Growing up in Northern Ireland, Colin had a humble and happy childhood where he inherited a solid set of values and a strong work ethic from his parents. After finishing school, Colin attended the University of St Andrews, where he learned the importance of understanding different people’s backgrounds and diverse perspectives.

Following university Colin joined Peat Marwick, Mitchell & Company (now known as KPMG) in Leeds to train as an accountant. KPMG then opened a regional corporate finance department in Leeds and were running a presentation to encourage people to fill the positions on the team. At the time Colin was planning on skipping the presentation due to being too busy, but in a strange twist of fate, he bumped into the presenter before leaving the office which resulted in him joining the regional corporate finance team.

After KPMG, Colin went into an investing career in private equity for 20 years, before moving into a ‘plural’ Chair role for many PE-backed businesses, including working alongside NorthEdge to sit on several Boards as Non-Executive Chair.

In this episode of Beyond the Capital, Colin explains why consistency and clarity are key components to delivering value in the Chair role, the importance of providing equal opportunities to people from all backgrounds, and the role of private equity in building better businesses.

Click here to get to know Colin and access our other episodes.