OUR TEAM
WE HAVE A TEAM-ORIENTED APPROACH TO BUILDING COMPANIES
NEIL SIMMS
FINANCE DIRECTOR / INVESTMENT DIRECTOR
Neil Simms is Finance Director of, and an Investment Manager with, Clarendon Fund Managers (‘CFM’), having joined the company in 2002. Neil has a BSc (Hons) in Economics and Econometrics from Nottingham University and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, having trained and qualified with Ernst & Young in Belfast. Neil has either led or been heavily involved in negotiating and completing multiple investment rounds, and exits, in over twenty Northern Ireland based SMEs, across a broad range of sectors. He currently represents Funds’ interests on the Board of four portfolio companies.
JIM CURRAN
INVESTMENT DIRECTOR
Jim has 20 years management experience in industrial, research, economic development and technology transfer roles. He joined CFM in November 2003 as an Investment Manager from a senior university technology transfer position. He has considerable experience of deal negotiation and working with early stage technology ventures. Jim represents the funds under management’s interests on the Board of four portfolio companies. He holds a MEng in Engineering from Queen’s University Belfast, an MBA from the University of Ulster and a professional investment management financial qualification.
BRIAN CUMMINGS
INVESTMENT DIRECTOR
Brian joined CFM in 2014 and has been responsible for multiple CoFundNI investments. He previously spent almost a decade at Enterprise Equity, a Belfast based VC & PE investment house, where he was involved across its portfolio having either led transactions or been part of the Deal Team for each investment. He also led re-structuring of businesses in the role of Chairman and interim CEO. Prior to Enterprise Equity, Brian spent 10 years with Survitec Group where he held several international postings which focused on building export markets, including 3 years based in Singapore where he grew its Far East business. He latterly supported its acquisitions programme, and was involved with its Institutional Buy-Out from its previous Private Equity owners. Brian is a Business I.T. graduate and holds an MBA from the Smurfit School of Business.
DAMIEN CALLAGHAN
CHAIRMAN
Damien has 35+ years experience in the global, high-tech and telecommunications industries as a developer of businesses. He spent 13 years at Intel Capital investing in companies in Ireland, the UK, EMEA and the US. He currently holds a number of Non-Executive Director Roles and is Chairman of the Board of Clarendon Fund Managers.
CLAUDINE OWENS
SENIOR INVESTMENT MANAGER
Claudine graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Accounting from Queens University, Belfast and trained with PWC in Manchester. Claudine later spent 12 years working in Corporate and Business Banking where she managed a varied portfolio of business clients across a diversified range of business sectors with lending requirements ranging from £100k-£20million. Prior to starting with Clarendon Fund Managers as a Portfolio Manager in November 2018 Claudine worked in the Accounts department of Kane Group Building Services.
STUART GAFFIKIN
SENIOR INVESTMENT MANAGER
Stuart, a Chartered Accountant since 2012, joined CFM in 2019 following two years in the Corporate Banking team in Bank of Ireland, where he managed customers with multi-facility requirements of up to £100m. Prior to this, Stuart spent six years in the business restructuring and corporate finance teams in BDO, where he specialised in corporate finance, M&A, business restructuring and insolvency engagements. Stuart holds a BSc (Hons) in Finance from Queens University, Belfast.
SIAN MCLAUGHLIN
SENIOR INVESTMENT MANAGER
Sian is a Chartered Accountant with over 15 years’ experience in corporate finance practice, corporate banking and transaction services. Sian joined CFM in 2021following a year in industry with Survitec Group Financial Planning & Analysis team where she was responsible for developing the five year business plan for the Group.
Prior to this Sian spent 5 years with BDO where she specialised in Corporate Finance and has built up considerable transactional experience across a range of transactions and sectors including acquisitions, disposals, fundraisings and refinancing.
Sian has a LLB (Hons) in Law and Accountancy from Queens University and is a Fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, having trained with PwC in Belfast.
MATTHEW WARD
INVESTMENT MANAGER
Matthew, a Chartered Accountant, started his career at PwC 8 years ago, initially within the FDD team, soon after he joined the PwC Raise Ventures team at its inception, supporting high growth, early stage businesses with raising their Series A rounds across the UK and Europe.
Matthew engaged with scaleups across multiple sectors and stages, with a primary focus on Enterprise software and Fintech, helping them navigate the fundraising journey through investor readiness, introductions to institutional investors and term sheet negotiation support.
JILL WILSON
INVESTMENT ASSOCIATE
Jill has over 20 years’ experience in contributing to successful organisational growth in NI tech companies and has a particular passion for companies in start-up or wrestling with the challenges of scaling-up.
Jill was previously Account Manager at Datactics, selling to the fintech sector in the UK and the USA. From 2010 to 2021 Jill worked for bespoke Software Development house Etain, in a range of roles including Account Management, Project Management and latterly for 4 years as Head of People. Earlier career positions were with start ups i-Path and gem.
Jill graduated from Durham University with a BA (Hons) in Modern European Languages and holds a Diploma in Personnel Management (CIPD) from QUB.
SHAUNA LEONARD
INVESTMENT ANALYST
In her previous role, Shauna specialised in working with large government datasets, transforming information into valuable insights. This expertise in data analysis and interpretation has equipped Shauna with a keen eye for detail and a strong analytical mindset.
Shauna will assist the team in identifying trends across industries and markets in Northern Ireland using data-driven insights to promote growth in CFM’s portfolio.
DANIEL LARTEY
INVESTMENT EXECUTIVE
Daniel is a Venture Capital Intern currently completing a year-long placement as part of his four-year Finance degree. He supports the investment team across deal analysis, market research, and portfolio management whilst gaining hands-on experience in early-stage investing. Daniel is particularly interested in how ambitious businesses scale and create long-term value.
