We are managers of people’s savings and take our responsibilities seriously, striving for the highest standards in everything we do. We push ourselves to find the best opportunities, engaging in critical thinking and seeking and sharing insights to reach the best decisions.
Robert Barnes
Founder / Consultant
Robert Barnes
Founder / Consultant
Robert was a Partner at Alchemy from 1997 until 2007. He has over 20 years’ experience working with troubled companies, including private equity experience at Apax. Robert co-ordinates and liaises with the Indian Development Capital Fund.
He has a degree in Chemical Engineering from Leeds and is a Chartered Accountant.
Alison Barwell
Head of Human Resources
Alison Barwell
Head of Human Resources
Alison joined Alchemy in 2020 following almost 30 years’ experience working in HR in the financial services sector and other global businesses. Prior to joining Alchemy, Alison spent three years as Group Head of HR for JCRA, an independent financial risk advisor, having previously been Head of HR for Sanlam Private Wealth, where she worked for over a decade.
She is responsible for supporting the firm with all HR matters, with a particular focus on recruitment and development.
Alison has a degree in French and English from Kings College, London University.
Martin Bolland
Founder / Senior Adviser
Martin Bolland
Founder / Senior Adviser
Martin was a co-founder of Alchemy Partners and a Partner between 1997 and 2007. He now acts as a senior adviser, supporting the development of the firm. He was also the Non-Executive Chairman of Capita Group from 2010 to 2016. Previously he was Chief Executive & Vice President of Finance within Lonrho Hotels, and began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Martin has a degree in Economics from Cambridge and is a Chartered Accountant.
Thomas Boszko
Partner
Thomas Boszko
Partner
Tom joined Alchemy in 2008 from TSYS Inc, where he was responsible for international M&A and corporate strategy. Prior to this he was a strategy consultant with L.E.K. Consulting, advising private equity clients in numerous sectors and geographies.
He has a Master’s degree in Natural Science, specialising in Neuroscience, from the University of Cambridge.
Paul Bowtell
Senior Adviser / Portfolio Consultant
Paul Bowtell
Senior Adviser / Portfolio Consultant
Paul is a Portfolio Consultant and Senior Adviser, who has been working with Alchemy since 2016. Paul has over 25 years of experience, holding senior financial positions across a range of sectors. He was previously the CFO of GVC Holdings PLC, Europe’s largest sports betting and gaming company, having been CFO of Ladbrokes Coral before its acquisition by GVC. Paul has held a number of non-executive roles and is currently Chairman of two Alchemy portfolio companies. He also now acts as a senior adviser, supporting the firm’s oversight of Alchemy’s portfolio companies.
Paul has a degree in Classics from the University of Cambridge and is a Chartered Accountant.
Paul Bridges
Portfolio Consultant
Paul Bridges
Portfolio Consultant
Paul joined Alchemy as a Partner in 1999 and became a Portfolio Consultant in 2008. Prior to Alchemy, Paul held a wide variety of senior positions within the Lonrho Group, including four years as Group Finance Director of Lonrho’s £250 million turnover Printing and Publishing division. Paul has executed and monitored numerous investments for Alchemy.
He holds a degree in Finance with Accounting and is a Chartered Accountant.
Ian Cash
Partner
Ian Cash
Partner
Ian has over 24 years’ experience in European distressed debt and special opportunity investing. He joined Alchemy in May 2006 to establish the Special Opportunities business which has since raised £2.3bn across four funds. Prior to joining Alchemy, Ian co-founded the Global Special Situations Group at Mizuho lnternational in 2002, a proprietary investment group focused on distressed securities. Between 1998 and 2002 he was in a proprietary investing role at Salomon Brothers (latterly Salomon Smith Barney), investing in distressed debt. Prior to this he was the principal European distressed analyst in the Global Loan Trading business of Citibank based in London.
Ian has a degree in Modern History from the University of Leeds.
Ronan Daly
Associate Director
Ronan Daly
Associate Director
Ronan joined Alchemy in 2019 from Chime Communications, a Providence Equity Partners portfolio company, where he was focused on group M&A globally. Prior to that he worked at KPMG, advising private equity clients across a broad range of industries.
Ronan has a degree in Business and Economics from Trinity College, Dublin and is a Chartered Accountant.
Annabel de Morgan
ESG and Investor Relations Associate
Annabel de Morgan
ESG and Investor Relations Associate
Annabel joined Alchemy in 2021 and is responsible for managing and overseeing the firm’s ESG programme, working closely with the Investor Relations and Portfolio teams. Annabel previously worked at Tavistock where she was a Consultant, advising companies on their Investor Relations and ESG strategies surrounding M&A, IPOs, and equity and debt fundraising.
Annabel holds the CFA’s level 4 Investment Management Certificate (IMC), the CFA’s Certificate in ESG Investing and an Honours degree in Arabic and International Development from the University of Leeds.
Reema Deb
Associate
Reema Deb
Associate
Reema joined Alchemy in 2021 from EY-Parthenon, where she was a strategy consultant working across strategy projects and private equity transactions, focussing on Financial Services and TMT. Prior to EY-Parthenon, Reema was as an Analyst at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia Wealth & Asset Management.
Reema has a degree in Actuarial Studies and Finance from the University of New South Wales, Sydney.
Jacqueline Drumm
Partners’ Secretary
Jacqueline Drumm
Partners’ Secretary
Jacqueline joined Alchemy in 2019 and provides executive support to the Partners and the broader team. Jacqueline has almost 20 years’ experience supporting high net worth individuals and executives within a variety of sectors, including insurance, legal and banking, both in France and London.
Jacqueline has a degree in Modern Languages from University of Westminster, an MA in Latin American Studies from the University of London and a Postgraduate diploma in Technical and Specialised Translation.
Alex Dupée
Director
Alex Dupée
Director
Alex joined Alchemy in 2012 from Lloyds Banking Group where he worked in group strategy and corporate development. Prior to this Alex was a strategy consultant with L.E.K. Consulting where he gained exposure to strategic and private equity advisory work across a wide range of sectors and geographies.
He has a Master’s degree in physics from the University of Oxford.
Dominic Gerster
Associate Director
Dominic Gerster
Associate Director
Dominic joined Alchemy in 2019 having previously worked as an intern in the summer of 2018 as part of his MBA course. Prior to this, Dominic spent 3 years at OC&C Strategy Consultants advising private equity and corporate clients on strategy and M&A activity, as well as 2 years at Goldman Sachs trading European Equities.
Dominic has a degree in Economic History from the London School of Economics and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. He speaks German, English and Spanish.
Jason Glass
Operations Manager
Jason Glass
Operations Manager
Jason joined Alchemy in 2006 from Mizuho International where he was responsible for the distressed and special situations middle office functions. Prior to this Jason was responsible for the back and middle office functions of West LB’s emerging market trading and leveraged finance operations.
Ian Goulding
Portfolio Consultant
Ian Goulding
Portfolio Consultant
Ian is a Portfolio Consultant and has been working with Alchemy since 2018. Ian has over 30 years of experience, holding senior financial positions within the hospitality sector. He was previously the co-founder and CFO of the QHotels group of companies where he oversaw both the financial and operational functions. Before this, Ian was the co-founder and CFO of the Paramount Group of Hotels. Ian has held a number of non-executive positions and is currently Chairman of two Alchemy portfolio companies.
Ian has a degree in Mathematics from Leeds University and is a Chartered Accountant.
Matthias Gradischnig
Director
Matthias Gradischnig
Director
Matthias joined Alchemy in 2014 from McKinsey & Company, where he worked on a range of sectors in Europe and the Middle East.
He has a Master’s degree in Chemistry from Vienna University of Technology and an MBA from London Business School.
Florian Herbst
Associate
Florian Herbst
Associate
Florian joined Alchemy in 2019 from L.E.K. Consulting where he was a strategy consultant, gaining exposure to strategic and private equity advisory work across a wide range of sectors and geographies.
Florian has a degree in International Management from the Vienna University of Economics and Business and a degree in Land Economy from Cambridge.
Mala Kaushal
Group Finance Manager
Mala Kaushal
Group Finance Manager
Mala joined Alchemy in 2000 from Vickers plc where she was Business Appraisal Executive involved in the review and evaluation of various capex, expenditure and bid proposals. She also worked for the BBC and KPMG.
She is currently responsible for the management company group accounts, having previously worked as Alchemy’s Investor Reporting Manager.
Mala has a degree in Chemistry with Management from Kings College London and is a Chartered Accountant.
Nick Knudsen
Associate
Nick Knudsen
Associate
Nick joined Alchemy in 2019 from G Square Capital, where he was an Associate in their investment team, focusing on high-growth healthcare companies in Europe. Prior to that Nick spent three years at Temasek, working on public and private equity investments across a range of sectors.
Nick graduated with a degree in Economics from University College London.
Christopher Kuehnel
Associate
Christopher Kuehnel
Associate
Chris joined Alchemy in 2021 from The Carlyle Group, where he worked on a range of opportunistic credit and special situations investments across the capital structure. Prior to Carlyle, Chris worked at Houlihan Lokey in the Financial Restructuring Group focusing on financial restructuring and distressed M&A transactions.
Chris has a degree in Business Administration from Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.
Alex Leicester
Partner
Alex Leicester
Partner
Alex joined Alchemy in 2007 from Deloitte, where he worked in the Restructuring Advisory team on a number of UK and European financial restructurings and turnarounds.
He has a degree in Mathematics from the University of Oxford and is a Chartered Accountant.
Joe Li
Associate
Joe Li
Associate
Joe joined Alchemy in 2021 from The Carlyle Group where he worked as an investment professional across the Europe Buyout and long-term strategies. Prior to working at Carlyle, Joe was an investment banking analyst within the Financial Institutions Group at Credit Suisse in New York.
Joe has a degree in Economics and Computer Science from Yale University.
Emma Macfarlane
Investor Relations Manager
Emma Macfarlane
Investor Relations Manager
Emma joined Alchemy in 2012 from Boyer Allan Investment Management, an emerging markets absolute return fund, where she led Investor Relations and Marketing.
She is responsible for all investor relations activities across Alchemy’s funds.
Emma has a degree in French and Spanish from Bristol.
Adrian Massouh
Financial Controller
Adrian Massouh
Financial Controller
Adrian joined Alchemy in 2021 from Signal Capital Partners, an asset manager focused on European asset-backed corporate and real estate special situations, where he held a similar role. Prior to that, he was a Financial Controller at Hermes GPE, having previously worked in Fund Administration at IPES UK Ltd and in audit and accounting services at Vantis Plc.
Adrian is responsible for all financial and tax reporting across Alchemy’s funds.
He has a degree in Operations Management from Nottingham University and is a Chartered Accountant.
Franco Monzani
Associate Director
Franco Monzani
Associate Director
Franco joined Alchemy in 2018 having previously worked as an intern at Alchemy in the summer of 2017 as part of his MBA course. Prior to the MBA, Franco spent three years at Growthpoint Technology Partners, a boutique investment bank focused on the technology sector, working on M&A. He previously spent two years as an analyst at Barclays.
Franco has a degree in Economics from the University of San Andrés, Buenos Aires, a Master’s in Economics from Bocconi University in Milan and an MBA from London Business School.
Ian Neill
Director
Ian Neill
Director
Ian joined Alchemy in 2010 from Greenhill & Co., the independent investment bank, where he worked on a wide range of corporate advisory mandates.
He has a degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge.
Thomas Neumann
Adviser
Thomas Neumann
Adviser
Thomas, Managing Director of Tethys, has been an advisor to Alchemy in the German speaking countries (DACH) since 2018.
He has over 30 years’ experience working in private equity and the leveraged loan and restructuring markets in DACH and until 2018 headed Lincoln’s restructuring efforts in Germany following nine years as a Principal at Doughty Hanson and 20 years with Deutsche Bank.
Thomas has a degree in Economics from the University of Hagen and an MBA from the University of Wales.
Fiona Paton
Financial Assistant
Fiona Paton
Financial Assistant
Fiona joined Alchemy in 1997 from Schroders where she supported the Corporate Finance teams.
She is currently responsible for the management accounts of the Alchemy group together with supporting implementation of the group’s HR, IT and property strategies.
Victoria Polyanskaya
Fund Accountant
Victoria Polyanskaya
Fund Accountant
Victoria joined Alchemy in 2019 as a Fund Accountant. Prior to this, she worked at Barnes Roffe where she carried out a range of accountancy and audit services for a portfolio of clients.
Victoria is a Chartered Accountant and has a degree in Management and Accountancy from Reading University.
Adam Porter
General Counsel
Adam Porter
General Counsel
Adam joined Alchemy in 2020 from Macfarlanes where he specialised in corporate M&A and private equity. Whilst at Macfarlanes, Adam undertook two secondments: the first to the New York office of Paul, Weiss and the second to GHO Capital. He has also spent time at Aon, where he was a director in the M&A and Transaction Solutions team focusing on private equity.
Adam is a practising solicitor and is responsible for supporting the firm in all legal and compliance matters across the Alchemy group and associated funds.
He has a Law degree from the University of Leeds and completed the Legal Practice Course at BPP University Law School.
Frits Prakke
Senior Adviser
Frits Prakke
Senior Adviser
Frits joined Alchemy in 2006 to establish the Alchemy Special Opportunities business and was a Partner at the firm until 2021. He now acts as a senior adviser, supporting the firm on an ad hoc basis in his areas of expertise and experience. Frits has over 23 years of experience in the European credit markets. Prior to joining Alchemy, he spent nine years in the high yield capital markets and leveraged finance teams at Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Salomon and Bank of America. He started his career in finance in 1994 at Citibank.
He has a degree from Nyenrode Business Universiteit and an MBA from IESE in Barcelona. He speaks Dutch, English, Spanish, French and German.
Stephen Ralf
Associate
Stephen Ralf
Associate
Stephen joined Alchemy in 2020 from Morgan Stanley, where he spent two years working in the UK and Ireland coverage team within the Investment Banking Division. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Stephen spent two and a half years at Slaughter and May, qualifying into one of the corporate and M&A teams.
Stephen has a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Warwick and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Sofia Ramos
Director
Sofia Ramos
Director
Sofia joined Alchemy in 2008 from Citigroup where she focused on distressed debt and special opportunities investments in the telecom, media and energy sectors. Before that, Sofia was a Credit Research Analyst for PIMCO in London and an Equity Research Analyst for BPI in Portugal.
Sofia has a degree in Economics from the University of Porto, an MSc in Finance from London Business School and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Matteo Rattighieri
Director
Matteo Rattighieri
Director
Matteo joined Alchemy in 2017 from The Boston Consulting Group, where he worked for six years, initially in Milan and latterly in London.
He has a degree in Management and Business Administration and a Master’s in Corporate Finance, Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting from Bocconi University in Milan, and an MBA from Wharton, University of Pennsylvania.
John Rowland
Partner, COO & CFO
John Rowland
Partner, COO & CFO
John joined Alchemy in 2006 from Hawkpoint Partners where he advised on mergers and acquisitions in the financial services and media sectors. Prior to that he was part of KPMG’s Private Equity Group.
He has responsibility for Operations and Finance across the Alchemy group and associated funds, and is also the firm’s Compliance Officer.
John has a Human Sciences degree from the University of Oxford and is a Chartered Accountant.
Philippa Saxby
Partners’ Secretary
Philippa Saxby
Partners’ Secretary
Philippa joined Alchemy in 2011 and provides executive support to the Partners and the broader team. Prior to joining Alchemy, Philippa worked for the General Optical Council supporting the Director of Fitness to Practise. She has over 20 years’ experience supporting executives within a range of sectors, including accountancy, financial services and legal.
She has a degree in French and Philosophy from Hull University.
Dominic Slade
Managing Partner
Dominic Slade
Managing Partner
Dominic joined Alchemy in 1998 and was elected Managing Partner of Alchemy in 2009. He has over 20 years of experience in restructuring and private equity. He has led numerous refinancings, restructurings and buyouts and has substantial board experience with investee companies. He was responsible for planning and executing the distressed strategy, culminating in the establishment of the Alchemy Special Opportunities business in 2006, which has since raised £2.3bn across four funds, and has been involved in all aspects since then.
Previously in investment banking at UBS, Dominic has an MA in Social & Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge, an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Cambridge and an MBA from Harvard.
Gaëlle Violette
Finance and Tax Manager – Luxembourg
Gaëlle Violette
Finance and Tax Manager – Luxembourg
Gaëlle joined Alchemy in 2020 and is based in Alchemy’s Luxembourg office. She is responsible for the oversight and daily management of Alchemy’s Luxembourg-based entities.
She joined from Monitor Clipper Partners, a US-headquartered mid-market private equity firm, where she fulfilled a similar role. Prior to that she spent seven years as a tax adviser for KPMG in Luxembourg.
Gaëlle has an MBA from EDHEC Business School, Lille, a Masters in Business Law from the Faculty of Law, Lille and is a Chartered Accountant.
Toby Westcott
Partner
Toby Westcott
Partner
Toby joined Alchemy in 2008 from Hawkpoint Partners where he specialised in mergers and acquisitions in the financial services sector, advising Alchemy on several transactions. He was previously in Corporate Finance at Grant Thornton.
He has a degree in Mathematics from the University of Warwick and is a Chartered Accountant.
Emma Zaronis
Receptionist
Emma Zaronis
Receptionist
Emma joined Alchemy in 2017 and is responsible for Front of House at Alchemy’s office. Prior to joining Alchemy, Emma worked for the New Zealand High commission, managing a reception team and assisting with the organisation and running of events, as well as arranging logistics for visits from VIPs.
Alchemy Partners LLP
Alchemy Special Opportunities LLP
Tel: + 44 (0)20 7240 9596
Fax: + 44 (0)20 7240 9594
info@alchemypartners.co.uk