The Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA), the independent membership organisation that champions the interests of small to mid-size quoted companies, announces the appointment of two new directors at its Annual General Meeting yesterday.
The make-up of the new board reflects the growing importance for the QCA to address challenges including Brexit, the future of equity markets and the continuing nature of disproportionate market regulation.
Following the AGM, Adam McConkey, Portfolio Manager of Lombard Odier Investment Managers has been appointed Chair of the Quoted Companies Alliance board, succeeding Gervais Williams.
QCA members approved the appointment of the following directors:
- Georgina Brittain, Managing Director, and a senior portfolio manager for small and mid-cap funds within the J.P. Morgan Asset Management International Behavioural Finance Team.
- Peter Harris, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer at Next 15 Communications Group PLC
The directors of the board re-elected are:
- Scott Knight, Head of Audit & Assurance, BDO LLP
- Claire Noyce, Chief Executive Officer & Founding Partner, Hybridan LLP
- Peter Simmonds, Chairman, Cloudcall Group PLC and d4t4 Solutions PLC
- Gary Thorpe, Senior Corporate Finance Partner, Clyde & Co LLP
Anthony Carey, Partner, Mazars LLP and Michael Higgins, Chair, IPSX have stepped down from the board.
Adam McConkey, incoming Chair of the Quoted Companies Alliance, commenting on the board appointments, said:
The QCA is already incredibly effective in championing the interests of small and mid-sized quoted companies. In my new role as Chair, I look forward to working with Tim Ward and the rest of the executive team in further raising the overall visibility and credibility of the organisation. This is an incredibly important time when we must ensure that small and mid-size quoted companies remain firmly on the political and policy agenda. Our board, with Georgina Brittain and Peter Harris joining, continues to reflect our community and their expertise and insights will be very welcome.
Tim Ward, Chief Executive of the Quoted Companies Alliance, said:
I welcome Georgina Brittain and Peter Harris to the QCA board. Both bring significant and different perspectives of working in the small and mid-size quoted sector. They are, I’m sure, going to provide valuable guidance and representation in the boardroom and beyond. I thank Anthony Carey and Michael Higgins for their notable contributions over the years. Michael was Chair for 3 years and made a significant impact in that capacity on the success of the QCA in addition to his directorship. Both have been huge supporters of the Quoted Companies Alliance. I also thank Gervais Williams for his leadership of the board at a time when the organisation has grown and continued to punch well above its weight. He’s been very supportive and great to work with and I look forward to working with the new Chair Adam McConkey.
– Ends –
Contact
Tim Ward, Chief Executive, QCA, +44 (0)20 7600 3745, tim.ward@theqca.com
Notes to editors
- The Quoted Companies Alliance is the independent membership organisation that champions the interests of small to mid-size quoted companies. We campaign, we inform and we interact to help our members keep their businesses ahead. Through our activities, we ensure that our influence always creates impact for our members. For more information please visit www.theqca.com.
- Photographs of all board members are available. Please email samantha.green@theqca.com.
- Biographies for Chairs and new board members:
Adam McConkey, Portfolio Manager at Lombard Odier Investment Managers
Adam is Portfolio Manager at Lombard Odier Investment Managers and has been a Fund Manager for 2 decades, 17 years of which has been dedicated to investing in UK listed smaller companies.
Adam became Head of UK smaller companies at Gartmore in 2010 a role in which he continued in when Gartmore was acquired by Henderson in 2011. The team, known by Volantis, the name of their flagship fund, run circa £1b investing on behalf of public bodies, blue-chip pension funds, family offices and individuals, and is now part of Lombard Odier Investment Managers.
Adam’s sponsorship of good stewardship in investment decision making and the launch of product with dedicated active engagement strategies have seen him working closely with other stakeholders in the UK listed smaller company community to promote an infrastructure and policy environment that encourages investment. He is a member of the AIM advisory panel and board member of the Quoted Companies Alliance. Adam has a PhD in international relations and previously lectured in politics and economics.
Georgina Brittain, Managing Director, J.P. Morgan Asset Management International Equity Group.
Georgina, is a portfolio manager for small and mid cap strategies within the J.P. Morgan Asset Management International Equity Group – Behavioural Finance Team, based in London. Georgina is a fund manager for the JPM UK Smaller Companies Fund, the JPMorgan Smaller Companies Investment Trust and co-manager for the JPMorgan Mid Cap Investment Trust. She is also a co-manager for our range of European small cap funds. An employee since 1995, Georgina was previously an analyst in the UK research department. Georgina obtained an M.A. in Classics from Oxford University, and earned a Diploma in Law from City University, London. She is a qualified barrister.
Peter Harris is an Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer at Next 15 Communications Group PLC.
Peter’s financial experience spans 30 years and he has extensive media experience, having spent the last 20 years in finance roles within the media sector. From July 2013 until December 2018, he was a Non-Executive Director of Communisis plc and Chairman of its Audit Committee. He was previously the Interim Finance Director at Centaur Media plc, Interim CFO of Bell Pottinger LLP, CFO of the Engine Group, and CFO of 19 Entertainment. Prior to that, he was Group Finance Director of Capital Radio plc. Peter has considerable experience in UK and US listed companies, with international exposure.
Scott Knight, Head of Audit & Assurance, BDO LLP
Scott leads BDO’s Audit & Assurance practice nationally which comprises 1,400 people and accounts for over a third of the firm’s revenue. He is also a member of the firm’s Leadership Team and the Risk Committee.
Scott is a specialist in the governance issues facing smaller listed companies and writes extensively on this area. He is a member of the FRC’s Audit & Assurance Council which advises the FRC on matters in this area.
Scott also specialises in the Natural Resources sector where he acts for a number of AIM listed exploration and production companies and is recognised as an expert on accounting issues in the sector and is quoted in trade journals on financial issues.
Claire Noyce, Chief Executive Officer and founding partner of Hybridan LLP
Claire was previously at Nomura in the UK Small Cap Life Sciences and Technology Sales and Trading team, where she sold equities to UK and Continental European investors. Prior to joining Nomura, Claire was an equity analyst at Lazard, with a significant involvement in IPOs and capital market transactions. Claire started her career as an analyst and consultant at Datamonitor. Claire has a Double Honours Degree from Manchester University, where she also undertook some postgraduate studies. Claire is a mentor at Manchester University.
Peter Simmonds, Non Executive Chairman, Cloudcall Group PLC and D4t4 Solutions PLC
Peter Simmonds was Chief Executive Officer of dotDigital Group plc for eight years and a major contributor to dotDigital’s success. Peter commenced his career in 1976 as a trainee accountant with Unilever Plc and has over 35 years of experience at senior management and board level, principally in the areas of software, banking, insurance, finance and outsourcing. Peter currently holds board positions in the role of Non Executive Chairman at Cloudcall Group plc and D4t4 Solutions plc and is a Non-Executive Director of dotDigital Group plc and Eckoh PLC.
Gary Thorpe, Partner, Clyde & Co LLP
Gary Thorpe is Clyde & Co’s senior corporate finance partner. He has over 30 years’ corporate experience in the City across a broad range of industry sectors (including, financial services, insurance, oil, mining, natural resources, computer services, technology, telecoms, shipping, aviation and media). He has experience of flotations and IPOs on securities’ markets, public company takeovers, rights issues, placings and open offers and vendor placings and venture and other capital investments, advising issuers, nominated advisers and stockbrokers. He has extensive experience of acquisitions and disposals of private companies and businesses (“M&A”), joint ventures, group reorganisations, management buyouts and general corporate matters, e.g. shareholders and investment agreements, capital reductions, schemes of arrangement, group restructurings and repurchase of shares. He has practised in the AIM market since its inception and has given a number of international presentations on AIM with the London Stock Exchange. He was the Chairman of the QCA Legal Expert Group between 2013 and 2017.
