OUR MISSION
What we do and where we have come from
Tim Hames is the Director General of the BVCA. He started his career as a Lecturer in Politics at Oxford University specialising in American and British Government. He became a journalist at The Times assuming the roles of Assistant Editor, chief leader writer and columnist. He regularly edited the newspaper as a whole between 2006 and 2008 as part of his duties. He has also recently served as Special Adviser to the Speaker of the House of Commons. He is an Honorary Visiting Fellow at De Montford University and a Fellow of the Institute of Travel and Tourism.
Mark is the Strategic Adviser and Industry Ambassador for the BVCA, he served as Chief Executive from 2011 to April 2013. From the mid-1980s as a Director of County Bank and then as a Partner of Enskilda Securities, he advised on corporate restructurings, M&A and equity capital markets. Mark co-founded Maizels, Westerberg & Co. which became a leading independent firm in M&A and corporate restructurings. Between 2001 and 2008 he was Senior Principal at the European private equity firm, Doughty Hanson. Mark co-founded the Centre for Social Justice in 2004, the UK think tank regarding social justice and poverty.
Jack is the Chief Operating Officer and Company Secretary of the BVCA, and is responsible for finance & compliance, human resources, IT and facilities. Jack qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte & Touche in 2002 and spent over ten years working for the audit practice of Deloitte in London and New York. Jack holds a degree in economics from the University of Leeds and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.
Leon de Bono is Director of Commercial Development. Before joining the BVCA in 2010 he was the co-founder and publisher of Private Equity News and sat on the Executive Committee of eFinancialNews, which was acquired by Dow Jones in 2007. He began working in the private equity industry with Caspian Media in 2001. Leon studied at University College London and The Courtauld Institute.
Jane leads the Member Services team, which is committed to identifying and serving the needs of the entire membership through a comprehensive programme of training courses and events. In 2005 she joined as the head of training and professional development. Prior to this, she worked for the GTP in Belgium. Jane has a PGCE in Higher Education, an MSc and a BA in Business Studies. A member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the Chartered Management Institute, Jane also sits on the advisory board for Astia, a not-for-profit organisation committed to fostering women entrepreneurs.
Simon is Director of Policy & Public Affairs. He started his career as a researcher in the office of the Leader of the Opposition for David Cameron MP. He has also served as a researcher for the Shadow Treasury team at the Conservative Party and before that, a research fellow at Policy Exchange, a prominent UK think-tank, focussing on education. He studied Philosophy at Kings College London before completing a Masters in Social Policy Research at the London School of Economics.
Karen leads the Marketing team of the BVCA and is responsible for the promotion and development of the organisation's brand and product portfolio. She joined the BVCA in 2011, having previously held senior marketing roles at the Institute of Directors, Business Link and at various publishing firms. Karen is a graduate of Aston Business School and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Gurpreet Manku is the Technical Director supporting the BVCA on a wide range of issues and challenges facing the industry from a legal and regulatory perspective, both in the UK and Europe. She is currently on secondment from Deloitte LLP with over ten years experience and is specialised in advising private equity funds and their managers. Gurpreet studied at the London School of Economics and is a Chartered Accountant and member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.
Joe is the head of the BVCA's research team. Prior to joining the BVCA in 2010, Joe worked at HM Treasury on tax policy and in the Special Advisers' office, and at the Cabinet Office, where he advised the South Korean government during their chairmanship of the G20.
Tom Allchorne, Public Relations Manager: tallchorne@bvca.co.uk Tel: 020 7420 1807
Lsa Simpson, Associate Director, Training: lsimpson@bvca.co.uk Tel: 020 7420 1823
Charlotte Picot, Head of Events: cpicot@bvca.co.uk Tel: 020 7420 1824
