London Area, United Kingdom
An experienced Non Executive Director and Chairman with a background of both listed private sector, not-for-profit and public sector organisations looking for one new position. Brings experience of all Board Committees, including RemCo and Risk. Is an expert in trends in wealth and asset management (including responsible investment), and the drivers of shareholder value, both organic and acquired. Brings much experience of stakeholder management and importance of ESG considerations for both stakeholders and investors. Has an ability to apply analytical and strategic thinking to different sectors. With experience of managing people and growing businesses, Rachel is comfortable operating in regulated industries and an international business environment. Sectoral expertise includes retail savings markets, investment management, investment and retail banking, housing, house-building and regeneration.
FTSE100 listed investment company using multi manager approach to invest in global stock markets. Alliance Witan plc was promoted to the FTSE100 following its successful combination with Witan Investment Trust plc and now has over £5.3bn assets under management. Rachel sits on the Audit, Nominations, and Management Engagement Committees.
The Mercantile Investment Trust is a UK listed closed ended fund investing in predominantly UK mid cap companies. It has assets under management of over £2bn. Rachel became Chairman in May 2025 and sits on the audit, marketing, remuneration and management engagement committees.
Witan was a listed Closed End Fund with £1.8bn assets under management, using a multi-manager approach, investing in global equities. Rachel was Senior Independent Director and also a director of the regulated subsidiary, Witan Investment Services, as well as the parent listed plc. Following a strategic review in 2024, the company entered into a combination with Alliance Trust plc. This included rolling over Witan's assets into Alliance Trust, to form Alliance Witan plc, a FTSE100 listed closed ended fund, in October 2024. Rachel was appointed a director of Alliance Witan plc at that time.
Gresham House is a specialist asset manager. It grew during Rachel's tenure on the board from £1.5bn AUM to over £8bn AUM by developing a number of scalable investment platforms in predominantly real assets and responsible investment strategies including forestry, renewable energy, housing, sustainable infrastructure, strategic public equity and private assets. It developed a strong reputation as a provider of alternative asset management expertise with positive ESG impact. Prior to its takeover by Searchlight Capital in December 2023 it was AIM listed and its rapid growth in the preceding period was driven by a combination of organic growth and targeted acquisitions, funded through equity placings, debt and internally generated cash. Rachel was a member of nominations, remuneration, sustainability and audit committees.
Cushon Group is a fintech business offering integrated pensions and payroll-linked ISAs seamlessly through the Cushon app and desktop portal. It was funded with private equity and debt capital from inception and grew rapidly, both organically and inorganically. Before its sale to NatWest Group in June 2023, it had accumulated assets under administration of £1.9bn, from over 540,000 customers working for nearly 22,000 employers. During her time on the board, Rachel was instrumental in establishing and developing the company's risk management framework.