We are a small team with big ambitions: to represent our members’ interests with government, regulators and the media.
The QCA Board
QCA directors are drawn from across the membership, the City of London and UK plc. They determines the strategy of the organisation, approve the annual budget and set annual membership fees for corporate and adviser members as part of that process.
Judith MacKenzie became Chair of the Quoted Companies Alliance in October 2022.
Judith is a Partner of Downing LLP having joined Downing in October 2009. She is Partner responsible for the Public Equity Division which manages a number of strategies with a value boas. Judith is Lead Manager on the award winning MI Downing Micro Cap Fund and Downing Strategic Micro-Cap Investment Trust. Previously she was a partner at Acuity Capital managing AIM-quoted VCT and IHT investments and a small-cap activist fund. Prior to Acuity, Judith spent c. 8 years as a senior investment manager with Aberdeen Asset Management Growth Capital as co Fund Manager of the 5 Aberdeen VCTs, focusing on technology and media investments in both the public and private arenas. In total Judith has over 20 years micro-cap and small cap fund management and broking experience. Judith is a Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment and sits on a number of public and private company Boards.
Claire Noyce has been Deputy Chair of the Quoted Companies Alliance since October 2019.
Claire is founding partner and CEO of Hybridan LLP, an AIM broker and adviser, dedicated to fundraising, share price support and providing market-driven corporate finance advice.
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.
Paul Watts is our Treasurer and is a Partner at RSM. Paul has been Treasurer since October 2010 and has been a member of our board since 2009.
Paul is a capital markets and audit assurance partner at RSM in London specialising in listed companies. He has been with RSM (and its predecessor firms through various mergers) since 1985. Paul is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and a member of the Securities Institute.
He heads the RSM UK energy and natural resources sector group and also runs the RSM UK/Asia Pacific desk coordinating work between the UK and key Asia Pacific markets including China. With over 30 years of experience, Paul has worked on many flotations and capital markets transactions in the UK for domestic and international clients, primarily in the energy and natural resources, technology, media and financial services sectors.
Gervais Williams was a previous Chairman of the Quoted Companies Alliance and took on the honorary, non-board position of QCA President in October 2023.
Gervais manages a number of funds that aggregate to over £1bn. He is also Senior Executive Director at Miton Group plc. Gervais’s fund management career extends over 30 years including 17 years at Gartmore. In 2011, he joined Miton Group plc where he has set up a number of new funds with Martin Turner, that in aggregate now exceed £1.5bn. He sits on a number of industry bodies including the board of The Investment Association, and is an advisor the AIM Advisory Council and the government’s Patient Capital Review.
Gervais is the author of a number of books on the changing economic outlook going forward, and a regular industry commentator on the Radio 4 Today program. His first book 'Slow Finance' was published in the autumn of 2011, with his second book 'The Future is Small' in November 2014, and his third book ‘The Retreat of Globalisation’ in December 2016.
James Ashton is Chief Executive of the Quoted Companies Alliance, the members’ organisation that champions small and mid-sized companies whose shares are publicly traded. James was City Editor and Executive Editor of the Evening Standard and Independent titles and before that City Editor of the Sunday Times. He is the author of several business books and chairs Oscar’s Book Prize, the annual search for the UK’s best picture book. James is also a non-executive director of Finsbury Growth & Income, the FTSE 250 investment trust.
Georgina Brittain is managing director and 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 a 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.
James became Chief Financial Officer of Breedon Group Plc at the beginning of 2021, who is engaged in supplying construction materials. Its products are Aggregates, Asphalt, Ready mixed concrete, Concrete Blocks and Cement.. From 2019 to 2021, he was Chief Financial Officer at Safe Harbour Holdings plc in 2019, an AiM listed investment vehicle seeking to acquire assets engaged in B2B distribution and/or business services across a range of sectors. From 2010 to 2019 he was the CFO of Tyman plc, a leading international supplier of engineered components to the door and window industry. Prior to joining Tyman he was a director in the investment banking division of Citigroup, having also worked for HSBC and Ernst & Young. James is a Chartered Accountant and is an alternate member of The Panel on Takeovers and Mergers on behalf of the Quoted Companies Alliance.
Steven has been the Chief Executive of Peel Hunt since 2016. Prior to become Chief Executive, he co-ran the firm as Managing Partner and Head of Equities. Steven led the management and staff buy-out of Peel Hunt from KBC bank in 2010.
Steven was a founding member of D. E. Shaw Securities International, which later became the core of KBC Financial Products. At KBC he managed the Japanese and Asian Equity, Convertible and Derivatives operations in Tokyo.
Steven has been a judge for the Non Executive Director Awards for over 10 years. Steven has an accountancy degree.
Steven was a founding member of D. E. Shaw Securities International, which later became the core of KBC Financial Products. At KBC he managed the Japanese and Asian Equity, Convertible and Derivatives operations in Tokyo.
Steven has been a judge for the Non Executive Director Awards for over 10 years. Steven has an accountancy degree.
Peter Harris joined Next 15 Communications Group plc as its Chief Financial Officer in November 2013 and was appointed as Executive Director in March 2014. Peter’s financial experience spans 30 years and he has extensive media experience, having spent the last 20 years in finance roles in 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 is an Audit Partner at 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.
Adam McConkey was a previous Chair of The Quoted Companies Alliance.
Adam is Portfolio Manager at Lombard Odier Asset Management (Europe) Limited and has been a Fund Manager for nearly 2 decades, 15 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 Asset Management (Europe) Limited.
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. Adam has a PhD in international relations and previously lectured in politics and economics.
Sangita Shah is the non-executive Chair of AIM traded Kinovo plc and RA International plc, lead board director of NASDAQ listed Forward Industries Inc. and serves on the board of Inspired plc and Ten Entertainment Group plc. Additionally, she serves as investor director on a small portfolio of private companies.
Sangita has extensive experience in corporate finance, journalism and senior consultancy. She has held a number of senior roles within blue chip organisations, including Unilever, Mars, Ernst & Young and KPMG, was a former board director of Swindon Town FC and a past President of the Chartered Institute of Journalists. She has consulted to a number of organisations that include HM Cabinet Office, HSBC and other blue chip companies.
Sangita is a qualified accountant and a frequent keynote Chair and speaker in forums for the Windsor Leadership Trust and in the past the European Parliament.
Mark Taylor is Chair of the QCA’s Legal Expert Group.
Mark is a senior corporate partner in the London office of Dorsey & Whitney, specialising in UK securities law and mergers and acquisitions. He has advised banks and issuers (including non-English domiciled companies) on over 50 flotations and secondary issues (rights issues and open offers) both on AIM and the main market of the London Stock Exchange. He is listed in public equity 'Leaders in their Field' category in Chambers Directory.
Mark has been an active ambassador for the AIM market and has given seminars on AIM at conferences and other events both in the UK and abroad.
Gary Thorpe is a retired solicitor and was the senior corporate finance partner of a major City firm until his retirement in April 2020. In a City career lasting over 35 years, he primarily advised quoted companies on raising capital and M&A transactions. During this time, he advised small and mid-sized quoted companies and nominated advisers and brokers on AIM transactions from the time that the AIM market was founded in 1995. He was Chairman of the QCA’s Legal Expert Group between 2013 and 2017.
