EISA Presents: Ready, Steady, Grow! Evening Seminar – Thursday 4th October 2018
At Offices of Gillespie McAndrew – 5 Atholl Crescent, Edinburgh EH3 8EJ
We are organising these events in association with The Personal Investment Management and Financial Advice Association (PIMFA) under their “Growing Financial Futures seminars series.
Keynote Address by John Barrass, Deputy Chief Executive, PIMFA:
Brexit: “The Implications of the Outcome of the Final Withdrawal Agreement on Small Businesses, Entrepreneurs and Advisers”
There will be two breakout session taking place within this seminar. Each stream will come together for an opening presentation before breaking into separate, focused streams to hear relevant speakers from each sector. Delegates will come together for a final closing keynote presentation.
More speakers to be confirmed
Speakers:
John Barrass joined PIMFA (then known as the Wealth Management Association) as Deputy Chief Executive in July 2007. As part of his work he runs PIMFA interests in Public Policy and Government Relations, including Brexit, EU related business and anti-financial crime activity.
Prior to joining PIMFA, John was Head of CFA Institute Centre for Financial Market Integrity in EMEA which followed over 12 years running international regulatory policy for the UK Government, the Securities and Investments Board, and the Financial Services Authority.He spent the first 12 years of his career in HM Diplomatic Service immersed in Soviet and East European Affairs but with the fall of the Berlin Wall felt that it was time to move on. John was educated at Cambridge University, England, and has a Masters degree from the University of Essex.
Desmond FitzGerald joined PIMFA (then known as the Wealth Management Association) in November 2017 as a Senior Policy Adviser with a focus on the financial planning and wealth management policy area.
He was previously a senior adjudicator at the Financial Ombudsman Service with wide ranging experience of all products but most recently across the pension product area. He has also held roles at Irish Life Assurance, Scottish Mutual International and Bank of Ireland in Dublin.
Des holds a MSc in European Union policy from Birkbeck.
Nelson Gray has been an Angel investor for 20 years, is a member groups in Scotland and the USA, has personably invested in 44 companies, with 10 “good” exits and an existing portfolio of 21 (16 in the USA, 5 in the UK), and as a fund manager funded a further 50+ Scottish Companies. Presently on the investment committee of the UK Angel CoFund and a special advisor on early stage investment to Development Bank of Wales.
Working with the likes of the European Commission, The World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and numerous other government agencies he has provided advice to government and training and mentoring to entrepreneurs and Angel investors in many counties across Europe and further afield, including the USA, South America, India, Australia, Kazakhstan and New Zealand and has helped to build Angel groups in Scotland, Latvia, Jordan, Russia, Egypt and the Caribbean. He consults extensively on the use of entrepreneurship and Angel investment to drive economic development, and the use of public policy to stimulate Angel investment activity. Nelson was European Angel of the Year in 2008 and was awarded the Queens Award for Enterprise Promotion in 2015.
Reporting to the Head of Investment Management, Ian Mitchelmore leads the Financial Readiness Team where he is involved with raising capital for start-ups and growing companies in the equity and debt markets. The team also assist companies who are needing restructure assistance as a result of trading conditions and general advice on financial structures.
Ian has 37 years of corporate banking experience from his career with Bank of Scotland. Ian’s focus has always been on building and strengthening relationships with clients and taking a real interest in their business. Whilst he has covered a number of sectors, his recent focus has been on Manufacturing and Food and Drink sectors. Ian has strong transactional skills and is used to managing complex deal processes. Ian will discuss funding options available in Scotland.
