Category: News

river n mer

Asset Management Group Achieves Success with Premier Hedge Fund

Posted on | by root
 

An advisory and asset management specialist, River and Mercantile Group is dedicated to improving the investment outcomes of its clients. With 250 staff spanning offices in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia, the firm is a leading provider of Equities, Derivatives and Investment Solutions, and in 2018 launched its first macro hedge fund. Discover why they were recognised as one of the UK’s leading experts in macro funds for 2019.

Listed on the London Stock Exchange and with group assets under management and advice of £65bn, River and Mercantile Group (R&M) is committed to offering the very best investment solutions and funds to its institutional and wholesale client base. The company works with pension schemes, their advisors, wholesale investment platforms, fund-of-funds managers, and professional intermediaries, amongst others.

R&M’s consultative engagement helps clients solve specific needs, or meet particular challenges, through the most appropriate combination of the range of services it provides. R&M can support clients in three fundamental ways: an allencompassing ‘holistic’ solution which manages the entirety of the client’s assets, a strategy for providing added value in specific markets relative to market benchmarks, or design specific strategy components to sit within clients’ wider solutions.

The team at R&M listens to their clients, in order to understand why and how the client’s challenge is specific to them and to design an equally tailored solution, rather than simply attempt to implement a prescriptive ‘one size fits all’ service that is not in the client’s best interest. The client’s goals, objectives and timeframe are critical factors that need to be considered to ensure the best possible outcome.

Within the depth and breadth of R&M’s business, one of its key specialisms is its knowledge, experience and fundamental understanding of macro elements. 2019 has seen the firm cement its status as a key innovator in the macro fund industry.

The River and Mercantile Global Macro fund, launched in 2018, is designed to provide clients access to the purest form of the firm’s best macro thinking, targeting double-digit annualised returns over a cycle, while providing positive absolute returns in sustained negative equity markets.

R&M’s investment team has been managing multi-asset portfolios since 2003, using the same collaborative and research-intensive process. The company has gained a fundamental understanding of rotating capital across the full asset class spectrum. This experience, which R&M believes places it in a uniquely dynamic position, is integral in appropriately understanding clients’ needs and developing the solutions required to improve those same clients’ outcomes.

R&M’s success is ultimately down to the success of its clients. By listening to those clients, carrying out exacting analysis and research, and designing bespoke yet cost effective solutions that enable client goals to be reached, this client-centric investment specialist continues to grow in reputation and strength.

rms

Superb CEO Secures Legacy

Posted on | by root
 

Founded in 2005 by visionary retail expert Peter O’Toole, RMS has consistently grown year on year to become one of the country’s leading merchandising companies for many of the top retailers throughout the United Kingdom. Following the passing of the baton to son Daniel O’Toole, discover his journey to become the UK’s leading CEO for 2019.

Almost fifteen years after the firm’s initial formation, RMS has come a long way under the sage leadership of both father and son, Peter and Daniel O’Toole. Following his father’s death in 2015, Daniel’s appointment as CEO has seen him go on to secure his father’s legacy and cement his own place amongst the very best CEOs in the United Kingdom today. Making significant progress, securing big-money clients and driving the business forward, the story of this family business is fascinating.

Working with some of the UK’s biggest retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, ASDA, John Lewis, Boots, B&Q, Argos, Waitrose and Wilko to name just a few, RMS are fulfilling their potential to be the retail change partner of choice Experts in the retail industry, the leadership team’s unrivalled knowledge, passion for the industry, and cuttingedge technology has firmly established them as more than capable of delivering industryleading services.

Daniel’s story of growth from loving son to inspiring leader is the exemplification of how RMS works, their people and growing talent from within. Upon his appointment to CEO in late 2015, Daniel was thrust into a brand new world of executive leadership in which he had previously experienced very little. However, being a family firm, the choice was logical, and has since proved to be the right one.

Regardless of his lack of experience in retail and the fact he was now responsible for a large company that had exciting future prospects, Daniel delivered. Not just for the firm, but for his father as well. Peter always worked hard to grow the business, and Daniel has made that happen as CEO. Between 2015 and 2017, RMS went from 100 to 500 employees in the field, as well as almost doubling turnover from £8m to £15m.

The expertise and experience of the leadership team around Daniel at RMS cannot be overstated. Despite the challenges that lay before the firm following the tragic passing of founder Peter O’Toole, both sons Daniel and Connah have truly stepped up and delivered the company into a period of great prosperity and success. Alongside a management some team of twenty experts, the team leaders and all the flexible merchandisers at RMS boast a combined 3,000 plus years of retail experience.

Since becoming CEO, Daniel has successfully managed to get his entire team to buy into a new culture and new business model with a refined strategy and core company values. With such a wealth of experience and knowledge around him, Daniel felt it key that RMS management staff were engaged and empowered to not fear failure or innovation, instead seeking out opportunity to influence the direction of the business.

Partners of the firm had such faith in Peter, given his retail expertise and consistently high quality of work. Despite the low expectations for how the company would fare following his sudden death, Daniel was keen to meet with partners and lay to rest any concerns. His commitment and drive for the business’ achievement won over clients, and have continued to do so to this day, as success keeps on coming.
In his short time as CEO, Daniel has already made significant progress for RMS staff. Ensuring the company recognises the effort and commitment of its staff, the pool of direct company employees has grown, and the firm have introduced the “RMS-First” policy which puts staff before anything else. All members of staff can now also access increased levels of benefits, with a massive focus placed on training and development to ensure everyone is at their best.

As part of his staff development plans, Daniel ring fenced significant spending for training purposes. Key staff have been enrolled on courses designed to enhance management and finance skills, and every officebased employee has a personal development plan to better see how their RMS career will benefit both themselves and the business. Taking his father’s idea that staff are the company’s most valuable asset, Daniel has expanded greatly on it and truly put his staff at the heart of the business.

Incredibly, Daniel’s refreshing outlook on leadership earned him not just one, but two Institute of Director Awards in 2018, which was made even more special because Peter won the same award a few years previously. After Peter’s passing Daniel had big boots to fill, and it is fair to say that he is certainly doing that.

Not just delivering for his inhouse workers, Daniel has also continued the growth of RMS as a business. Over the last few years, securing Sainsbury’s as a multimillion-pound client has proven to be a major accomplishment, finally catching the one that got away from Peter for so long. As was also signing a contract with Boots, seeing the firm become involved in a nationwide revamp project in 400 stores.

One of the company’s newest core values is that of innovation, as Daniel is determined to have RMS find better ways to do things. Sharpening their focus on the role that technology plays at the firm, they have invested heavily in developing a new end-to-end system, flex. The initial purpose of flex was to replace an archaic scheduling system. However, in December 2017, RMS supported several of their biggest retail partners at the busiest time of the year with replenishment support. In two weeks leading up to Christmas, RMS moved £500m of retail stock from storage to shop floor. Fundamental to this successful project was flex, and RMS’s partners soon began having conversations about how this technology could suit their needs. It was a lightbulb moment; Daniel realised that with further development flex could be a force to be reckoned with, a true industry disruptor.

The core philosophy upon which flex is built is the idea that any company, regardless of size, should be able to find skilled, flexible workers to complete shifts and support projects. flex also aspires to make flexible working actually be that – truly flexible. Daniel wants workers to take control of their worklife balance, giving them the power and choice over when and where they work, because he understands that happy employees have such a positive effect on productivity.

Constantly evolving and innovating, flex has provided RMS with a more productive workflow, greater quality control, improved brand awareness, and reinforced positive relationships with partners. Once flex is launched, Daniel knows that other companies will reap these same rewards.

Instead of deliberating, idling and remaining fixed, the successes of both Daniel and RMS are down to the company’s ability to do, innovate, and flex. With an expert team around him, including Chief Morale Officer Murphy the dog, Daniel has calmly steered the business through turbulent times into a future of financial prosperity. A business is only as good as its leaders, and therefore, this business is very, very good indeed.

CEO

Mihai Ivascu: A CEO Changing the Face of Business

Posted on | by root
CEO
 

There can be no doubt that Mihai Ivascu has made a bombastic impact on the global technology space. As CEO and Founder of Modex, he has become one of the leaders of a landscape that has become defined by innovation, evolution and adaptation. We spoke with Mihai to find out more about this extraordinary company and his ethos as one of the guiding figures in this challenging environment.

“Modex is a blockchain enablement platform. We radically simplify blockchain deployment so businesses can balance security and innovation.” – Mihai Ivascu

Even in the fast-developing world of finance, Modex through Mihai’s leadership, has managed to stay ahead and at the cutting-edge, offering best in clas services to a truly global market – an impressive feat by all considerations. Working in the blockchain industry, Modex has become a stalwart, helping to define and determine the future of this ever-changing arena.

Ultimately, the foundation of Modex was established on a need for a solution to the problems that plagued the -largely still developing – blockchain sector, as Mihai explains in more detail. “The initial concept was a marketplace which would bridge the gap between developers and end-users, but we discovered that the tools required for blockchain development were rudimentary and fragmented. As a response to this issue, we decided to create a development environment which would encompass an extensive set of tools, specially tailored to meet the needs of developers.

Our current project – Modex Blockchain Database (BCDB) provides enterprises a way to integrate blockchain technology in their business model in a matter of days, without requiring them to build a new business infrastructure.”

Crucially, Modex’s central ethos can be summarised by a need for proactivity, and a restlessness which drives every action and decision. Here Mihai talks on the company’s need to react to every development and to capitalise on every opportunity. “We carefully analyse every emerging trend in the blockchain area since day one, but we choose to focus our efforts only on the ones which show potential to solve realworld problems. For example, at the beginning of this year, the concept of a hybrid blockchain increased in popularity. For some time, Modex was developing in-house its hybrid solution for blockchain adoption with a highend possibility of customization. The end result is Modex BCDB, which we want to become a gateway to every single company who wants to migrate its database server to a hybrid blockchain database. At the end of the day, we see ourselves as pioneers – creating solutions before they gain traction.”

“We created the world’s first ecosystem for blockchain developers, which has all the tools necessary for development unified in a single place.”

As a result of this proactivity – which feeds off of Mihai’s naturally ambitious personality- Modex have quickly amassed a burgeoning global client base and have implemented over sixty projects. “Among the blockchain implementation projects that are underway we start to work with Dietsmann company, Oil and gas giant, the global leader in energy maintenance and operations. We also have early Modex BCDB early adopters like Evonomix, Maillon, Box2M, AlphaBlock , SigTree and KPEYE.”

For large financial institutions, Modex can offer a complete package, providing the initial analysis, achievable technical solutions, implementation and maintenance of any systems. “We’ve asked the question: Why are businesses contacting us? Because Modex BCDB simplifies the adoption process of this technology by 90%.”

Despite Mihai’s significant achievements, he credits the work of his staff in securing Modex’s enduring – and growing – success in the industry. “The core of our business is our magnificent team.

Every product or functionality relies on the cutting-edge work provided by these guys. Modex has an amazing team of engineers and programmers who are working on projects right now that will take financial institutions and enterprises to the next level.

“Every team and department in the company has – and continues to do -an exceptional job. I like to think of Modex as a tourbillon watch put together by many experienced people from tech and non-tech companies, with innovation at the core of our business model, which can be, in this analogy, the skeleton itself. In other words, you can see the technological breakthrough at the centre of the company and watch how the mechanism works around it,” Mihai adds.

“When you talk about the benefits of blockchain, for developers or for companies, everybody is missing one truly important thing: the government.”

Mihai continues, moving to discuss this point in more detail. “Without government implication, without legislation and administrative interest, this cutting-edge technology is a diamond needing to be discovered. Solving real life problems for people in need will be much easier with the government’s endorsement.”

Finally, when it comes to the future of Modex, Mihai offers more insight into the firm’s efforts to expand their product range and solidify their position on this most challenging of environments. “We are a global company. We have clients in North America, Asia, Europe, and we recently entered the Middle East market. Our company is currently evaluated at over 100 million EUR, but we have made it our goal to become the first unicorn blockchain company. In two years we managed to build a blockchain enabling platform which covers every sphere of blockchain adoption. In 2019, we launch our core product – BCDB – and the plan from now one is to expand the blockchain adoption for businesses.”

“With blockchain we are experiencing a vast paradigm shift, similar to that presented by the dawn of the internet three decades ago. Blockchain will be like the internet today: we cannot see the internet, but we know that the internet is, to put it simply, doing things. Important things. Crucial things. Allowing us to develop faster, improve, evolve and be -simply- better.”

Abresos

A Leader in the Biotech Sphere Driving the Future of Personalised Treatments

Posted on | by root
Abresos
 

Abreos Biosciences is a privately-owned San Diego-based biotechnology company that develops precision dosing solutions for biologic therapies. In March, the company’s Chief Executive, Dr Bradley Messmer, was recognised as 2019’s Most Influential Pharmaceutical CEO in the United States for his contributions to the field. We spoke with Bradley to find out more about his company and their ground-breaking work.

By all regards, the idea of ‘personalised medicine’ is not a particularly new one. Indeed, as a concept, it has been around since the beginning of the 21st century, though its roots can be found earlier, sometime in the mid-1900s. The core tenets are sound – people are inherently unique, so cookie cutter blanket-treatments can only be so effective. Within the field of Oncology, where the ‘same’ cancer can present itself in very different ways, a personalised approach becomes all the more essential.

Though, as Bradley explains, Abreos Biosciences’s biopharmaceutical applications extends far beyond Oncology, feeding further developments in immunology, autoimmunity and neurology. “Our Veritope™ dose monitoring platform enables rapid analysis of drug levels in treated patients so that optimal dosing for each patient, thereby reducing side effects and cost. Our lead project is a new integrated therapeutic solution for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis which combines our dosing platform with off-patent
rituximab, a proven biologic therapy for this disease.”

For many experts working in the field, personalised treatments represent the undisputed future of medicine. Bradley agrees, driving home the importance of his company’s work and the role that they play in advancing the collective understanding of genetic variability: “Personalized treatments will achieve best in class outcomes for patients while managing costs by using off patent biologic agents for a highly de-risked clinical development pathway. The approach can be replicated across many other therapeutic areas. The company has received substantial support from the NIH through SBIR grants and has an ongoing research collaboration with the FDA.

“We work closely with leading clinicians in the relevant therapeutic areas to identify areas where traditional, onedose-fits all approaches are sub-optimal. We find that there is great appetite among patients and physicians for better tools to tailor therapy to the individual.”

Naturally, Abreos’ success is, in part at least, driven by the team at its centre, as Bradley moves on to discuss. “We have built a great team that supports both the science and the business. I view my role as CEO to be to empower the talented people that work with me since they are what really drives the company. I’m lucky to have people that I trust in key roles and their work ethic, dedication, and belief in our mission inspires me in return.”

This team, in addition to Bradley’s steadfast leadership, will no doubt result in further success throughout 2019, despite notable challenges. Chef among them is overcoming the preconception that personalised medicine is not simply a fad or an artefact of science fiction. Significant advancements are on the horizon, and the industry must keep apace for these opportunities to be fully capitalised on.

“Personalized medicine is a common buzzword but in reality, commercial and regulatory challenges are ongoing and holding it back. Additionally, healthcare comprises many stakeholders and aligning all of them for the benefit of the patients is not always easy or obvious.

“Ultimately, we look forward to beginning clinical studies that will demonstrate the power of personalized dosing of biologic drugs.”

software solved

Software Solved launches Insurance Practice with 20-year strong experience in the sector

Posted on | by root
 

Software Solved, the data and software specialist, is delighted to announce the launch of its Insurance Practice which is dedicated to serving clients in the Insurance sector. The practice launch builds upon the company’s 20 years’ experience creating innovative solutions for the leading national and global Insurance firms.

In the competitive insurance industry, insurers are increasingly having to modernise legacy processes to remain agile and meet customers rising expectations.

With Software Solved’s understanding of these challenges, the team excels in ground-breaking risk management, underwriting, distribution and data visualisation solutions which enable insurers to work more efficiently and productively.

The launch of the Insurance Practice reflects the company’s unique expertise in the industry. Software Solved proudly works with several of the Top Ten Insurers in the UK on their digital transformation projects, a testament to the company’s industry pedigree.

The Insurance Practice includes a dedicated team of Software Solved’s Insurance technology experts who have long been working with renowned insurers such as RSA Group.

Software Solved’s strengths lie in transparent consultancy and harnessing the best technologies for data visualisation and software which meet the needs of each individual client. For RSA, Software Solved created the award-winning RSAred platform which provides real-time access to risk data for customers, their brokers and RSA risk consultants. This enables tangible, reliable and actionable insight for all parties.

The company is delighted to welcome Rob Faulkner to lead the Insurance Practice, who brings extensive experience in digital transformation for the Insurance industry. Rob has held key positions in business development, product management and marketing with firms such as Aviva Plc, Allianz, Brit Plc, JLT and Towergate Insurance.

Innovation is integral to Software Solved’s approach. Recently the company partnered with the University of Plymouth as part of its Innovate UK Machine Learning project. Software Solved is exploring new ways for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to support faster and more accurate risk assessment and rich data analysis.

Software Solved is excited to bring trailblazing technologies to insurance clients and support them in becoming more efficient and customer-centric.

Lindsay Lucas, Managing Director at Software Solved, said: “We are thrilled to be launching our Insurance Practice and building upon our reputation for delivering expert data and software solutions in this sector.

“The insurance landscape is changing, from the way firms assess risk to the increasing volume of data at their disposal. Great customer experience is also now an expectation for insurers. Brokers and underwriters need the digital tools which support intelligent decision-making, leverages their data and improves the service for clients.

“We pride ourselves on delivering value-led software which meets this need and empowers firms to evolve in a competitive market. The team is committed to being transparent, authentic and collaborative with clients and this enables us to deliver unrivalled results.”

Rob Faulkner, Insurance Practice Lead, commented: “I am delighted to be joining the Software Solved team and leading the Insurance Practice at this exciting time in the industry. Digital transformation is a key opportunity for insurance businesses, yet it can also be a daunting one.

“Our team’s unique experience in custom software and consultancy means we are with clients each step of the way in their modernisation. Software Solved is at the cutting edge in machine learning and data analytics platforms and this is where insurers can dramatically improve their operational efficiency and customer experience.”

Talent battle

The battle for talent just got tougher

Posted on | by root
By Martin Atkins, lead partner for advisory services, and Ed Hussey director of people solutions at Menzies LLP

 

After a long period of stagnation, recent ONS statistics highlight that UK wages are growing at an annual rate of 3.8 per cent – faster than the rate of inflation. As such, inflation seems to have regained its position as the minimum benchmark for salary increases.

While undoubtedly great news for employees, these increased costs will have a ripple effect that could rock senior business leaders across the professional services industry. For mid-tier firms in particular, the pressure is on to review remuneration and reward packages and invent new ways to recruit and retain talent.

The tendency to hire ‘walk-in employees’, is a common problem in the UK. The uncertain economic climate has created a demand for candidates who can start a new role with little to no training, and larger businesses are willing to pay a premium to secure them. This trend is exacerbating the issue of wage growth and making the battle for talent harder for SMEs.

For businesses of all sizes, the recruitment problem is multi-faceted but ultimately stems from a shortage of highly skilled, versatile individuals. In large organisations, highly experienced candidates often have a large amount of bargaining power when it comes to negotiating their salary. In today’s fast-moving business environment, some workers may be highly skilled with industry experience accumulated over several years, but struggle to deal with the pace of technological change. Even if additional training is required in areas such as the use of new technologies, larger businesses can usually afford to make this investment to ensure they meet all aspects of the role requirements. On the other hand, SMEs and mid-tier firms may not be able to stretch as far financially and need to think outside of the box to prove that financial benefits aren’t the be-all and end-all for employees.

On a highly competitive playing field, a key starting point should be to create an exceptional ‘employer brand’, which accurately represents the culture of the business and its staff. In order to do this, it is essential to understand the business’ USPs. For example, it is important to question what the organisation stands for and what an individual in a new role can contribute to the business. In order to communicate these messages effectively, employers should engage with the existing team to find out what they love about working within the business. These insights can help to generate an authentic company story which can be conveyed through the firm’s communications channels, including its social media platforms and website.

The recruitment process is often the first opportunity for a business to make a positive impression on a potential new employee and is a clear indicator of the organisation’s core values; attracting top talent can hang on the success of the candidate’s experience. Whilst new streamlined technology and AI can help businesses to refine their processes and tailor their interactions with individuals, something as simple as ensuring points of contact are responsive and friendly can set an employer apart and leave candidates with a lasting impression.

As well as the need for SMEs to attract quality individuals, knowing how to effectively develop existing talent is also crucial. Having a dedicated HR team that is responsible for coordinating a formal training programme can be invaluable in this sense; any business relying on people’s skills to generate revenue needs to boost those skills in order to maximise profit. Ultimately, an employer who feels accountable for the direction and career progression of its employees is likely to receive more commitment from them in return.

Today, people tend to be focused on securing their next promotion and are often not prepared to wait for progression. As such, providing individuals with the necessary information and support to climb the ladder is key to keeping them aligned with the business. The attitude and skill of line managers to provide feedback, discuss development and show empathy is therefore vital.  As motivational speaker and business consultant, Marcus Buckingham, famously said, “People leave managers, not companies.”

Ensuring that the recruitment process is flexible enough to take the personality and aspirations of a potential employee into consideration can help to ensure that they are a good fit. Rather than focusing on finding the ‘perfect candidate’, a ‘can-do’ attitude is often far more valuable when shaping a proactive and loyal workforce. With the right approach to training in place, the rest can be taught.

For SMEs, the loss of a star performer can have an emotional, as well as a commercial effect. Nonetheless, a positive attitude should extend throughout the duration of an employee’s time within the company.  Maintaining relationships in this way, even recognising sometimes that a star employee’s needs can’t be met by the firm, creates ‘good leavers’ who remain assets for the business.  Recently, the business world has seen a push towards more positive employment practices such as work-life balance. Options such as inclusion policies, mental health schemes, volunteering opportunities, CSR, flexible working, and more relaxed dress codes can all help to keep employees happy.

One of the key challenges SMEs face when competing with larger firms is ensuring that any wage increases are sustainable; inevitably, these costs need to be passed onto the client. The UK is also, however, battling a culture of ‘scope creep’, a gradual process that starts with small adjustments to a project but can end up causing delays or even overall project failure. To combat this trend, driving awareness of these tactics and ensuring that the team responsible knows the importance of sticking to a brief is essential. Supporting teams to develop ‘courageous integrity’ is important, e.g. having brave conversations about the value of what is being delivered in the face of price pressure. This goes hand in hand with building confidence and trust in working relationships.

The battle for talent within the professional services industry is tough, made tougher for mid-tier firms by recent wage growth. Whilst attractive on the surface, higher salaries don’t always mean better career progression, and may instead encourage a higher rate of staff turnover. By polishing up their recruitment processes and employer brand, SMEs can ensure that they stand out from the crowd and attract a skilled, adaptable and diverse workforce.

Gary Collins

Film Financiers Propel Industry Forward

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Based in the United Kingdom, Red Rock Entertainment is one of the country’s most successful film finance companies. Located at the world-famous Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, the firm is also home to AI’s CEO of the Year for London, Gary Collins. Discover the company’s success, under Gary’s sage leadership, as we profile the firm.

 

Working in conjunction with a number of British production companies, Red Rock Entertainment help raise equity for film, television programmes, and film distribution through a number of tax-efficient investment opportunities. Elstree Studios, where the film financiers are situated, is home to some of Britain’s biggest television shows and the studio of choice for many successful British films.

Carefully choosing the projects that they work on, Red Rock Entertainment primarily work on projects that are at an advanced stage, and looking for the crucial, final amounts of financing. Solely focusing on film and TV projects that have a commercial appeal and identifiable audience, the firm help with moderately low and controllable costs on projects that have a sound financial structure moving forward.

Production and distribution companies hire Red Rock Entertainment to act as executive producers and principal financiers for any ongoing projects. Making films and television shows can be a costly affair, so the executive producers essentially act as financial backers, ensuring that production gets the extra financial kick it needs to get to the distribution phase.

Focusing entirely on the projects as an investment opportunity, Red Rock Entertainment alwaysensure that they work alongside the directors and producers to make sure that any project stays within monetary and time-based constraints. Any money invested through the firm is sent directly to the UK-based production company, or their appointed representatives.

Investors have the possibility to visit the sets during filming, even appearing as extras and attending private screenings put on especially for them. For prospective investors, or those unsure about what it might entail, Red Rock Entertainment also arrange film investment seminars, which take place at Elstree Studios. Seminars include guest speakers from various film companies and qualified accountants to explain the various tax advantages of investing within the film industry.

As a client-focused firm, Red Rock Entertainment work with a wide variety of individuals and companies at various stages in the film production industry. The company’s client base has worked with people from more than fifty countries, and from all walks of life. Either passionate about the industry and wanting to be a part of the magic, or looking for a profitable investment in a project, clients are at the centre of everything that this company seek to achieve.

Staff play a huge role in the continued success of the company, Gary’s leadership has seen the company finance projects for both film and television that have gone on to garner wide praise and success.

In his tenure, Gary’s work has helped Red Rock Entertainment to give the green light to all manner of projects. Just a short selection of those projects have involved top-quality British actors such as Timothy Spall, Sir John Hurt, Alice Eve, Stephen Berkoff, Joanna Lumley and Sir Derek Jacobi. Gary’s industry knowledge and expertise has also featured in national news, with commentary on the impact of Brexit towards the UK film industry.

Under the sage and expert leadership of Gary, each and every team member at Red Rock Entertainment are dedicated towards the continued success of the company, and the projects they are involved in. With a strong enthusiasm for the film industry, every person from the administration staff, to the creative team and media agents understand their role in helping new companies and projects get the finance they require.

Having just attended the Dinard Film Festival and Marbella Film Festival, Red Rock Entertainment have been promoting an upcoming film, Brighton. With a further two screenings planned before the end of 2019, film investors have the rare opportunity to meet the cast and crew of two upcoming films, Brighton and Ria. At the screening of Brighton, investors can meet with stars Phil Davis, Lesley Sharp, Larry Lamb, and Marion Bailey, and for Ria, investors can greet stars Luke Goss, Dean Cain, Amar Adatia, Jess Impiazzi, Charlie Clapham, and Kimberly Wyatt.

Red Rock Entertainment ensure that they are always present at the world’s biggest film festivals, as well as the more intimate and independent ones. Events such as Cannes Film & Television Festival, London Film Festival, American Film Market, and the Berlin International Film Festival are an opportunity to see new films being launched, where deals are made, and careers begin. Showcasing their current projects and looking to acquire new projects, the firm are always present and ready to work with those passionate about the film industry.

Looking to the future, Red Rock Entertainment has big plans for increased expansion. The company is looking to launch their own film platform where users can subscribe, but without a monthly fee.

Ultimately, the exhilaration of the film industry lies in taking a script and transforming it into an exciting film that can be viewed by people all over the world. Whether enjoying it in the local cinema or from the comforts of one’s own home, films have a remarkable ability to draw people together, and this UK-based film financier is helping to promote some of the nation’s homegrown talent.

 

Website: https://redrockentertainment.com/

Record GDPR fine provides stark data and payment protection warning to business owners

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Image

With reports* confirming that British Airways will be fined £183 million by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) following a significant data breach last year, PCI Pal‘s CEO James Barham is encouraging businesses to step-up data protection processes and utilise descoping payment security technologies, so no sensitive card data is available to hackers.

It was reported that approximately 380,000 transactions were affected in the breach, with compromised data including names, email addresses and some credit and debit card information.

James Barham, CEO of PCI Pal responds: “Payment card data is the ultimate reward for hackers therefore businesses need to look at all areas of potential vulnerability in both their systems and processes. It is vital to identify solutions that can prevent such breaches from occurring, which will not only help avoid hefty financial penalties, but also the loss in customer confidence and reputational damage.

“Today, businesses can avoid storing payment card data by using descoping technologies. If integrated into contact centres, sensitive data will never enter the enterprise when payments are transacted over the phone, meaning the risk is removed.

Concludes Barham: “By using the right secure payment technologies to simplify a company’s route to PCI compliance, ultimately data security is improved so much so that it is as though card data is not handled in the first place. Additionally, utilising technology in this regard clearly demonstrates to customers that the company they are dealing with has taken steps to secure their data.”

PCI Pal secures payments for some of the largest companies in a range of markets, including retail, services, logistics, and utilities. It provides secure payment solutions for contact centres and businesses taking Cardholder Not Present (CNP) payments.

PCI Pal’s globally accessible cloud platform empowers organisations to take payments securely without bringing their environments into scope of PCI DSS and other relevant data security rules and regulations.

For more information, visit www.pcipal.com or call +44 207 030 3770 to arrange a demonstration. Alternatively, follow PCI Pal on Twitter.

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Ellisons

Ellisons Solicitors incorporating Gross & Co. expands its immigration offering

Posted on | by root
 

Naomi Ogo joins Ellisons’ immigration team in Bury St Edmunds

Ellisons Solicitors incorporating Gross & Co. has appointed Naomi Ogo as an immigration law specialist, joining the firm’s immigration team based in Bury St Edmunds.

Naomi is a highly experienced solicitor, having been nominated in the Legal 500 list between 2015 and 2018, and is well known for handling a wide variety of immigration cases. As an immigration expert, she is well versed in dealing with the Home Office on a variety of matters in order to achieve successful results for her clients, which have included blue chip corporations, high net worth individuals and renowned entrepreneurs from around the world.

Commenting on her appointment, Naomi said: “I am delighted to be joining Ellisons at such an exciting time of growth. It is a firm with an established good reputation and I am really looking forward to working with Graeme and the team.”

This is the 32nd appointment for Ellisons in the past 12 months, which has seen the team grow to almost 250, including 25 partners across its seven offices in Suffolk and Essex.

International work is a key growth area for Ellisons and is one which Naomi will help to expand, having spent years bringing in new business in her previous roles. She is a native Japanese speaker and has worked with members of the Japanese community in the UK, as well as clients from the USA, South Africa, Russia, the Middle East and Asia.

Graeme Kirk, Ellisons’ partner and Head of Immigration commented: “Immigration is a fast-moving area of law, and Naomi’s experience will be a great asset for the team. We very much look forward to introducing her to clients and continuing to deliver excellent and customised service to help Japanese clients from start to finish to our existing and new clients.”

Ellisons offers a comprehensive range of services to both corporate and private clients, including:

Commercial Property, Residential Property, Immigration, Dispute Resolution, Wills, Trust and Probate, Insurance Litigation, Employment and HR, Corporate and Commercial, International Services and many other areas which are listed on the website.

PRS for Music

Roger James and Mark Krajewski join PRS for Music

Posted on | by root
 

Pictured Above: Roger James, Mark Krajewski

 

PRS for Music announced today the appointment of two new members of its Executive Leadership Team. Roger James joins as Chief Commercial Officer and General Counsel and Mark Krajewski takes up the role as Chief Information Officer.

A qualified lawyer, Senior Media Executive and board member, Roger started his career at City firm Richards Butler. Previously International General Counsel at Viacom from 2009 to 2016 and more recently, Head of Business Affairs for Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment, he has over 23 years of international media deal-making experience.

While at Viacom, Roger managed a global team of 120 lawyers, regulatory, compliance executives and support staff. He had responsibility across all brands (including MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Spike, Viva, Colors and Channel 5) and all lines of business, joint ventures and strategic partnerships. He also had P&L responsibility and led the strategic negotiations with all publisher, Performing Rights Organisations and record label licensing globally.

The newly created role of Chief Commercial Officer and General Counsel will manage the Legal and Public Affairs team, steer PRS for Music’s licensing negotiations with TV and radio broadcasters, digital services and recorded media providers, as well as managing the relationship with joint venture partners and customers.

Mark Krajewski began his career with property firm Hamptons International. He has extensive technology and change leadership expertise built across a number of industries including retail, entertainment and legal services and has been working with PRS for Music on a consultancy basis over the last year, driving both IT and digital transformation.

During his time at Value Retail, owners of luxury retailer Bicester Village, he delivered a highly segmented multi-channel Customer Relationship Management solution that served over 30 million international customers, helping the company enjoy a decade of exceptional growth. He has experience of creating centralised data platforms and consolidating data from thousands of customers and sources.

As Chief Information Officer, Mark will lead the IT and Transformation team at PRS for Music with responsibility for technology, data management, business intelligence, digital strategy and the systems that underpin the royalty processing and distribution capability for its members and international partners.

PRS for Music Chief Executive Andrea C. Martin said of the appointments: “Roger is a perfect fit for our business and I know will have an immediate and positive impact. With responsibility for our legal, licensing and partnerships teams, he will play a central role in our future growth, transformation and success.

Mark has done an exceptional job as interim CIO and will accelerate the digital change needed in our business. Technology and data management is central to the service we provide to our members and customers and Mark’s expertise will prove invaluable as we build capability and improve our offering.”

Roger James said: “I am extremely excited to be joining PRS at such a pivotal time in its evolution. We are in a golden age for content creation, with ever new business models and offerings coming to market. Music is – and always will be – the biggest emotional driver for content consumption and together with Andrea, I am looking forward to making our members music more accessible using the unique assets we have available to us in a truly compelling way.”

Mark Krajewski said: “I’m delighted to be joining the PRS for Music team at such an exciting time and look forward to leveraging our data assets to help deliver an exceptional member experience.”

Mark takes up the role with immediate effect with Roger joining PRS for Music on 11 November.

Risk First

RiskFirst: 10 years of shaking-up pensions and investment

Posted on | by root

RiskFirst is a market-leading fintech company that is revolutionising risk management in the global pensions and investments markets with pioneering risk analytics and reporting solutions. In the year of the company’s 10th anniversary, being recognised as providing the UK’s Most Reputable Risk Reporting Solution by CEO Monthly is testament to its huge impact on the industry over the past decade. Here, CEO Matthew Seymour discusses what makes RiskFirst unique, its commitment to enhancing the industry and why 2019 has been one of RiskFirst’s most exciting years to date.

RiskFirst has come a long way since its initial product, PFaroe DB, was launched in 2009 to transform asset and liability risk management in the defined benefit (DB) pensions industry. In an industry known for infrequent analysis and opaque and reporting – which left it out-ofstep with modern standards of corporate governance – PFaroe’s real-time and online nature was truly ground-breaking.

Indeed, the press release at the time of the launch included a prophetic quote from the CEO of one of PFaroe’s earliest beta customers: “In a few years’ time we will ask ourselves how we ever managed without a tool like this.”

Fast-forward ten years and so it has played out. Under the leadership of Matthew Seymour, who was appointed CEO in 2016 after seven years at the company, RiskFirst’s reputation and client base has swelled – so much so that its world-class technology is now the industry standard for UK and US asset owners and consultants.

Over 3000 pension plans with more than US$1.4 trillion in assets are now modelled on PFaroe. The company’s client list includes household names such as Mercer, USS, Northern Trust, XPS Pensions Group, NEPC, PNC, Transamerica and Vanguard.

 

PFaroe: a unique, marketleading solution

RiskFirst’s success can be attributed to its unwavering commitment to solving industry problems: unlike other asset management technology products, which focus exclusively on the needs of portfolio/asset managers, PFaroe centres upon the needs and objectives of the asset owner. This means that not only is asset performance addressed, but asset managers can also analyse cross-balance sheet risk using tools such as ‘what if’ scenario stress-testing; while optimisation analysis allows them to design solutions that maximise the likelihood that the assets ultimately meet the asset owner’s liabilities.

Seymour knows what it takes to create a successful fintech. Prior to RiskFirst, he co-owned FundWorks, a globally-leading
fintech servicing the investment management industry with 30 blue chip clients across seven offices and 90 staff. FundWorks was sold to Kurtosys in 2009 (and Seymour moved on to RiskFirst).

“Core to our ethos is ensuring all of our products have an eye on the ‘ultimate goal’, the asset owners’ true objective,” explains Seymour. “This harks back to our heritage of producing technology for asset owners and continues to prove of great value to consultants and asset managers, providing the unique ability to bring together all of those parties engaged in the process. It genuinely changes the way the various parts of the chain work together, for the good of the asset owner.”

PFaroe, free from legacy constraints, was built from the ground-up as a crossbalance sheet asset and liability management tool. It provides a level of understanding of the overall position of a plan or portfolio that cannot be matched by similar tools that are assetfocused tools with a liability addon, or vice versa.

This is particularly important in today’s complex landscape, where evolving regulations, an increased focus on de-risking strategies, combined with more options and freedoms on the liability side and a greater variety of alternatives on the asset side, are making risk management particularly challenging. By connecting assets and liabilities, stakeholders can access a holistic understanding of risk, helping them to effectively structure portfolios and implement optimised solutions.

Furthermore, PFaroe’s delivery of information in real-time – as well as its live ‘what if’ functionality – is nothing short of a gamechanger, enabling pension plans and asset managers to react more quickly to market changes. PFaroe’s ability to undertake effective modelling and scenario planning are particularly important due to the growing market emphasis on contingency planning – further fuelled by Brexit – and the need for pension funds to have a more robust financial plan in place given increasing market complexity. Being able to undertake effective modelling and scenario planning is therefore now crucial, and PFaroe is a key facilitator of this. Calculations that previously might have been run overnight can now be completed in minutes, transforming decision-making.

Unique features of PFaroe:

• asset owner focused • detailed analysis on both assets and liabilities – allowing a comprehensive understanding of the overall position of a plan or portfolio;

• on-demand information, with live ‘what if’ functionality – enabling fast, agile reactions to market changes;

• long- and short-term modelling – addressing the short-term focus of asset managers and the long-term objectives of asset owners;

• strong, multi-asset coverage – comprehensive asset modelling capabilities cover complex alternative asset classes and illiquid assets;

• enriched industry collaboration through its extensive reach and centralised platform;

• user-friendly analytics that facilitate effective, engaging pitches;

• extensive market presence provides opportunities for asset managers to increase their distribution networks.

 

Dedicated innovators

Innovation is at the heart of the business, and RiskFirst is continually evolving PFaroe and launching new solutions targeted at enhancing the institutional investment market, particularly endowments and foundations and the front-office of investment managers.

“RiskFirst thrives on continually helping pension plans gain a better understanding of risk, make better decisions and capture de-risking opportunities through the use of innovative technology solutions,” says Seymour. “We work with clients to provide the support and tools they need to enhance and grow their businesses – delivering comprehensive and innovative solutions that make and save our clients money.”

As part of its commitment to innovation, RiskFirst formed three ground-breaking partnerships in 2018/19, further cementing PFaroe’s position as the risk management platform of choice for the pensions industry, and adding significant value to the market as a whole. Firstly, RiskFirst and STOXX launched the first independent set of liability driven investment (LDI) indices targeting the needs of UK pension plans; allowing increased insight and more accurate comparisons of asset manager performance for the LDI market. It was previously believed that the market was too complex for such an initiative, making this a particularly innovative development for the LDI space.

Secondly, together, RiskFirst and Insight are enhancing the ease of fund modelling for the UK DB pensions market, with data on Insight’s funds now accessible in PFaroe. This is transforming how clients can view and analyse funds, creating a central point of access that improves transparency, convenience and efficiency. Thirdly, RiskFirst’s final partnership links PFaroe with the longevity analytics produced by Club Vita. Valuations can therefore be run with ease within PFaroe, enabling fast and customised mortality projections.

Seymour comments: “Our products are continually being developed and adapted to address changing market needs and to join up analytics so that clients can rely on scalable, leading-edge products that are flexible, intuitive and everevolving.”

 

Reaching new markets

In another ground-breaking project, RiskFirst is developing a set of cutting-edge solutions for the asset management community that could transform the way asset managers incorporate risk and attribution into the investment process.

RiskFirst consulted with the market for 18 months to obtain a thorough understanding of stakeholders’ needs. It became clear that existing solutions were typically legacy systems, built on an overnight batch process, with every stakeholder using a different system/model to meet
their specific needs:

• Portfolio managers require fast, detailed, daily information

• The middle office needs a robust, scalable system with monthly updates

• Asset owners and consultants need a holistic view across the portfolio

Despite these differences, RiskFirst identified that the underlying needs of the different stakeholders are in fact aligned. RiskFirst has therefore built a next generation risk and attribution solution – PFaroe Attribution – which is a common platform for all stakeholders, bringing together intelligent, modern technology and flexible attribution.

RiskFirst’s solution seeks to embed attribution firmly into portfolio managers’ strategies and pre-trade process; providing the ability to make decisions and allocate asset owner capital based on attribution trends from the decisions they have made over time. Both asset owners and portfolio managers are therefore provided with greater transparency and understanding of whether decisions paid off, and at what cost in terms of risk.

 

The next chapter

As part of its next stage of growth, RiskFirst joined Moody’s Corporation during Q3 2019 and now operates under Moody’s Analytics. With a global presence and a number of synergistic products and expertise, Moody’s Analytics will allow RiskFirst to expand the reach of its existing solutions and broaden its offerings.

“The combination of Moody’s Analytics scale, reach and capabilities with our leading solutions and extensive customer base creates an incredibly strong value proposition,” says Seymour. “It gives us enhanced capabilities while building on what has made us so successful to date: a sophisticated, technically excellent product combined with superior service and support. We are excited to embark on this next chapter of RiskFirst’s journey with Moody’s.”

As part of this, RiskFirst plans to accelerate its growth further into attribution and the buy-side, providing more functionality for the front office of investment managers and extending geographically, including expansion into Canada.

In the 10 years since RiskFirst launched, it has delivered astonishing growth. It is making real value-added change to risk management across the pensions and investments space, and continues to progress and develop its offerings through technological innovation and cutting-edge partnerships. As RiskFirst celebrates 10 years of success, the future looks bright.

Pattonair

Pattonair Strengthens Its Management Team With The Appointment Of A New Head Of Marketing

Posted on | by root

  Leading global aerospace company Pattonair has appointed a new Head of Marketing as it looks to consolidate its plans for long-term growth. 

Denise Johnson, a seasoned 10-year marketer, will oversee the company’s global marketing function from its headquarters in Derby.

Her appointment comes at an exciting time for the aerospace and defence supply chain provider. Pattonair recently embarked on a $1.9bn merger with US-based Wesco Aircraft Holdings and acquired aircraft spares company, Adams Aviation.

In addition to overseeing the company’s global marketing function, Denise will identify opportunities to support internal stakeholders, help to grow the business and contribute to its five-year strategy to elevate its brand positioning.

This will involve working with the commercial team to leverage new digital platforms to improve customer value, retention and frequency across channels.

“I am excited to be joining Pattonair – it has a strong strategy and ethos and knows where it wants to be,” said Denise, who has a distinguished track record in delivering compelling marketing activities and initiatives.

Denise, who originally hails from the Derby suburb of Alvaston, was awarded her Chartered Marketer status by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). She was previously the Head of Marketing at AmTrust International, the global provider of niche insurance solutions where she managed a range of complex strategic projects and the development and promotion of their brand portfolio across the UK, Europe and Asia.

Her new appointment builds on Pattonair’s commitment to recruit the best talent locally. Given Derby’s long and distinguished heritage in engineering, the city is also home to the company’s headquarters. This has enabled Pattonair to sustain long-term operations in the region and establish itself as the supply chain provider of choice to the global aerospace market.

Jason Rance, Pattonair’s Group Innovation Director, said: “We are delighted to welcome Denise. She brings with her significant expertise in marketing and a unique combination of business acumen, client focus and innovative thinking.

“Her proven success in bringing teams of people together to communicate a strategy, vision and brand message will be integral to the business.

“As Pattonair continues to grow and diversify, we think Denise is ideally suited to oversee our efforts in maintaining long-term sustainability, driving brand awareness and further strengthening our relationships with our clients.”