I am white British, born and brought up in Somerset. My parents were dairy farmers, and my brother now runs the family farm. I trained as an accountant with Legal & General in the mid-eighties before discovering the world of private equity with Legal & General Ventures in 1987, the very early days of the asset class.
In 1991 I joined a small boutique private equity firm in Oxford and then, in 1998 co-founded Altius Associates, a private markets advisory and separate account management firm.
By 2016, when we sold the company, I was co-CEO and it had grown from a staff of three in 1998 to a staff of 45, based in the UK, US and Singapore, with close to $30 billion under advice and management. It was one of the top firms in the business and very respected for its expertise and integrity. I subsequently worked for the acquiring company, Pavilion Financial Corporation in the Corporate team and was a key member of the team which helped with the sale, and subsequent integration, of Pavilion to Mercer in 2018.
In 2020 I completed a Diploma in Professional coach-mentoring and run a coaching and advisory business with my husband. I am delighted to have taken on the role of Member Relationship Manager with The Diversity Project as it sets itself ambitious new targets for the next five years.
I am married with two grown up boys, one of whom is on the autistic spectrum. I have seen, first hand, how difficult it is for people who think or behave differently to be accepted in the work place. For most of my career I worked flexibly so that I could be very involved in the lives of our boys.