Sir Ronald Cohen (born 1945) is an Egyptian-born British businessman and political figure, known as "the father of British venture capital".^[1] Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Venture capital is a general term to describe financing for startup and early stage businesses as well as businesses in turn around situations. ...

Biography

Early life

Cohen was born in Egypt; his paternal family were Sephardi Jews, originally from Aleppo, Syria, though his mother, Sonia Douek, was English. In 1957, following the Suez Crisis, Cohen's family was forced to abandon all their assets and flee Egyptian President Nassar's persecution of Jews.^[2] The family (including younger brother Andre) moved to England. Though initially speaking only a few words of English, Cohen went to Orange Hill grammar school in Burnt Oak, North London, where he excelled. Language(s) Hebrew, Ladino, Judæo-Portuguese, Catalanic, Shuadit, local languages Religion(s) Judaism Related ethnic groups Ashkenazi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, other Jewish ethnic divisions, Arabs, Spaniards, Portuguese. ... Location of the governorate of Aleppo within Syria Aleppo (Arabic: [ḥalab], ) is a city in northern Syria, capital of the Aleppo Governorate. ... Combatants Israel United Kingdom France Egypt Commanders Moshe Dayan Charles Keightley Pierre Barjot Gamal Abdel Nasser Abdel Hakim Amer Strength 175,000 Israeli 45,000 British 34,000 French 70,000 Casualties 197 Israeli KIA 56 British KIA 91 British WIA 10 French KIA 43 French WIA 650 KIA[1... Gamal Abdel Nasser (Arabic: - ; Masri: جمال عبد الناصر - also transliterated as Jamal Abd al-Naser, Jamal Abd an-Nasser and other variants; January 15, 1918 – September 28, 1970) was the President of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. ... For other uses, see Exodus (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Burnt Oak is a vibrant multi-ethnic suburb in the London Borough of Barnet south of Edgware. ... North London is that part of London which is north of the River Thames. ...

Cohen won a scholarship to Oxford University, where he became president of the Oxford Union, and earned a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Exeter College. He subsequently attended Harvard Business School. The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a private debating society in the city of Oxford, England, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford. ... Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) is a popular interdisciplinary degree which combines study from the three eponymous disciplines. ... and of the Exeter College College name Exeter College Latin name Collegium Exoniense Named after Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter Established 1314 Sister college Emmanuel College, Cambridge Rector Ms Frances Cairncross JCR president Edward Moores Undergraduates 299 MCR president Sara Adams Graduates 150 Location of Exeter College within central... Harvard Business School, officially named the Harvard Business School: George F. Baker Foundation, and also known as HBS, is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. ...

Business career

After leaving Harvard Business School, Cohen worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company in the United Kingdom and Italy. In 1971, along with two partners, he founded Apax Partners, Britain's first venture capital firm. The company grew slowly at first, but expanded rapidly in the 1990s, becoming Britain's largest venture capital firm, and "one of three truly global venture capital firms".^[2] Apax provided startup capital for over 500 companies, and provided money for many others, including AOL, Virgin Radio, Waterstone's, and PPL Therapeutics, the company that cloned Dolly the sheep. In 1996 Cohen helped establish Easdaq, a technology focused stock exchange intended to be the European counterpart to the American Nasdaq. He is the recipient of a Jubilee Award for services to Israeli business, awarded by Benjamin Netanyahu and the BUCA's Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a member of the Board of Overseers at Harvard and is also a fellow of Exeter College. McKinsey & Company is a privately owned management consulting firm that focuses on solving issues of concern to senior management in large corporations and organizations. ... Apax Partners is a private equity and venture capital firm based in the United Kingdom which operates in Hong Kong, China, India, United Kingdom, United States, Europe, and Israel. ... Venture capital is a general term to describe financing for startup and early stage businesses as well as businesses in turn around situations. ... For other uses, see AOL (disambiguation). ... For the French radio station, see Virgin Radio (France). ... Gower Street branch Waterstones Piccadilly branch, Europes largest bookshop Waterstones is a United Kingdom based chain of bookshops. ... Molecular cloning refers to the procedure of isolating a defined DNA sequence and obtaining multiple copies of it in vivo. ... Dolly (July 5, 1996 – February 14, 2003), a ewe, was the first mammal to have been successfully cloned from an adult somatic cell. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... NASDAQ in Times Square, New York City. ...   (‎, Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu, born October 21, 1949, Tel Aviv) was the 9th Prime Minister of Israel and is Chairman of the Likud Party. ... and of the Exeter College College name Exeter College Latin name Collegium Exoniense Named after Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter Established 1314 Sister college Emmanuel College, Cambridge Rector Ms Frances Cairncross JCR president Edward Moores Undergraduates 299 MCR president Sara Adams Graduates 150 Location of Exeter College within central...

Political career

In 1974 Cohen stood as the parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Party in Kensington North, and in 1979 he stood as its European candidate in London West. This article is about the historic Liberal Party. ... Regents Park and Kensington North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... A Member of the European Parliament (English abbreviation MEP)[1] is a member of the European Unions directly-elected legislative body, the European Parliament. ...

In 1996 he switched allegiance to the Labour Party, becoming a supporter of Tony Blair. In 2004, Cohen was the Labour Party's fourth largest financial supporter, after Lord Sainsbury, Sir Christopher Ondaatje and Lord Hamlyn. In 2005 he became the "bankroller" of Gordon Brown's leadership bid. The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born May 6, 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the Labour Party, and Member of Parliament for the constituency... David John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville (born 24 October 1940) is a British businessman, politician and life peer for the Labour Party. ... Sir Philip Christopher Ondaatje, KBE , OC (born February 22, 1933) is a businessman and author. ... For others with the same or similar names, see Gordon Brown (disambiguation). ...

Personal

In 1972 Cohen married Carol Belmont, a French Jew; they divorced in 1975. In 1983 he married a second time, to Claire Enders, an American Catholic; they divorced in 1986. Cohen has two children, Tamara and Jonathan, with his third wife, Sharon Harel-Cohen, daughter of Yossi Harel, the commander of the fabled Holocaust survivors' ship Exodus. Sharon is one of the producers of the film Gosford Park.^[2] Exodus 1947 after British takeover (note damage to makeshift barricades). ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

Cohen is a member of the executive committee of the International Institute of Strategic Studies. In 2000, he became Chairman of the Social Investment Task Force. In 2002, he became Chairman of Bridges Community Ventures. In the same year, he was also the joint winner of the British Venture Capital, Hall of Fame, Private Equity Award along with John Moulton. Cohen is the Chairman of The Portland Trust^[3] and Portland Capital LLP. In January 2005, Cohen became a Director of the British Museum and in November he became Chairman of the Commission on Unclaimed Assets.^[4] Private equity is a broad term that refers to any type of equity investment in an asset in which the equity is not freely tradable on a public stock market. ... Chairman of the Board redirects here. ... London museum | name = British Museum | image = British Museum from NE 2. ...

Bibliography

• Cohen, Ronald (November 2007). The Second Bounce of the Ball: Turning Risk into Opportunity. 

References

The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International which is in turn owned by News Corporation. ... The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International which is in turn owned by News Corporation. ...

External links

• Ronald Cohen's website.