Board of Directors
Robert Lister, Non-Executive Chairman
Robert Lister was appointed as Chairman of the finnCap Group in January 2021. Robert spent 25 years in investment banking first with Barclays de Zoete Wedd where he started as a graduate in 1983 and rose to become Head of European Equities in 1998 and then at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson where he was Global Head of Equities. Since then Robert has been appointed as a non-executive director of Investec Wealth and Investment Limited (2010), Aberdeen Smaller Companies Income Investment Trust PLC (2012), Credit Suisse Asset Management Limited (2012) and Integrafin Holdings PLC (2019). He is also Investment Expert and Chair of the Salvation Army International Trust Fund and Retired Officer Allowance Scheme.
John Farrugia, Chief Executive Officer
John was appointed to the Board as Chief Executive Officer (Designate) on 8 July 2022, and succeeded Sam Smith as Chief Executive Officer with effect from 1 September 2022. John joined Cavendish Corporate Finance (now finnCap Cavendish) in 2008, and became Managing Partner, and joined the Group's executive committee, in November 2020. He has over 20 years' experience in investment banking, primarily within mergers and acquisitions, and has an outstanding deal completion track record within the technology and tech enabled business services sectors. John graduated with a degree in Economics from the University of London in 2000. He started his career within the technology M&A division of DC Advisory (formerly Close Brothers) and subsequently Strata Technology Partners before moving to Cavendish.
Richard Snow, Chief Financial Officer
Richard joined finnCap as Chief Financial Officer in May 2020. Prior to joining finnCap, Richard was the Finance Director and Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration of the UK law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen in 1991 and moved to the investment banking industry gaining 15 years' experience in corporate advisory at Charterhouse, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Nomura. From 2006 to 2011 Richard was director of M&A and then Investor Relations at Vodafone Group plc. From early 2014, he was Director of Investor Relations of Ladbrokes plc and then, from December 2015, he served on its Executive Committee as acting Chief Financial Officer leading the finance team through the merger with Coral.
Geoff Nash, Executive Director
Geoff was appointed to the Board on 8 July 2022. He is a founding shareholder and was a key member of the 2007 MBO, as a director of the Group. He has over 20 years’ corporate finance experience in growth companies, having advised on all aspects of IPO, M&A and secondary funding. Geoff has advised clients across a range of sectors, with a particular focus on life sciences. Prior to joining the Group, Geoff qualified with KPMG and previously worked in private equity. He also spent seven years at Evolution Securities (formerly Beeson Gregory and now part of Investec).
Andy Hogarth, Senior Independent Non-Executive Director
Andy was appointed to the board of Staffline Group plc as Finance Director in 2002, becoming Managing Director in 2003 and was appointed Chief Executive when the company was admitted to trading on AIM in 2004. During the 15 years of his leadership, the business grew from a turnover of £40 million in 2004 to nearly £1 billion in 2017, with underlying operating profits growing from £2 million to over £39 million during the same period. He has held senior roles in a wide range of businesses, including retail, support services, healthcare, hospitality and construction. As Finance Director, he led the management buy-out and subsequent trade sale (to Morgan Sindall in 2002) of Pipeline Constructors Group, a utility services business. He currently sits on the board of an elderly care charity, is a Governor of two RSA academy schools and is the Non-Executive Chairman of Ten10 Ltd, a Private Equity backed computer software testing consultancy. He is also a Director of Hogarths Hotels, two boutique hotels in Solihull and Kidderminster. He is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
Barbara Ann Firth (formerly Bebbington), Independent Non-Executive Director
Barbara has decades of financial and management experience covering both private and quoted companies. Previous roles have included Chief Financial Officer and subsequently Chief Operating Officer of Advanced Computer Software Group plc (“ACS”) from its early stages to the sale in 2015 to Vista for £725 million. Prior to her role at ACS, Barbara was Chief Financial Officer of Computer Software Group plc (“CSG”) from the time of its float to its sale in 2007 to HG Capital. Prior to CSG, Barbara was the UK financial controller for Roberts Pharmaceutical Inc. and a member of the Roberts/Shire merger task force. Barbara has considerable M&A experience covering both smaller bolt-on acquisitions and larger scale transactions.
Annette Andrews, Independent Non-Executive Director
As an independent Non-Executive Director Annette Andrews brings substantial HR and people expertise to the Board after a 30-year career in HR roles in both regulated financial and commercial environments. In the past 15 years she has held senior HR leadership positions at Lloyd’s of London (Chief People Officer), Catlin Insurance (HR Director), Lloyds Banking Group PLC (various roles including Head of HR Americas) and the Ford Motor Company in Europe and the UK. On leaving Lloyd’s of London in 2020, Annette founded Acaria Coaching and Consultancy Ltd, working with individuals and organisations globally to help them achieve their full potential. Annette is MBA qualified and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, alongside being a Life and Executive Coach. Annette’s other non-executive and advisory roles include Non-Executive Chairman of The Guild of Human Resource Professionals, Chair for a Community Interest Charity, ‘Strengths in Communities’.
