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Entrepreneur and leading private equity figure Luke Johnson will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Guernsey Funds Forum.
The Chairman of private equity house Risk Capital Partners will top the bill for the annual event, which this year is titled ‘The new scope - investor perspectives, innovation and success’, and takes place on Thursday 12 May at etc. venues, 155 Bishopsgate in London.
Guernsey Finance Chief Executive Dominic Wheatley said he was delighted that Mr Johnson, the man behind several instantly-recognisable high street brands, had agreed to speak at the forum.
Mr Wheatley said: “Luke is probably best known for his work with restaurant chain PizzaExpress, which he grew from 12 restaurants to more than 250 before selling it in 1999, and for being the former Chairman of Channel 4 Television, but that is only a tiny fraction of what he has done and achieved. Quite simply, he’s one of the biggest names in the private equity industry with a track record that is second-to-none.
“What he says carries significance across the marketplace and I am sure many others will be joining me in really looking forward to hearing his insight into the current environment and what it means for investment opportunities.”
The event, which last year attracted more than 500 delegates, will be moderated for the seventh successive year by ITV News anchor, Alastair Stewart OBE. There will also be two panel sessions with speakers including Kate Simpson from Proskauer, Tim Hughes from PwC, Robin Klein from Localglobe, Blaise Duault from PAI Partners, Bernard Vogel from Endeavour Vision, Phillip Hyett from Funding Circle, Nick Magliocchetti from Whitespace Ventures, Geoff Miller from GLI Finance and Adam Black from Coller Capital.
The first panel session will look at innovation in the funds arena including a focus on how to access credit in the current climate, whether alternatives have become the new mainstream and if de-risking should be regarded as an opportunity or a threat.
The second will highlight investor perspectives including a focus on ESG investment, tax transparency, data aggregation and asset owners, as well as consider cyber risks and investor portals and whether the depositary should be seen as a ‘value-add’ or a burden.
Mr Wheatley added: “We received extremely positive feedback after last year’s record-breaking forum and our aim now is to build on that success. With this in mind, we have ensured that the content of this year’s sessions is as topical as ever. Looking at the quality of the panellists I believe we will have some very insightful debate that will be relevant to a broad cross-section of practitioners working in the sector.”
Guernsey Funds Forum 2016 is scheduled to get underway from midday with registration and lunch and will conclude with a networking drinks reception at 5pm.
