Investment Committee and Board

Alan is a Founder Partner of private equity firm GHO Capital, a specialist investor in the healthcare sector. His prior roles were at 3i Group and at Hermes GPE. He is a former chairman of the BVCA, and previously chaired its Responsible Investment Advisory Board. In 2018 he served on the advisory groups to the Wates Corporate Governance Principles for Private Companies. He has been an angel investor since 2010.

Alliott Cole is a board member for ACF investors. Alliott joined Octopus Ventures in 2008 and became CEO in 2017. Over this time the team has backed more than 120 entrepreneurs and has grown to become one of Europe’s largest and most active venture investors with over £1.3 billion under management. Before arriving at Octopus, Alliott worked as a lawyer at Ashurst, with stints at NM Rothschild and IBM in London. Alliott holds a Masters in Classics from Oxford University and a postgraduate diploma in Law from BPP University, London.

John Bates is a Fellow and former Adjunct Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School and the founder of Sussex Place Ventures Ltd, www.spventures.com. For over 10 years he led the School’s practical initiatives in developing entrepreneurial firms including €50m of ‘pre seed’ and ‘seed’ venture capital funds.   John is currently Chair of www.futurevisual.com, www.fresh4cast.com and  www.sfrmedical.com and is board advisor to a number of early stage ventures and growing businesses in the service and technology industries.

Matt Mead is a Venture Partner at Mobeus Equity Partners and was previously CIO at Mercia Fund Management. Matt is an ACA qualified accountant and was Chief Investment Officer at Nesta and a Partner at 3i.

Nick is a Director of The North East Fund and an active private investor. Beginning as a corporate lawyer with Clifford Chance Nick became UK Senior Partner of 3i’s buyout business, and then set up and ran an innovative Centre for Entrepreneurship  at Cass Business School. Nick has Chaired a variety of organisations involved in both entrepreneurial business and impact investing.

Rajat is the CoFounder of Wren Capital, an angel investor focussed on science and engineering. At Wren, Rajat has backed over 80 businesses with significant experience of serving as non-exec or board observer. Rajat was the UK Business Angels Association Angel Investor of the Year for 2013 and currently serves on the board of Cambridge Angels.

Simon is the CoFounder of Avonmore Developments and Non-exec at Playfair Capital. He has been an full-time angel investor for 20 years and backed over 35 businesses. Simon is also  on the Board for the Sainsbury Centre for Visual arts and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music.

Valerie is an NED of Baronsmead VCT and CEO of Stratagem Corporate Finance & Strategy. She is an NED of Fusion Lifestyle, Treasurer of the British Science Association, and past Chair of the Council of the University of Kent. Valerie holds an Economics degree from Cambridge and an MBA from London Business School.

Alistair is a serial entrepreneur in the hospitality sector and a Board member of Seraphim Capital and Hotspur Capital.. He is Chair of Steelite PLC, and an NED at S. A. Brain Ltd. In 2006 Alistair was awarded a CBE in recognition of his services to the regeneration of the North East of England.

Andrew is a board member for ACF Investors.

Dr Mackintosh has had a distinguished career in industry and investment as a former CEO of FTSE 250 listed Oxford Instruments before later leading the creation of the Royal Society Enterprise Fund, a pioneering initiative in bringing together scientific expertise and early-stage investment. He has been a board member of the Intellectual Property Office, a trustee of the Design Council and chairman of Sphere Fluidics, a high-growth biotechnology tools company. He is currently a board member of Thames Ventures VCT 2 plc and chair of the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund, a £100m government-backed venture capital fund supporting companies from the UK’s scientific research base.

He was the author in 2021 of the Mackintosh Report, commissioned by HM Treasury, which led to the creation of the new Government Office for Technology Transfer. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and of the Institute of Physics and was awarded a CBE in the 2024 New Years Honours for services to Science and Technology, and to Enterprise Development.

Marion is a board member for ACF Investors.   Marion was appointed Chief Investment Offer of Northern Gritstone in January 2022. In her role as CIO she is tasked with building a new university spin-out investment business based in the north of England.  

Throughout her career Marion has focused on funding fast-growing businesses in the UK. She joined Northern Gritstone from SME investor The Firmament Group, and prior to that led the Business Growth Fund’s activity in the south east of England.

Having begun her career at Barclays Bank, her experience also includes over half a decade at 3i Ventures as well as playing an instrumental role in founding Newcastle-based Northstar Ventures, where she was CEO between 2005 and 2011. At Northstar, Marion oversaw investments into hundreds of early-stage, fast-growth businesses.

Nelson is a Chartered Accountant and Chair of Firth Ventures. He is Special Projects Director for LINC Scotland and advises a number of organisations, including the World Bank, on the development of angel activity internationally. In 2008 Nelson was awarded European Business Angel of the Year.

Peter had an entrepreneurial career and is now the Investment Director of Martlet, the Marshalls of Cambridge fund and is on the Board of Cambridge Angels. He has Founded over 12 companies and has invested in over 30 startups, and is, or has been, Chair, Treasurer and Trustee of several charities. Peter is the 2014/15 UKBAA Angel Investor of the Year.

Simon is a Director of two Venture Capital Trusts managed by Triple Point, and Chair of Powervault. He was previously Managing Director of Quester and was a Director of the British Business Angels’ Association. Simon is a Trustee of Plantlife, a wild plant conservation charity and is a published author.

Stephen is a Northern Ireland based technology investor with the Halo – the Northern Ireland Business Angel Network. He is Executive Chairman of QuizFortune and Lead Angel Investor for the Volcano Syndicate. Stephen is a mentor with Invest Northern Ireland’s Propel Programme and was the first recipient of the Halo Angel Investor of the Year Award.

Vincent is a board member of ACF Investors. Vincent is a former Partner with KPMG’s private equity group and began his career as an accountant and auditor.