OUR ADVISORY BOARD
Michael Balfour O.B.E.
Michael is a Chartered Accountant and the Founder of Fitness First, which he set up in 1992. The business is now the world’s largest health club chain operating in more than 18 countries with 1.5 million Members and over 530 clubs worldwide. Mike is Founder, Investor, and Chairman of The Hideaways Club and also a Founder Shareholder of Yacht Plus, the fractional super yacht business.
John Caudwell
John Caudwell, former Chief Executive of the Caudwell Group (including high street retailer Phones 4u), is one of Britain's most famous and influential entrepreneurs, as well as one of the Country's biggest fundraisers. In September 2006 John sold the Caudwell Group for £1.46 billion, the biggest single cash out for an organically grown business in the UK. One of the most important ventures in John's life is “Caudwell Children”, a charity he set up in March 2000. The charity is committed to changing the lives of children by providing individual donations of specialist equiptment, treatment and therapy, as well as its annual ‘Destination Dreams’ holiday for families coping with a child's terminal illness. To date, Caudwell Children has donated over £11m to thousands of children.
Jon Moulton
Jon is Chairman of Better Capital LLP, a quoted private equity fund. A Chartered Accountant by trade, Jon has forged a long-spanning career in private equity starting at Citicorp Venture Capital in London where he became Managing Director. He later became Managing Partner at Schroder Ventures (now Permira) and after a spell at Apax Partners founded Alchemy Partners, where he was Managing Partner for 12 years.
Dante Roscini
Dante is a senior lecturer in the Business, Government and International Economy Unit at Harvard Business School. He holds an MBA from Harvard and a degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Rome. Dante had a career spanning twenty years in investment banking including Head of European Capital Markets for Goldman Sachs, Head of Global Equity Capital Markets for Merrill Lynch, Country Head of Italy and Chairman of European Capital Markets at Morgan Stanley, as well a board member of Morgan Stanley International Bank. He is currently a board member of several European companies.
Stephen Vernon
Stephen is Executive Chairman of Green Property Ltd, a commercial property development company which specialises in the acquisition and management of large mixed portfolios of offices, retail and industrial property. Formerly an Irish plc, Stephen became Managing Director of Green Property in 1993 and took it private in 2002 for EUR 1.5bn.