Our Team
Neil Johnson, CFA
Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer
Neil Johnson, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Johnson has over 30 years of experience in investment banking, merchant banking, and research analysis in both the Canadian and UK capital markets. In 2012 he co-founded and became Chief Executive Officer of Difference Capital Financial, a Canadian publicly listed merchant bank. For the previous 19 years he worked for Canaccord Genuity, first in Canada and later at Canaccord London rising to the positions of Head of Corporate Finance (Europe), Global Head of Technology, and a member of the Global Executive Committee. Mr. Johnson was instrumental in the firm becoming authorised as a nominated adviser for AIM and regulated in the UK and London Stock Exchange Main Market listings; he spearheaded the firm’s diversification into the technology industry, and led Canaccord’s initiative to attract North American firms to list in London.
During his tenure the Canaccord European operation grew revenues from less than £5 million to over £50 million, completed over 100 transactions and raised in excess of £3 billion for North American companies listed in London.
Mr. Johnson is a graduate of the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and holds the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst Charterholder.
Charles (Charlie) Cannon Brookes
Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer
Charles (Charlie) Cannon Brookes, Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer
Charlie Cannon Brookes is an Executive Director of the company and is focussed on deal origination, due diligence, execution and monitoring as well as UK plc responsibilities.
Charlie has over 20 years investment experience and has advised and sat on the boards of several different funds, trusts and other publicly traded investment companies. Prior to Duke, he owned and was the CIO of Arlington Group Asset Management Limited which acted as the UK based, FCA regulated investment management company to the Arlington Special Situations Fund. Earlier in his career Charlie worked at Jupiter Asset Management, ABN Amro and Barclays de Zoete Wedd.
Charlie holds a BA Honours degree in Economics & Politics from the University of Exeter.
Hugo Evans
Chief Financial Officer
Hugo Evans, Chief Financial Officer
Hugo is responsible for all of Duke Capital’s finance and treasury operations and has oversight of Duke Royalty’s corporate governance and UK plc responsibilities.
Prior to joining Duke, Hugo spent two years as the Group Finance Director of Kingswood Wealth Group, an AIM-Listed retail wealth management business. Before KWG, Hugo spent six years at boutique fund management firm Ocean Dial Asset Management, where he set up the operational, financial and compliance infrastructure of the business. Hugo also spent six years at global sports management firm IMG prior to qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with Grant Thornton.
Hugo holds a BCom in Business Studies from the University of Edinburgh.
Alex Hibbard, CFA
Principal
Alex Hibbard, Principal
Alex is responsible for the sourcing, due diligence, execution and management of Duke Capital’s investments.
Alex currently looks after a number of Duke Capital’s partners, including Tristone, New Path Fire and Integrum Care Group and was involved with Welltel, BHP, XtremePush and most recently Fabrikat before their exits. Alex has 9 years of Private Equity and Private Credit experience having started his career at London-based Private Equity firm Terra Firma, where he had a similar role across a wide range of sectors and geographies. Prior to joining Duke Capital, Alex was an Investment Associate at Capital Step, which was acquired by Duke Capital in 2019.
Alex is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds an MA in Economics from the University of Edinburgh.
Ajay Shivdasani
Principal
Ajay Shivdasani, Principal
Ajay is responsible for the sourcing, due diligence, execution and management of Duke Capital’s investments.
Ajay currently works with a number of Duke Capital’s partners, including United Glass Group, Trimite, Miriad, and Fairmed. Ajay has 9 years of Private Equity and Private Credit experience, including three years of private-equity LBO transaction and deal origination experience at DW Healthcare Partners. He has also worked for four years at Oliver Wyman, a global management consulting firm, where he advised leading financial services organizations.
Ajay has received a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering degree from the University of Toronto and a MBA from INSEAD.
Ajay is employed by Abingdon Capital Corporation which has a support services contract with Duke Capital Limited.
Steven Russo
Principal
Steven Russo, Principal
Steven joined Duke in 2018 and is responsible for the sourcing, due diligence, execution and management of Duke Capital’s investments.
He works with a number of the firm’s partners, including Atlas, Creo-Tech, Glasshouse, Interhealth, and Lynx, and was also involved with Instor and Sijfa Cruises before their exits. Prior to joining Duke, Steven spent six years working primarily on mezzanine debt and equity growth capital transactions as a former Vice President at Difference Capital Financial Inc. Before joining DCF, Steven completed his articles at Wildeboer Dellelce LLP in Toronto. Prior to that, he served as a summer law student at the National Hockey League Players’ Association where he assisted on player contract negotiations and salary arbitration.
Steven obtained his J.D. and MBA from Queen’s University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, with honours, from York University.
Steven is employed by Abingdon Capital Corporation which has a support services contract with Duke Capital Limited.
Magda Tarnowska
Executive Assistant
Magda Tarnowska, Executive Assistant
Magda Tarnowska is the Executive Assistant to the CEO at Duke Capital. Prior to joining Duke, Ms. Tarnowska spent two years in the executive assistant role in Captor Capital Corp. supporting its CEO and the Board of Directors. Ms. Tarnowska also worked as a Duty Manager for six years at the Strathcona Hotel in Toronto. Concurrently, she worked as a Hospitality Management Instructor in the Upper Career College of Business and Technology in Toronto. Prior to that, she was employed by Qubus Hotel in Poland as a Group Sales Manager. Ms. Tarnowska received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Philology from the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland.
Ms. Tarnowska is employed by Abingdon Capital Corporation which has a support services contract with Duke Capital Limited.
Marcus Olsberg
Associate
Marcus Olsberg, Associate
Marcus Olsberg is responsible for conducting Duke Capital’s investment evaluation process, including all due diligence efforts.
Mr. Olsberg started his career at MUFG Bank in London, where he worked as an Associate for four years. During his time, he worked across the Leveraged Finance and Credit Analysis desks, the latter of which he focused on transactions and the monitoring of Aviation corporates within the Industrials, Transport and Infrastructure portfolio.
Marcus holds a BA in Chinese Studies from Durham University.
Tommy Stamadianos
Associate
Tommy Stamadianos, Associate
Tommy Stamadianos is responsible for conducting Duke Capital’s investment evaluation process, including all due diligence efforts.
Mr. Stamadianos started his career at Scotiabank in Toronto, where he worked in the Investment Banking group for roughly two years. He has since held investment roles at both Alberta Investment Management Corporation(AIMCO) and Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF), focusing on buyout and growth equity investments in North America and Western Europe. Mr. Stamadianos holds a BCom in Finance and Economics from the University of Toronto.
Mr. Stamadianos is employed by Abingdon Capital Corporation which has a support services contract with Duke Capital Limited.
Koray Kosanoglu
Associate
Koray Kosanoglu, Associate
Koray Kosanoglu is responsible for conducting Duke Capital’s investment evaluation process, including all due diligence efforts.
Mr. Kosanoglu started his career at Deutsche Bank in London, where he worked for 2 years. During his time, he worked in the Consumer & Retail team, focussing on the Beverages, Restaurants & Pubs, Ingredients and Pet Retail sectors on a range of M&A and Financing projects.
Koray holds a BSc in Economics from University College London (UCL).
Board of Directors
Nigel Birrell
Chairman
Nigel Birrell, Chairman
Nigel Birrell is a Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the company and works with the Executive Directors on deal origination and overall strategy. He has extensive public company experience and expertise in the gaming, media, banking and insurance sectors.
Mr. Birrell has been the group CEO of Lottoland since 2014. Lottoland is the world’s leading online lotto provider headquartered in Gibraltar, regulated in multiple territories with a workforce of 500 people in 11 countries and with over 18m registered customers across 15 territories. Prior to Lottoland, Mr. Birrell was Group Director on the Executive Board at bwin.party digital entertainment plc (now Entain), the then world’s leading online gaming business where he was responsible for all its mergers and acquisitions, business development and managing its investment portfolio. Prior to bwin.party, Mr. Birrell was a main board director of the FTSE 250 media group HIT Entertainment PLC, leading its $1.1bn disposal in 2005. He also served as CEO of Gullane plc during its integration with HIT. Prior to HIT, Mr. Birrell worked as a lawyer and an investment banker with both Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and later Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (now Credit Suisse). Currently, Mr. Birrell is also Non-Executive Chairman of Southern Rock Insurance Company Limited and the AIM listed financial services group STM Plc.
Mr. Birrell holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of London (Queen Mary) and is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.
Maree Wilms
Non-Executive Director
Maree Wilms, Non-Executive Director
Maree Wilms is a Non-Executive Director of the company. She is responsible for the oversight of the company’s corporate obligations in Guernsey.
Maree, a resident of Guernsey, brings extensive corporate governance, fund management & structuring experience to the Group. She is co-founder and CEO of Zeta Asset Management ICC Limited (“Zeta”), a Guernsey domiciled entity specialising in the creation of regulated asset management companies in Guernsey and fund structures across offshore jurisdictions. In addition to her role at Zeta, Maree is COO of South Africa Alpha Capital Management Limited, a fund advisory and structuring platform which has launched and advised more than 60 funds. Maree commenced her career at Adelphi Capital Limited, where she worked as a Hedge Fund Analyst for nine years.
Matthew Wrigley
Non-Executive Director
Matthew Wrigley, Non-Executive Director
Matthew is a non-executive director and legal consultant, with a 20-year career in a variety of legal, compliance and commercial roles.
He was General Counsel and Global Head of Compliance for MacarthurCook Limited, a specialist fund management company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Following his expatriation to Singapore, he served as Chief Operating Officer of the MacarthurCook Industrial REIT, an investment trust listed on the Singapore Securities Exchange. Matthew joined AMP Capital Investors in Singapore in 2007 and held several roles, including fund manager for a private equity real estate fund invested in hotel projects across Vietnam.
Matthew returned to Australia in 2010, with global law firm Baker McKenzie, where he was part of the market-leading Funds and Private Investment team. He relocated to Guernsey in 2013 and opened the Guernsey office of alternative asset advisory firm MJ Hudson in 2015, where he was Managing Partner until 2019, retiring before the firm’s London IPO.
He now serves as a non-executive director on fund and general partner boards for the likes of iCON Infrastructure, Zeta Asset Management, Dominion Funds, Anfa VC and Yolo Group.
Matthew holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from the University of Queensland, Australia, and is a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland (non-practising).
Investment Committee
Jim Webster
Independent Chair
Jim Webster, Independent Chair
Jim Webster is the independent Chair of the Investment Committee.
From 2017 until 2021, Mr. Webster was the Chief Investment Officer of Duke Capital. Between 2003 and 2009, as Managing Partner and Chair of the Investment Committee for Capital Royalty Partners LLC (now CRG L.P.), Mr. Webster led the raising of $325 million for deployment in the firm’s first fund. In his capacity as Chair of its Investment Committee, he led due diligence and negotiations on royalty interests for the firm. Today, CRG L.P. has deployed over $4bn.
Between 1993 and 2002, from the inception of Drug Royalty Corporation Inc, Mr. Webster was a senior member of the world’s first public pharmaceutical-based royalty company, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Mr. Webster served in various capacities, including President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of its Investment Committee. He oversaw the firm’s growth from its startup phase through to its eventual sale in 2002, for C$133 million. At Drug Royalty Corporation Inc, he identified, assessed, and negotiated investments in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. The company (now DRI Healthcare) continues to be a leading royalty investor, with more than $3bn deployed.
Mr. Webster holds a Master of Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business. He was previously a CFA Charter holder and a Canadian Professional Accountant of Canada. He completed the Columbia Executive Management Program in New York.
Andrew Carragher
Investment Committee member
Andrew Carragher, Investment Committee member
Andrew Carragher is a Founder and Managing Director of DW Healthcare Partners, a private equity company. DW Healthcare Partners has invested in 44 healthcare companies to date and currently manages over $1.6B in institutional capital across 6 funds. He has and currently sits on the Board of Directors of 360 Behavioral Health, Aequor Healthcare Services, Bio Agri Mix, Champion Manufacturing Inc., EHE International, Med Pharmex, Pentec Health, SoClean, CEFALY Technology SPRL, Tubewriter, LKC Technologies, Inc., and Med Learning Group, LLC.
Andrew lives in Toronto, Canada. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario and his MBA from Harvard Business School.
Justin Cochrane
Investment Committee member
Justin Cochrane, Investment Committee member
Justin Cochrane is the Founder & CEO of Carbon Streaming Corporation, listed on Cboe Canada, and President of Nickel 28 Capital Corp. Prior to that, he was the Executive Vice President of Corporate Development for Sandstorm Gold Ltd. At Sandstorm, Mr. Cochrane was responsible for sourcing, negotiating and executing royalty and stream financing transactions across the globe. Mr. Cochrane was a key part of Sandstorm’s team as it grew into one of the largest royalty and stream financing companies in Canada. Prior to Sandstorm, Mr. Cochrane was a Vice President at National Bank Financial where he spent some nine years working in the investment banking group. As Vice President, Mr. Cochrane managed primary coverage of BC-based clients in the diversified, paper & forest products, power & utilities, resources, cleantech and other sectors. Mr. Cochrane specialised in providing advice to clients on merger and acquisition transactions and equity and debt financing opportunities.
Mr. Cochrane is a Chartered Financial Analyst Charterholder and received a Bachelor of Commerce degree, with honours, from the University of British Columbia, Canada. Mr. Cochrane is a government ambassador at the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.
John Romeo
Investment Committee member
Justin Cochrane, Investment Committee member
John is a Managing Partner with Oliver Wyman. He founded and leads Oliver Wyman’s Private Capital business, working with leading Private Equity funds, family offices and alternative asset managers on business model strategy, deal generation, diligence and value creation. He also leads the Oliver Wyman Forum, the firm’s platform for engaging key business, public policy and societal leaders to act on shared challenges.
Prior to these roles, John served as Head of the Americas for Oliver Wyman and has over 30 years of consulting experience, advising the boards and senior executives of the world’s leading private and public sector organizations on strategy, organizational effectiveness, risk management and M&A.
John is a board member of Safe Horizon (the largest victims’ services agency in the United States) and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), Chair of the London Data Commission, a member of Young Presidents’ Organization, Wall Street Journal CEO Council and the Investment Committees of Duke Royalty and Asta Capital Partners. He previously served on the boards of the Partnership for New York City, MMC Securities Limited and the European IPO Taskforce.
John has a Masters degree in Economics from Cambridge University where he was a Senior Scholar.