Hon Alexander Hambro, Chairman
Alex Hambro has been active in the private equity sector both in the UK and the USA for some 30 years, during which time he has acted as a principal investor, manager and sponsor of private equity and venture capital management teams.
In addition to his responsibilities at Judges Scientific plc, Alex is also Chairman of OTAQ plc, Falanx Group Ltd and IWP Holdings Ltd; and a Non-Executive Director of Octopus Apollo VCT plc, Oberon Investments Group plc, Whitley Asset Management Ltd and Time Partners Ltd.
Alex is a founder partner of Welbeck Capital Partners LLP, a specialist investment syndicate that creates secured convertible loan notes to finance growth opportunities primarily for small-cap listed companies.
David Cicurel, Chief Executive
David Cicurel founded Judges in 2002 having spent much of his career as a turnaround specialist and, subsequently, as an ‘active value’ investor operating with his own funds.
He has been responsible for several corporate recovery exercises including two UK public companies, International Media Communications plc (later known as Continental Foods) and International Communication and Data plc.
BRAD ORMSBY, GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR
Brad Ormsby is a Chartered Accountant who has significant senior finance and operational experience acquired during nine years at PwC followed by six years at Eurovestech plc, the pan-European development capital fund, and associated companies.
Prior to joining Judges Scientific in 2015, Brad was Chief Financial Officer at Kalibrate Technologies plc, where he led the company’s IPO. Brad is also a Non-Executive Director at Octopus AIM VCT 2 plc, a Venture Capital Trust which invests in AIM-quoted companies, and Software Circle plc.
mark lavelle, chief operating officer
Mark Lavelle gained sales and marketing experience with PerkinElmer, and finance experience with Bank of America in London and the USA, then moved into Industrial general management. Before joining Judges as COO in 2017, Mark most recently spent 15 years at Halma plc where he was Managing Director of two separate businesses (in Medical Devices and Ion Beam Coating), ran Acquisitions for the group, and led two Divisions (Industrial Safety and Water Analysis & UV) comprising a total of 15 companies in the UK, Europe, the USA and Asia-Pacific. He also had responsibility for Innovation at Halma, and subsequently the group’s Indian presence. He was also a Pension trustee for 12 years. Mark is a Chemistry graduate of the University of Cambridge and holds an MBA from INSEAD in France.
Tim Prestidge, Group Business Development Director
Tim joined Judges with significant experience in leadership and innovation, gained through 22 years in senior positions at FTSE100 and FTSE250 industrial businesses. Following the completion of his PhD, Tim was appointed as Divisional CEO and subsequently Executive Committee Director of Renishaw plc. Whilst there, he gained expertise in global markets, overseeing a sustained period of strong growth and expansion for the company. Tim also saw his division awarded five Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in the Innovation category.
Most recently, Tim spent 8 years as Divisional CEO with Halma plc, where he chaired portfolios of technology companies based in the UK, Europe, USA, and China, operating in a diverse range of scientific and industrial sectors. Throughout this period, Tim continued the trend of driving strong growth and gained direct experience in acquisitions and mergers.
Tim holds degrees in Theoretical Physics from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Cambridge.
IAN WILCOCK, Group COMMERCIAL Director
Ian started his career at Renishaw plc, before twice forming part of the leadership teams of investor-backed SMEs which were acquired by corporates (Footfall by Experian in 2006, and Irisys by Danaher in 2012). Following four years with Danaher, Ian most recently spent eight years as a member of the Management Board of Oxford Instruments plc, leading significant organic and inorganic growth and establishing its Materials Analysis Division.
Teams led by Ian have won several awards, including 3 Queen's Awards for Enterprise in the Innovation category, and more recently a King's Award in the Innovation category.
Ian holds degrees in Chemical Physics from the University of Edinburgh, an MBA from the University of Bath, and conducted post-doctoral research in Gerhard Ertl's Nobel Prize-winning group at the Fritz Haber Institut, Berlin. Ian is also a Non-Executive Director at Oxford Metrics plc.
Ralph Elman, Non-Executive
Ralph Elman is a former Finance Director of quoted companies Paramount plc, Delyn plc and International Communication & Data plc and Finance Director of businesses within GUS plc and RR Donnelley.
Ralph was Senior Partner of accountancy firm Elman Wall and is a Non-Executive Director of a number of private companies.
He is Chairman of the Judges Audit Committee.
charles Holroyd, non-executive
Charles Holroyd has a BSc in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Bristol University and an MBA from INSEAD. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology. Charles has held senior management positions within a number of publicly quoted companies. Most recently Charles worked at Oxford Instruments plc, which he joined in 1999 and where he served on the board from 2005 until 2013 and was responsible for group business development including M&A activities.
He is the Senior Independent Director and is Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Audit Committee.
LUSHANI KODITUWAKKU, NON-EXECUTIVE
Lushani is the founder and Managing Director of Luminii Consulting, a consulting firm specialising in strategy, Commercial Due Diligence (“CDD”) and value creation. Lushani has over 20 years’ experience in advising corporates, private equity and banks on their investments and growth strategy across UK, Europe, and USA.
She founded Luminii in 2017 after setting up and heading the Grant Thornton Strategy and CDD team in 2008 and holding various other senior roles with KPMG, Frost & Sullivan, PMSI and Neovian Partners.
Lushani holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Economics with first-class honours, and a Master of Research (MRes) in Management and Organisational Behaviour.
She is an Independent Director and is a member of the Remuneration Committee.
Sue Nyman, non-executive
Sue is an experienced business leader, and National Director in the Advisory practice at Grant Thornton UK LLP, a professional services firm, specialising in areas from client engagement and quality and risk matters to ethics and thought leadership. For over 18 years, Sue was Head of Grant Thornton's Advisory Quality and Risk Management team, a team which she created and successfully built from one person to over twenty. Previously she spent many years as a corporate financier advising companies both private and public. Sue's work saw her become a member of various external committees in relation to public company reporting and corporate finance technical issues. She is also the compliance officer for the Public Company Advisory team at Grant Thornton.
Sue has significant experience of being a member of Trust boards, with particular emphasis on finance and governance.
Sue is FCA qualified and holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Economics and Economic History from University College London.
She is an Independent Director and is a member of the Audit Committee.
GLYNN REece, COMPANY SECRETARY
Glynn Reece is a graduate of Oxford University and a qualified solicitor. Since 1987, he has specialised in providing corporate finance deal origination and advisory services, working for (inter alia) Coopers & Lybrand, Arthur Andersen and CLB, a specialist AIM firm.
He is currently a Proprietor of Carl Reiss Meyer, a business that acts as an arranger of pre-flotation finance for small fast growing companies.