Asset Match, the online peer-to-peer multi-trading facility for private companies, announces the appointment of Giles Vardy, Alastair Watson, Charles Breese, William Fewen and Oli Rayner as members of its newly constituted Advisory Board.
The group will support Asset Match in its bid to become the premier choice for private companies and investors wanting to create liquidity in privately held shares.
Stuart Lucas, Founder & Co-CEO of Asset Match commented: "We are delighted to welcome Giles, Alistair, Charles, William and Oli to the Asset Match Advisory Board. We have made a strong start since launching last October and with the support of our advisory board, we hope to grow even further using the knowledge gained through these individuals. We are lucky that each member offers different and yet invaluable advice and we look forward to learning more."
Advisory Board Member Profiles:
Giles Vardy, formerly Chairman of PLUS markets until 2010, joins the board with 30 years experience in financial markets. He spent five years on the board of the London Stock Exchange as an Executive Director heading the launch of the exchange's first full electronic trading service (SETS) and the creation of AIM in 1995. In the last fifteen years, he has held senior roles including CEO of Greig Middleton, at one stage the largest private client stock broking business in the UK. Greg is currently the Chairman of London Capital Group PLC., one of the UK's leading financial services companies.
Major Alastair Watson began his career in the British Army before joining Fired Earth PLC, a designer retail brand, in 1991 where he was Sales Director for seven years. In 2003 he became Private Secretary to HRH The Duke of York during his time as the UK Special Representative for International Trade and Investment which ended in 2012. The role involved high level engagement with UK and foreign governments and businesses both in the UK and around the world. Since then Alastair has taken on a small number of advisory roles supporting companies with their business development in the UK but as well as in Central Asia, India, China and the Middle East.
Charles Breese, an experienced investor in start-up, early stage and quoted smaller companies. During his 30 year career, he has worked for KPMG and Larpent Newton where he helped supported technology based companies seek new capital and admit to trading on AIM. He also has developed an Investment Template which has proved successful in identifying early stage companies which have delivered attractive long term returns.
William Frewen is an established professional in the City having worked at a number of major institutions including Credit Suisse First Boston, JP Morgan, Nomura and Threadneedle Asset Management. The majority of that time has been spent working in fixed income, with a particular emphasis on credit. He has also invested in a large number of small or start-up companies and taken positions on the board.
Oli Rayner started his career as a research analyst in the M&A team at Granville Markets. Hejoined Salomon Brothers International's (now Citigroup) Capital Markets division. In 2001 he joined private equity firm Bracken Partners where he was responsible for evaluating and managing investments in online Platform companies including Active Hotels, the online hotel room booking platform, and Integrated Financial Arrangements, an online wrap platform for IFAs. Oli became a director of Merchant Capital in 2003, focusing on private growth companies moving to the public sector.
He has since helped set up emissions broking firm CarbonDesk, and as Corporate Development Director oversaw the firm's initial fundraising and subsequent flotation. He is currently a director of Zespa Media and China Factor and an Associate Partner of Ironbridge Capital Partners LLP.