John Booth
John chairs Maintel Holdings PLC and acts as a consultant to Herald Ventures, a venture capital partnership and serves as a non-executive director for a number of private companies. In 1994 John co-founded Link Asset and Securities Co., a derivatives brokerage firm and served as Chairman until its sale to ICAP in 2008. John began his financial career in 1983 at Merrill Lynch in London and New York. He became a partner of Hutton International Associates in 1986 and Senior Vice President of Prudential Securities in 1988 and was appointed Managing Director of Bankers Trust International PLC in 1992. John is a graduate of Oxford University.
Sian Hansen
Sian is currently Chief Operating Officer for C|T Group, the global research and strategic communications firm. She is also a Non-Executive Director of the JP Morgan Multi Asset Trust plc, a Non-Executive Director of Pacific Assets Trust and on the Advisory board of EBF International (Shanghai) Ltd. From 2013 – 2016, Sian was the Executive Director of the Legatum Institute, a global public policy think tank dedicated to promoting prosperity through individual liberty, free enterprise and entrepreneurship. Previously, she spent seven years as Managing Director of the think tank Policy Exchange, an educational charity promoting research and discourse on public policy in the UK. She is also active in a number of not for profit enterprises including as a Trustee of the Almeida Theatre. Formerly, Sian was a director and Co-Head of Sales for Asian Equities at Société Générale and before this was an equity analyst with Enskilda Securities in Europe.
Rupert Rittson-Thomas
Rupert is an investor and director of several start up companies including Lusight Research, an independent investment firm focused on Global Emerging Markets, Go Native Holdings, a provider of temporary homes for business travellers in the UK, and Rapha Racing, a manufacturer of cycling clothing.Until the sale of Robert Fleming to Chase Manhattan Bank in 2000, he was a Director of the Asian sales desk with Robert Fleming in New York. Prior to this he was a member of the Asian sales desk of Jardine Fleming Hong Kong (1995-1997) and equity analyst of Hong Kong and Chinese companies (1991-1995). Rupert commenced his business career at Save & Prosper in 1989 having completed a short service commission in the Army.
George Robinson
George is co-founder of Sloane Robinson, a London based boutique asset manager which invests in listed equities globally, with a particular focus on Asian and Emerging Markets. He previously worked for 15 years in Asia, initially for John Swire and Sons and then for stockbroker WI Carr (Far East) where he was country head for Korea and Thailand and latterly Director of Regional Research based in Hong Kong. George is an active investor in early stage technology and biotech companies, and Founding Partner of Oxford Investment Consultants which advises on investments in spin-outs from Oxford and other British universities. He graduated from Keble College, Oxford with a BA in Engineering Science, and is a former member of the Oxford University Endowment Management Investment Committee.
Sir Martin Smith
Sir Martin co-founded the London based investment banking firm Phoenix Securities Limited in the early 1980′s and became Chairman of DLJ’s European investment banking operations. He assisted in the founding of New Star Asset Management, serving as its Deputy Chairman in the firm’s early years. Sir Martin has a number of other business interests, including advising Bain Capital, and chairing Finsbury Worldwide Healthcare Trust, as well as GP Bullhound. Sir Martin has for many years been actively involved in a range charities, including serving as Chairman of English National Opera, Chairman of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Deputy Chairman of the South Bank Centre and of the Science Museum. He is currently on the Boards of the Royal Academy of Music, Glyndebourne and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Sir Martin has an undergraduate degree in theoretical physics from Oxford and a Master’s degree in Business and Economics from Stanford University.