Previously an investment analyst focussed on alternative investments at Westhall and Citi, Charles founded CryptoCompare in 2014 to provide trusted market data and news to corporates, governments and retail investors. Charles has a degree in Astrophysics from Durham University and is a CFA Charterholder.
Keynote
Private Company
Technology, Blockchain, Software
Adeeb Asfari
EG Momentum
Adeeb Asfari and John Wilson are growth capital investors in the energy sector each with 14 years of experience in SME investing and transactions.
Prior to establishing EGM in 2017 they worked for blue-chip specialists in the sector (First Reserve, Lime Rock Partners and Piper Jaffray – Simmons).
Keynote
Private Equity
Energy, Technology
Prem Barthasarathy
Pontaq
Prem founded Pontaq in 2015 having moved to the UK from India in 2005 with £250. He initially identified the market opportunity in transferring technology between UK and India and how innovation can create sustainable economic development in both geographies whilst addressing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Prem defined the overall strategy of creating a cross-border ecosystem to accelerate growth and profitability of portfolio firms in order to protect investor’s capital. Under Prem’s leadership, Pontaq is now expanding into UK, India, US and Canada.
Keynote
Venture Capital
India
Alan Sutherland. CEO, Alan Sutherland. CEO James Scarth. CFO Andrew Duckworth. E-Comm Director
Voke
AS: 32 year career in marketing, commercial and General Management roles with Gillette, P&G and was International President at Dyson. Led the development of the Oral-B Brand in Europe and Asia and has extensive experience in brand building and Professional advocacy programmes.
JS: CIMA qualified with 25 years’ experience in a wide range of industries from blue-chip (O2, HP) to consulting SME business owners on growth strategies, fund raising and exit plans
AD: CIMA qualified and former CEO of Myprotein brand and Board Director at the Hut Group. Built the brand to be global online leader driving sales from £30m to over £300m. Previous Head of Business Planning at Matalan and Pets at Home
Keynote
Private Company
Medtech
Charles Black
Sen
Charles has been passionate about space since he was a child, and came up with the original vision for Sen during his final year at school, aged 18. After leaving school, Charles completed a law degree and qualified as a barrister, Charles set up his first company in 1998, cloud computing business Nasstar. Nasstar plc was admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol NASA) in 2005. Charles stepped down as CEO of Nasstar in 2014, having achieved a market cap. of around £25M, in order to create Sen, pursuing his life-long dream to democratize space by streaming real-time videos from space for the benefit of all humanity.
Keynote
Private Company
Technology, Space
Corporates
Company backgrounds and useful links.
Levison Wood
Writer Levison Wood is a professional explorer, writer and photographer who has published six best selling books and produced a number of critically acclaimed documentaries which have aired around the world. Last year he returned from his most ambitious expedition to date - a 5000 mile circumnavigation of the Arabian peninsula from Iraq to Lebanon. His passion for adventure and discovering more about indigenous ways of life has led him mountain climbing in the Himalayas, horse riding across Afghanistan and studying human-wildlife conflict in Africa. Levison has served for 12 years as an Officer in the British Parachute Regiment, including an operational deployment to Afghanistan fighting against Taliban insurgents in Helmand and Kandahar. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, the Explorers Club and visiting Fellow at CASS business school. His forthcoming series ‘Walking with Elephants’ airs this spring.
Keynote
CryptoCompare
Charles Hayter
CryptoCompare is the world’s leading digital asset market data and media company catering to corporates, government and retail investors. The Company aggregates data from a broad range of exchanges, brokerages, derivative and social trading platforms to provide ultra-robust, low-latency, high-quality data that is used and trusted by institutions such as Van Eck, Thomson Reuters, the ECB and Nasdaq. CryptoCompare acts as a benchmark calculation agent and publishes highly regarded research on the improving infrastructural picture in digital assets. The company is bolstering its executive team and board to enable the continued scaling of the business, which will also require further investment in distribution, technology and partnerships.
Keynote
Private Company
Technology, Blockchain, Software
EG Momentum
Adeeb Asfari
Energy Demand is forecast to increase significantly driven by exponential population growth and increasing GDP per capita.
Modern Mindset: The Energy Supply chain accounts for $1.2Trn of capex/ opex p.a. and is under pressure to deliver low cost, low carbon solutions to meet Energy Demand. EGM invests in equipment and digital solutions that deliver operational, production and capital efficiencies to existing producers, generators and distributors of energy – digital decarbonisation.
Experienced Execution: EGM has successfully deployed EGM-I and held a first close of $50M on EGM-II drawing on capital to close three investments. Further to the initial three investments, there is a pipeline of proprietary transactions that requires c.$100M of capital.
Keynote
Private Equity
Energy, Technology
Pontaq
Prem Barthasarathy
Pontaq is a UK headquartered, VC fund investing in early stage B2B technology businesses across UK, India, USA and Canada. Fund 1 has achieved and IRR of c. 55%. Fund 2 is at a notional 2.4X in under 10 months.
Pontaq’s USP is cross border technology transfer of portfolio firms unlocking significant value whilst providing investors with opportunities for decreased risk, liquidity and superior IRR.
Pontaq was endorsed by the Former PM of UK, Theresa May and was recognized as one of the 6 companies operating in the UK-India corridor, by the British High Commission.
Keynote
Venture Capital
India
Voke
Alan Sutherland. CEO, Alan Sutherland. CEO James Scarth. CFO Andrew Duckworth. E-Comm Director
Kind Consumer is a private, pioneering Healthcare research and development company focused on inhalation technologies. We have just introduced Voke, a next generation nicotine inhaler which is licensed by the Department of Health as a safer alternative to smoking.
Keynote
Private Company
Medtech
Sen
Charles Black
Sen is a video streaming news media app, with a unique vision to democratize space using video to inform, educate, inspire and benefit all humanity. Sen’s mission is to stream real-time videos from space to billions of people, providing unique perspectives of our ever-changing world and future in space.
Sen will capture real-time and timely video of Earth from space with its own small satellites and hosted video cameras, and in 2019 Sen successfully demonstrated the world’s first 4K Ultra High Definition video streaming platform in space.
