The BVCA, the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, has appointed Simon Walker, currently senior adviser to the chairman and chief executive of the Reuters group, as its
The BVCA, the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, has appointed Simon Walker, currently senior adviser to the chairman and chief executive of the Reuters group, as its new chief executive from November 1.
Before joining Reuters, Walker had previously been communications secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, director of corporate affairs at British Airways, and a member of the Downing Street Policy Unit.
The BVCA’s previous chief executive, Peter Linthwaite, stepped down in June after being heavily criticised for his performance before the British parliament’s Treasury Select Committee, amid controversy over the private equity industry’s ability to minimise the tax paid by partners on carried interest in the funds managed by their firms.
‘We are very pleased that Simon is going to be leading the BVCA,’ says BVCA chairman Wol Kolade. ‘With his background in campaigning, journalism, Whitehall and Brussels, and his broad experience of communications at some of the highest profile institutions and companies in Britain, he has got just the mix of skills that we were looking for.’
Says Walker: ‘The private equity and venture capital industry is making a huge contribution to the economy and to the welfare of millions of pensioners, consumers and working people. Its success is at the heart of Britain’s leadership of global financial services. The private equity industry is moving towards new levels of openness and transparency. This will help show the wider community how it fosters innovation, employment and enterprise.’
The BVCA claims to represent virtually every private equity and venture capital business based in the UK. The association’s selection committee for the chief executive post consisted of Kolade, who is managing director of Isis Equity Partners, Jeremy Hand, BVCA vice-chairman and managing partner of Lyceum Capital Partners, Simon Havers, chairman of the BVCA training committee and managing director of Baird Capital Partners Europe, KKR managing director (Lord) Clive Hollick, Cinven partner Andrew Joy and Jo Taylor, chairman of the BVCA venture committee and managing partner at 3i.
