OUR MISSION
What we do and where we have come from
Mark Florman is Chief Executive of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA).
He joined The Northern Trust Bank, Chicago, in 1981 where he co-founded the interest rate swap business in America and worked in corporate banking, US T-Bills and money & capital markets. 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.
In 1992 Mark founded Maizels, Westerberg & Co which became the leading independent firm in M&A and corporate restructurings. Maizels established advisory businesses in shipping and structured finance and in principal investing.
Between 2001 and 2008 he was Senior Principal at the European private equity firm, Doughty Hanson. He served as Vice Chairman and later Chairman of LM Glasfiber, today the world's leading manufacturer of blades and components for wind turbines.
Away from his business activities, Mark has been active in politics, advising the UK Conservative Party on strategy and financing, and was Senior Deputy Treasurer of the Conservative Party.
Last year he became Chairman of the Centre for Social Justice, a think-tank which pioneers new approaches to combat poverty at home and abroad and an organisation which he co-founded in 2004. In addition, he remains non-executive vice chairman of 8 Miles, a new $500m private equity fund for Africa which he co-founded with Sir Bob Geldof.
Mark graduated from the London School of Economics. He is married and has three daughters.
Andrew Graham is Chief Operating Officer of the BVCA. Before joining the BVCA in 2008, he worked at Bank of America as EMEA Business Manager for two years. Prior to that, he was COO for ABN AMRO’s wholesale division. He was previously European CFO for Bankers Trust and also held senior roles at Deutsche Bank. An accountant, Andrew has a BA in Economics from Manchester University.
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.
Colin joins the BVCA from Daiwa Capital Markets, where he was the European Economist since 2008 with a focus on the euro area and UK economies. Prior to that he worked as a senior economist and manager at the Bank of England, where his roles included writing the Inflation Report and running the Quarterly Bulletin, as well as coordinating the Bank's regional offices.
Colin has published a number of research papers and articles, covering topics ranging from investment and pricing to real-time data. He frequently speaks at a wide range of conferences and seminars, and is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham.
At the BVCA Colin provides commentary and briefing on the economic environment for members and their portfolio companies. He also oversees the strategic direction of the BVCA's Research function, and deepens and extends the analysis of trends and issues affecting the venture capital and private equity industry. Additionally, Colin is involved in building and maintaining relationships with government, investors, academia and the general public.
Tim Hames is Head of Public Affairs, Communications and Campaigns for the BVCA. He started his career as a Lecture in Politics at Oxford University specializing 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.
Lisa Simpson, Head of Training: lsimpson@bvca.co.uk Tel: 020 7420 1823
Kristina Gauzel, Head of Events: kgauzel@bvca.co.uk Tel: 020 7420 1824
Leon de Bono, Commercial Director: ldebono@bvca.co.uk Tel: 020 7420 1853
Tom Allchorne, Public Relations Manager: tallchorne@bvca.co.uk Tel: 020 7420 1807
Simon Horner, Deputy Head of Public Affairs: shorner@bvca.co.uk Tel: 020 7420 1806
