with technology companies. Prior to joining CLP, Stephanie worked as an Intern Structured Finance at NIBC Bank and as an Intern Product Development at ITPreneurs in the Netherlands. Stephanie graduated with a Bachelor of Science (BSc), International Business Administration (with distinction) from the Erasmus University Rotterdam and obtained a Master of Science (MSc), Finance & Private Equity (with merit) from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
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About Notion Capital: Notion is an early-stage venture fund that focuses on technology and cloud computing markets.
Nermine Chatila
Associate of Raed Ventures
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About Raed Ventures: Raed Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that partners with exceptional founders building transformative companies in MENA.
Teemu Mattila
Associate of DN Capital
Prior to joining DN Capital, Teemu worked in the Investment Banking division of Goldman Sachs in London focusing on Consumer Internet. During his three years at Goldman Sachs, he worked on various transactions in the European Internet sector and covered multiple early-stage, high-growth clients. Teemu majored in finance at Aalto University School of Business, and spent two semesters abroad studying entrepreneurial finance at USC Marshall School of Business and entrepreneurship at Auckland University of Technology.
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About DN Capital: DN Capital operates as an early-stage venture capital firm.
Ragnar Jongen
Associate of DN Capital
Ragnar founded two companies in e-commerce and sales in his home country, the Netherlands. He also experienced strategy consulting at McKinsey in Amsterdam before joining DN. His education was focused on entrepreneurship and finance. He wrote a bachelor thesis about (blockchain) disruptions in the payment industry and his master thesis was about crowdfunding.
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About DN Capital: DN Capital operates as an early-stage venture capital firm.
Venkat Kondragunta
Associate of PROfounders Capital
Venkat Kondragunta is an Associate at PROfounders Capital.
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About PROfounders Capital: PROfounders Capital is an early-stage VC backed by successful entrepreneurs and focused on investing in technology start-ups across Europe.
Michael Beetz
Associate Director of Astorg
Michael Beetz joined Astorg in 2016 and is a member of the Investment team. Prior to this, Michael was an Associate Principal at Palamon Capital Partners. Before that, he was a Senior Associate at Coller Capital. Michael started his career in the Investment Banking Department of UBS based in London. Michael holds an MA (Hons) from the University of Oxford and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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About Astorg: Astorg is an independent private equity group with over €8 bn of assets under management.
Declan Goodwin
Associate Director of Vistra Group
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About Vistra Group: Vistra’s specialist colleagues provide tailored trust, fiduciary, fund and corporate services.
Kushal Banerjee
Associate of Lion Capital
Kushal Banerjee is an Associate of Lion Capital. Prior to joining Lion Capital, Kushal was employed by Manchester United where he focused on capital structure projects. Prior to this, he was employed by Merrill Lynch in London working in the U.K. investment banking team. Kushal received his BA and MA from Oxford University, his MBA from INSEAD and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
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About Lion Capital: Lion Capital is a consumer-focused investor passionate about investing in brands about which people are passionate.
Joakim B. Jespersen
Associate of Lexington Partners
Joakim Jespersen is an Associate of Lexington Partners primarily engaged in the analysis of non-U.S. equity co-investments. Prior to joining Lexington in 2021, Mr. Jespersen was an associate at Warburg Pincus and prior to that, he was an analyst in investment banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Mr. Jespersen graduated from Copenhagen Business School with a BSc in international business and from London Business School with an MSc in financial analysis.
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About Lexington Partners: Lexington Partners is an independent manager of secondary private equity and co-investment funds.
James Wain
Senior Investment Associate of True.
James was part of PwC’s retail and consumer M&A team before True. And before that, he was with The Hut Group as Head of Commercials, responsible for online retailer, ProBikeKit.
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About True.: True is a consumer-focused investment and innovation firm reimagining what good business looks like.
Theo Wethered
Investment Associate of Nauta Capital
Theo is an Investment Associate in Nauta Capital’s London office. His role involves generating deal flow, completing commercial due diligence and managing investment opportunities. Theo has previously worked in a number of startups, (including Loop Horizon and SimPrints Technologies), in Venture Capital (Draper Esprit), Strategy and M&A consulting (L.E.K. consulting, including work with the Data & Analytics team and internal investment group), and wealth management (MdF Family Partners). His interests lie in AI, data and analytics, financial services, and marketing technologies. He holds a Natural sciences degree from the University of Cambridge. Outside of technology and venture capital, Theo is interested in Psychology, running and comedy.
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About Nauta Capital: Nauta Capital is a pan-European Venture Capital firm investing in early stage technology companies.
Saagar Bhavsar
Investment Associate of Nauta Capital
Saagar is an Investment Associate at Nauta Capital. Based out of the London office, he is involved in the deal flow generation, investment screenings, and business due diligence process for the UK initiative. Prior to joining Nauta Capital, Saagar worked at the intersection of technology and finance with SimCorp, where he led large-scale transformational projects for the Buy-Side and advised the world’s leading asset managers and sovereign wealth funds how to be on the cutting edge of software technology. He has worked and lived in various countries across Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Saagar holds an MBA from London Business School, a Master of Mathematics from the University of Bath, and is a CFA Charterholder.
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About Nauta Capital: Nauta Capital is a pan-European Venture Capital firm investing in early stage technology companies.
Jane Martinson
Associate Editor (media) of The Guardian US
Associate Editor (media) at The Guardian
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About The Guardian US: The Guardian US is a British national daily newspaper that covers news, sports, business, opinion, analysis, reviews, and much more.
Jane Martinson
Associate Editor (media) of The Guardian US
Associate Editor (media) at The Guardian
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About The Guardian US: The Guardian US is a British national daily newspaper that covers news, sports, business, opinion, analysis, reviews, and much more.
Melissa Donohoe
Associate of Kreos Capital
As a Senior Analyst, Melissa supports all aspects of the deal lifecycle including pre-investment analysis and post-investment monitoring. Prior to joining Kreos, Melissa worked as a Strategy Analyst at Accenture, focusing on pre- and post-deal M&A and Growth Strategy. Previously, Melissa worked in Monetary Policy & Macro-Economic Research at the Central Bank of Ireland. Melissa holds an MA in International Studies, studying Economics and Finance at both the Graduate Institute Geneva and the University of St. Gallen.
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About Kreos Capital: Kreos Capital is a growth debt firm that provides financing solutions for high-growth companies across Europe and Israel.
Melissa Donohoe
Associate of Kreos Capital
As a Senior Analyst, Melissa supports all aspects of the deal lifecycle including pre-investment analysis and post-investment monitoring. Prior to joining Kreos, Melissa worked as a Strategy Analyst at Accenture, focusing on pre- and post-deal M&A and Growth Strategy. Previously, Melissa worked in Monetary Policy & Macro-Economic Research at the Central Bank of Ireland. Melissa holds an MA in International Studies, studying Economics and Finance at both the Graduate Institute Geneva and the University of St. Gallen.
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About Kreos Capital: Kreos Capital is a growth debt firm that provides financing solutions for high-growth companies across Europe and Israel.
Ben Purvey
Associate of Bridges Fund Management
Ben is a member of the Property Funds Team at Bridges, working on all real estate related investment activities. Prior to joining Bridges, Ben was an Associate in the European Real Estate Investment Banking team at Barclays Capital. Here he gained experience in the origination and execution of various M&A, equity, debt and structured finance transactions focusing solely within the real estate sector. Ben studied Real Estate & Corporate Finance at the McIntire School of Commerce (University of Virginia) and holds a First Class Honours B.Sc. in International Business Management from the University of Birmingham.
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About Bridges Fund Management: Bridges Fund Management is a specialist fund manager dedicated to sustainable and impact investment.
Bethany Dudley
Associate Sales Director of Foresight Group
Bethany Dudley joined Foresight Group in 2007 and currently works as an Associate Sales Director in the London office. She has over 10 years of experience. Bethany is responsible for sales of Foresight products in the in the south-east of England, East Anglia and Northern Ireland. Bethany holds a BA in Politics from the University of Leeds as well as an IMC qualification. She has also been awarded the STEP Certificate for Financial Services – Trusts and Estate Planning.
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About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Laali Vadlamani
Investment Associate of Charterhouse Capital Partners
Laali Vadlamani currently works as the Investment Associate for Charterhouse Capital Partners. She previously worked at Epiris as the Private Equity Investment Analyst.
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About Charterhouse Capital Partners: Charterhouse Capital Partners LLP is a private equity firm specializing in buyout investments.
Hamzeh Abdul-Hadi
Senior Associate of Hikma Ventures
Hamzeh joined Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC as a Group Treasury Senior Officer in 2015. Before joining Hikma, Hamzeh worked as Budgeting & Planning Analyst Levant at Philip Morris International where he maintained monthly and annual budget cycles for the markets. Prior to that, Hamzeh held the position of Research Analyst at Capital Investments for more than two years. Hamzeh holds a Bachelor of Business Administration majoring in Finance from the George Washington University.
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About Hikma Ventures: Hikma Ventures operates as the corporate venture capital arm of Hikma Pharmaceuticals.
Jennifer Grist
Associate, Investor Services of Oxford Capital Partners
Jennifer is part of the Investor Services team. Previously she worked for HSBC Bank Plc dealing with high net worth clients and assisting financial advisers. Additionally Jennifer has over 10 years experience in customer services. In her spare time she enjoys reading, travelling and spending time with friends and family.
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About Oxford Capital Partners: Oxford Capital is a technology venture capital investor based in London and Oxford.
Rachel Guest
Portfolio Associate of Oxford Capital Partners
Rachel assists the investment management team and provides office management support. She graduated from York University with a Masters degree in Public Administration and Public Policy and a BA Hons in Politics. Her interests outside the office include going to the theatre and cooking.
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About Oxford Capital Partners: Oxford Capital is a technology venture capital investor based in London and Oxford.
Nicolas Slotine
Associate of Forestay Capital
Nicolas Slotine serves as a senior analyst at Forestay Capital.
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About Forestay Capital: Forestay Capital is dedicated to investing in the tech sector and reflects Waypoint’s focus on innovative, forward-looking industries.
Lou Ann Yong
Associate of TempoCap
Lou Ann Yong currently serves as an Associate of TempoCap.
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About TempoCap: TempoCap is a growth and secondary direct venture investment firm.
Andrew Stirrat
Associate Director of Clydesdale Bank
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About Clydesdale Bank: Clydesdale Bank growth finance provides a range of innovative debt solutions for early stage, high growth businesses.
Ross Goodwin
Associate Director of Clydesdale Bank
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About Clydesdale Bank: Clydesdale Bank growth finance provides a range of innovative debt solutions for early stage, high growth businesses.
Barry Nixon
Associate Director of Clydesdale Bank
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About Clydesdale Bank: Clydesdale Bank growth finance provides a range of innovative debt solutions for early stage, high growth businesses.
Barry Nixon
Associate Director of Clydesdale Bank
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About Clydesdale Bank: Clydesdale Bank growth finance provides a range of innovative debt solutions for early stage, high growth businesses.
