We are deeply saddened to share the news that our former Chairman, Lord Flight, passed away on Saturday 24th January.
Lord Flight was a wonderful Chairman, leading the EIS Association for 18 years. We owe him a great debt and he had a huge impact on both the Association and the wider EIS ecosystem. Under his Chairmanship, the Association grew significantly and both the EIS and SEIS are now widely recognised as key contributors to the UK’s success as a world leader for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Lord Flight stepped down as Chairman in 2023 after nearly two decades leading the Association. Last year, the Lord Flight Rising Star Award was named in his honour and serves as a tribute to his significant contribution to the Association.
We send our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Lady Flight, and family at this very sad time.
We will be collecting tributes from EIS Association members in remembrance of Lord Flight. Any messages can be sent to info@eisa.org.uk.
An obituary has been published in The Telegraph which can be read here and some tributes have been shared by current and former Board Members below:
“Lord Flight – Howard – wasn’t only a fierce advocate for growing UK businesses, he lived and breathed them wherever he was and whatever he was doing. He never missed an opportunity to promote the sector and was a firm believer in supporting those ventures through encouraging more people to invest early stage businesses be it through the EIS, VCTs and more recently SEIS. There was never a door that Howard wasn’t prepared to knock on to support the EIS ecosystem. We shall sorely miss him.”
– Keith Lassman, EIS Association Board Member
“We owe Howard an enormous debt, as it is no exaggeration to say he quite literally put EISA on the map. We were a small and modest organisation through the 1990s, but interest in the EIS accelerated in the boom years leading up to the Millennium and we needed to up our game. We also needed to find a replacement for our then Chair, who was keen to retire. Howard was top of my list and at the end of a long (and expensive!) lunch at the Goring Hotel, he agreed to take on the role (no thinking about it over the weekend for him). Howard’s extensive contacts opened doors for us in Westminster and laid the foundations of our close collaboration with key people at the Treasury and HMRC. His deep commitment was borne out of extensive financial and economic experience, plus a profound belief in the importance of tax relief as a key to growth. Under Howard’s tutelage, EISA graduated from fledgeling organisation to a highly effective official trade body. Howard also provided us with access to the House of Commons terrace, where we held our first annual awards ceremony in 2006, subsequently moving to the Lords when Howard was ennobled in 2011. Some 20 years later, our annual awards event in June remains the highlight of our growing event programme and serves as an appropriate memorial for his huge contribution.”
– Martin Sherwood, EIS Association Founder and former Board Member
“I was immensely proud to have taken on Chairship of the EISA following Lord Flight’s excellent tenure. I hope to continue his legacy with the same strength and determination he brought to this role and to the SMEs of the UK.”
– Joanna Jensen, EIS Association Chair