Board and governance

The Company has a strong, independent Board of experienced non-executive directors. The Directors are responsible for the determination of the investment policy of the Company and have overall responsibility for overseeing the Company’s activities.

AGML is responsible for the implementation of the investment policy of the Company and has overall responsibility for overseeing the investment management services provided to the Company.

AGA has entered into an Investment Management Agreement with Apax Guernsey Managers Limited (“AGML”) to manage the investments of the Company on a discretionary basis.

The AGML Board is composed of highly skilled professionals who bring a range of expertise, perspectives, and corporate experience.

The Investment Manager draws on the resources and expertise of Apax for investment advice through an Investment Advisory Agreement and the AGA Investment Committee. The AGA Investment Committee is composed of several senior team members from Apax.

Karl Sternberg

Chairman

Skills and experience: Karl Sternberg joined the AGA Board on 1 March 2024. He was appointed as Chairman on 1 July 2024. Karl was a founding Partner of Oxford Investment Partners, which was acquired by Towers Watson in 2013. Prior to that, he held a number of positions at Morgan Grenfell/Deutsche Asset Management, including as Chief Investment Officer for Europe, Australia, and Asia Pacific. He has experience in a number of senior positions in the global industrial, energy and materials sectors working for major corporations including ICI/Zeneca, The BOC Group and Centrica/ British Gas, as well as in strategic consulting roles.

Current appointments: Chairman of Clipstone Industrial REIT plc and Monks Investment Trust plc; and Non-Executive Director of Capital Gearing Trust plc and Jupiter Fund Management plc.

Qualifications: Graduate of Christ Church College Oxford University.

Stephanie Coxon

Non-Executive Director

Skills and experience: Stephanie joined the AGA Board on 31 March 2020. She was appointed as Chairman of its Audit Committee on 1 May 2024. Stephanie has 15 years’ of experience of audit and advisory with PwC in the asset management sector, specialising in listed investment funds in a multitude of asset classes. Over the past 9 years, Stephanie led the PwC capital markets team responsible for advising on the listing process for UK, Guernsey and Jersey investment funds. Stephanie has a wealth of knowledge in this area having advised numerous investment managers throughout the UK, US and Europe on initial public offerings and secondary offerings.

Current appointments: Non-Executive Director of:

  • JLEN Environmental Assets Group Limited
  • PPHE Hotel Group Limited
  • International Public Partnerships Limited
  • PraxisIFM Group Limited

Qualifications: Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Susie Farnon

Non-Executive Director

Skills and experience: Susie Farnon joined the AGA Board on 22 July 2015. She was elected as Senior Independent Director on 18 November 2016. Susie held the position of Chairman of the Audit Committee from 1 July 2016 to 1 May 2024. She served as President of the Guernsey Society of Chartered and Certified Accountants, as a member of The States of Guernsey Audit Commission and as a Commissioner of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission. Susie was a Banking and Finance Partner with KPMG Channel Islands from 1990 until 2001 and was Head of Audit at KPMG in the Channel Islands from 1999 until 2001.

Current appointments: Non-executive director of:

  • Ruffer Investment Company Limited;
  • Real Estate Credit Investments Ltd; and,
  • Bailiwick Investments Limited.

Board member of The Association of Investment Companies.

Qualifications: Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Mike Bane

Non-Executive Director

Skills and experience: Mike Bane joined the AGA Board on 3 July 2018. He has more than 35 years of audit and advisory experience with a particular focus on the asset management industry. Mike retired from EY in June 2018 where he was a member of EY’s EMEIA Wealth and Asset Management Board. Following an earlier career in London with PwC, he has been a Guernsey resident for over 20 years and has served as President of the Guernsey Society of Chartered and Certified Accountants.

Current appointments: Non-Executive Director of:

  • HICL Infrastructure plc
  • Standard Life Investments
  • Property Income Trust Limited

Qualifications: Graduate of Magdalen College Oxford University and a Chartered Accountant.

Alex Denny

Non-Executive Director

Skills and experience: Alex Denny has over twenty years’ experience in asset management and investment trusts, covering both private and public markets. Mr Denny spent most of his career at Fidelity International, latterly as Head of Investment Trusts, before he moved to become Managing Director, European Private Wealth at Pantheon.

Alex began his career in 2003, working initially in Fidelity’s retail platform business. He became involved with investment companies in 2011 when he led the development of Fidelity’s brokerage platform, introducing investment companies to it for the first time. Alex is currently a private consultant and Head of the Investment Trust practice at Nurole, the non-executive search firm.

Current appointments:
Non-Executive Director of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC).
Trustee of the Nautical Archaeology Society.

Qualifications: BSC/BCL in Chemistry and Law from University of Bristol.

Paul Meader

Director

Skills and experience: Paul Meader has acted as Non- Executive Director of several insurers, London and Euronext listed investment companies, funds and fund managers in real estate, private equity, hedge funds, debt, structured product and multi-asset funds. He is a senior investment professional with over 30 years of multijurisdictional experience, 14 years of which were at chief executive level. Paul was Head of Portfolio Management at Collins Stewart (now Canaccord Genuity) between 2010 and 2013 and was the Chief Executive of Corazon Capital Group from 2002 to 2010. Paul was Managing Director at Rothschild Bank Switzerland C.I. Limited from 1996 to 2002 and previously worked for Matheson Investment Management, Ulster Bank, Aetna Investment Management and Midland Montagu (now HSBC).

Current appointments: Non-Executive Director of a number of other companies in fund management and insurance, inclusive of the General Partners of the Apax Private Equity Funds.

Qualifications: MA (Hons) in Geography from Oxford University and a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment.

AGML Board appointment date: 12/01/2015

Martin Halusa

Director

Skills and experience: Martin Halusa was Chairman of Apax Partners from January 2014 to March 2016, after ten years as Chief Executive Officer of the firm (2003-2013). In 1990, he co-founded Apax Partners in Germany as Managing Director. His investment experience has been primarily in the telecommunications and service industries. Martin began his career at The Boston Consulting Group (“BCG”) in Germany, and left as a Partner and Vice President of BCG Worldwide in 1986. He joined Daniel Swarovski Corporation, Austria’s largest private industrial company, first as President of Swarovski Inc (US) and later as Director of the International Holding in Zurich.

Current appointments: Director of the General Partners of the Apax Private Equity Funds.

Qualifications: A graduate of Georgetown University, an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a PhD in Economics from the Leopold-Franzens University in Innsbruck.

AGML Board appointment date: 27/03/2015

Jeremy Latham

Director

Skills and experience: Jeremy Latham has held directorships for regulated financial services businesses since 2008 and has worked in the financial services sector for 20 years, 15 of which he has spent specialising in private equity.

Jeremy has extensive knowledge of the regulatory environment including compliance and anti-money laundering regulation and has working knowledge of listed and unlisted Open and Closed Ended Investment Schemes, including Equity Funds, Hedge Funds, Private Equity Funds and Unit Trusts.

Current appointments: Director of Apax Partners Guernsey Limited and a Director of the General Partners of the Apax Private Equity Funds.

Qualifications: Jeremy is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA).

AGML Board appointment date: 01/12/2021

Mark Despres

Director

Skills and experience: Mark has been employed in the wealth management industry in both Guernsey and London for over 20 years, principally as an investment manager to a number of listed funds (both open and closed-ended), institutional and private client portfolios.

Current appointments: Director of Apax Partners Guernsey Limited.

Qualifications: First class honours degree in Mathematics from Royal Holloway University of London and a Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment.

AGML Board appointment date: 01/04/2016

Simon Cresswell

Director

Skills and experience: Simon Cresswell is a Partner and the General Counsel of Apax. Prior to joining Apax in early 2011, Simon worked for Goldman Sachs from 2004 to 2011. He also previously worked at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York and in London and for Mallesons in Melbourne, Australia.

Current appointments: Director of the general partner for each of the current global Apax Private Equity Funds and a trustee of the Apax Foundation.

Qualifications: Simon holds a Bachelor of Business in Finance and Accounting from Edith Cowan University and an LLB (Hons) from The University of Melbourne

AGML Board appointment date: 20/04/2023

Andrew Sillitoe

Co-CEO | Apax Partners

Skills and experience: Andrew Sillitoe joined Apax in 1998 and has focused on the Tech sector in that time. Andrew has been involved in a number of deals, including Orange, TIVIT, TDC, Intelsat, Inmarsat and King Digital Entertainment PLC.

Current appointments: Co-CEO of Apax. Member of the Apax Executive, Allocation, and Investment Committees.

Qualifications: MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University and an MBA from INSEAD.

Mitch Truwit

Co-CEO | Apax Partners

Skills and experience: Mitch Truwit joined Apax in 2006 and has been involved in a number of transactions including HUB International, Advantage Sales and Marketing, Bankrate, Dealer.com, Trader Canada, Garda and Answers.

Current appointments: Co-CEO of Apax. Member of the Apax Executive, Allocation, and Investment Committees and a Trustee of the Apax Foundation.

Qualifications: BA in Political Science from Vassar College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Ralf Gruss

Partner | Apax Partners

Skills and experience: Ralf Gruss joined Apax in 2000 and is a former member of the Apax Services team. Ralf has been involved in a number of deals, including Kabel Deutschland, LR Health and Beauty Systems and IFCO Systems.

Current appointments: Chief Operating Officer and a Partner at Apax. Member of the Allocation, Credit, and AGA Investment Committees.

Qualifications: Diploma in Industrial Engineering and Business Administration from the Technical University in Karlsruhe. He also studied at the University of Massachusetts and the London School of Economics.

Roy Mackenzie

Partner | Apax Partners

Skills and experience: Roy Mackenzie joined Apax in 2003. He led the investments in Sophos and Exact and was responsible for Apax’s investment in King Digital Entertainment. In addition, Roy worked on the investments in Epicor, NXP and Duck Creek.

Current appointments: Partner at Apax and a member of the Apax Investment Committees.

Qualifications: M.Eng in Electrical Engineering from Imperial College, London and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Salim Nathoo

Partner | Apax Partners

Skills and experience: Salim Nathoo joined Apax in 1999 specialising in the Tech & Telecom space. He has both led and participated in a number of key deals including ThoughtWorks, Candela, EVRY, GlobalLogic, Sophos and Inmarsat.

Current appointments: Partner at Apax and a member of the Apax Investment Committees.

Qualifications: MA in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge and an MBA from INSEAD

Derek Jackson

Partner | Apax Partners

Skills and experience: Derek Jackson joined Apax in 2024. Prior to joining Apax, Derek was a Managing Director and Head of European Credit at CPP Investments, where he led a multi-strategy direct credit platform. He was previously a Managing Director at Davidson Kempner, an event-driven hedge fund where he focused on corporate credit, and worked as an Executive Director at Alcentra. Derek has been active in the credit markets since 2001, and started his career in accounting and advisory firms in corporate finance.

Current appointments: Partner at Apax and a member of the Apax Credit and AGA Investment Committees.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from the University of British Columbia, and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

Key information

Why invest in AGA?

We offer our shareholders access to a portfolio of 'hidden gems': carefully selected, and mostly private companies that they can't buy elsewhere.

We have built a long track record of generating strong returns through this approach.

Learn more

Our performance

Performance is driven by operational impact across the portfolio, focused on building stronger, faster, digital-ready companies.

12-15%

target annualised Total NAV Return

11p

Dividend per share per annum

+1500bps

EBITDA growth increase during Apax Funds’ ownership

as at 30 June 2024