My career spans more than 3 decades and has a central theme of long term equity investment in small and medium sized companies - the heart and soul of our business community. As a corporate lawyer and most recently C-suite General Counsel my role is to find innovative and collaborative ways to provide the financial support, networks and platforms that allow businesses to grow to their full potential. This requires a combination of business acumen, risk assessment and legal knowledge to create a commercially realistic investment strategy which honours the business management's needs and acknowledges the investment provider's risk. My long career in the growth capital investment sector - starting at 3i Group plc, then working with other fund providers whilst at Gowling WLG and finally taking all that knowledge and joining the Executive Leadership group at BGF to build the world's most active growth capital investor - has provided me with a comprehensive understanding of the investment sector, access to a huge network of intermediaries and a lifetime of business experience. In my portfolio career, I look to share this expertise with General Counsel, in house legal teams, CEO/CFOs and law firms through consultancy work and NED roles.