The Team
The team have a wide range of experience from the investment banking and private capital industry.
Jeremy Vernon-Evans, Director
Jeremy has served in senior positions and has over 15 years experience with some of the World’s largest investment banks - Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (Director), ABN Amro, SG Warburg & Co. and First Chicago. He was at the heart of the development and evolution of capital markets including cash, derivative and structured instruments. He has advised and worked on behalf of many international corporations and government bodies for whom he has executed appropriate and sizeable funding instruments.
Prior to banking, Jeremy gained significant sales and operational experience over a five year period in the retail and manufacturing sectors.
Nat Rubner, FCA, Corporate Finance Adviser
Nat qualified at Arthur Andersen and then joined the International Department of SG Warburg & Co. where he became a Director in 1988. The financial expertise encompassed the whole spectrum of investment banking services, specifically advice to both investors and companies on debt, equity and derivative services and products, which also included a four year secondment to Tokyo.
In 1995, he joined Yamaichi Securities in London as a Deputy-Managing Director and subsequently IBJ International (now Mizuho) as worldwide head of International Capital Markets. Over the past few years his focus has been on equity investments in start-up companies, and more recently as a direct adviser to and non-executive director of start-up companies.
Geoff Almeida, MSc FCA, Chairman of the Advisory Board
Geoff’s degrees are from Imperial College. After qualifying at Arthur Andersen, he joined Black and Decker, leaving as Financial Controller in 1983 to become Group Treasurer of Burton Group plc and then FD of Burton Financial Services. This was followed by 3 years in property development, mainly as Group FD of Parkdale Holdings plc. Geoff then held an eleven year tenure at BT, where he was ultimately a member of the executive board. While there his roles included FD of BT UK as well as international mergers and acquisitions as Director of Global Business Development. As director of BT’s infrastructure, Geoff ran a Division with over 7,000 people.
He is currently actively involved with growth companies as an investor and Non-Executive Director supporting management with strategic issues and commercial negotiations.
Simon Cunningham BSc, MIoD. Advisory Board
Simon is a Visiting Fellow of the Sloane School of Management, M.I.T. and a Member of the Institute of Directors. Simon studied at the University of London for his physics degree (1st Class).
In 1981 he joined Schlumberger where he became a divisional manager in the Oil Field Services group including running local operations in Darwin, Tokyo and Jakarta. Subsequently he became CEO for Asia of the joint venture between Schlumberger and C&W.
Simon joined C&W in 1997 becoming the CEO for Asia where ultimately he had responsibility for the $500mm turnover. Simon then moved to the US as CEO of all the US companies with a combined turnover of $800mm. In the US he implemented the turnaround strategy enabling the operation to be cash generative after 18 months. During this turnaround he executed the sale of the US operations. More recently, Simon served as CEO of the Middle East, Monaco and Islands region spanning 16 businesses. This represented about one-third of Cable and Wireless PLC’s net income.
Simon has enormous international commercial experience at top board level to smaller local entrepreneurial businesses. He now provides non-executive and strategic support to businesses.