I recently joined Ralph Grayson on Sainty Hird & Partners' podcast, The Boardroom Path, to dissect these shifting currents. Drawing on my 20-year executive career at Fidelity International and Pantheon, alongside my active plural board appointments, we explored what "active governance" actually looks like when the stakes are high, and the wind is against you.

Earlier this month, between the 6th and 9th of July, I set out from my home in Brighton to kayak unsupported to the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) headquarters at Fort Cumberland, Portsmouth.

On the 25th of March 2026, I had the privilege of proposing the motion at the Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA) City Debate held at Rathbones in London: "This House believes that boards need to do more to engage with investors."

Following months of careful governance design and legal structuring, we have formally established the International Nautical Archaeology Foundation (INAF). This new, independent grant-giving foundation has been seeded by a generous, transformative bequest of over $1million from the late Edward & Saryl Von der Porten Trust.

The UK government’s ambition to unlock defined contribution (DC) pension assets to fuel "productive finance"—directing capital into private equity, venture capital, infrastructure, and private credit—is one of the most significant structural shifts in modern UK financial policy. It is an objective I, alongside the vast majority of the investment industry, wholeheartedly support.

More than 20 years have passed since Derek Higgs published his landmark 2003 Review of the Role and Effectiveness of Non-Executive Directors. At the time, the Higgs Review established the structural, compliance-driven blueprint that still defines corporate governance across the UK. But what made for an effective board in 2003 is no longer fit for purpose in 2026.

I am delighted to share that, as of January 2026, I have formally joined the board of Aurora UK Alpha PLC as an Independent Non-Executive Director, serving alongside my colleagues on the Audit, Nominations, and Management Engagement Committees.

Earlier this month, we marked the formal conclusion of the successful take-private transaction of Apax Global Alpha Limited (AGA), a FTSE 250 listed private equity investment company. The transaction valued the company's entire issued share capital at approximately £794.5 million, ($1.01 billion), delivering a 33.1% premium to the undisturbed share price and representing a milestone in the UK listed private equity landscape.

I recently joined Oliver Cummings, CEO of Nurole, on the Enter the Boardroom podcast to discuss these shifting market realities. Drawing on my background as a former Head of Investment Trusts at Fidelity International and Managing Director at Pantheon Ventures, we unpacked the unique governance levers available to trust boards, how to constructively challenge portfolio managers, and what it takes to build a highly structured, plural board career.