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Ewan Mckinnon Kirk (born February 1961) is a British technology entrepreneur, founder of Cantab Capital Partners, chair of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences and Non-Executive Director of BAE Systems.[1][2][3] He is also Co-Chair of the Turner Kirk Trust which supports STEM, education and conservation causes in the UK and the developing world.[4]

Early life and education

Kirk was born in February 1961 in Swindon, Wiltshire.[5][6] He was raised in Scotland where he was brought up in Glasgow and attended Greenfaulds High School in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire.[6] He studied for a BSc in Natural philosophy and Astronomy at the University of Glasgow before studying Part III of the Mathematical Tripos at the University of Cambridge.[7] He was promoted to a PhD in General relativity at the University of Southampton.[7]

Career

Whilst at university, Kirk founded DaLEK Software, which developed the Computer-aided design (CAD) package MicroDraft for Amstrad CPC and PCW computers.[8] After graduation from Southampton, he returned to Cambridge, as Director at Innovation for the science and technology consultancy Scientific Generics.[8]

Goldman Sachs

In 1992, Kirk joined Goldman Sachs, initially working in commodities before moving to currencies.[9] He was appointed a managing director in 1998, and became a Partner in 2000.[9] As a partner, Kirk was responsible for heading up the bank's European quantitative technologies group, which tested systematic investment strategies.[9] He oversaw a team of 120 mathematicians, scientists and statisticians.[10]

Cantab Capital Partners

In 2006, he founded Cantab Capital Partners, a science-driven quantitative investment management firm in Cambridge.[11][8][12][13][14] The firm says its work resembles a "scientific research organisation" more than a financial firm.[13] Most of the members of the team hold advanced degrees in mathematics, physics, statistics or computer science.[15] The company has links with the University of Cambridge.[15]

In 2016, Cantab Capital Partners was acquired by GAM Investments, becoming part of GAM Systematic.[15][16] At the time of acquisition, Cantab Capital Partners had 56 employees and £4.5bn under management.[15] In February 2020, GAM Systematic won Eurohedge's 'Managed Futures – Under $500m' award for 2019.[17]

In 2020, Kirk was awarded HFM's Lifetime Achievement Award for his founding role in Cantab, contributions to quantitative investment and developing science-led approaches to finance.[18]

He exited as President of GAM Systematic Cantab in March 2021.[19]

Other activity

Kirk is chair of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences.[20]

In June 2021, Kirk joined the Board of BAE Systems.[21][22]

Kirk is the Chair of and Founding Investor in Deeptech Labs, a start-up accelerator and Venture Capital fund based in Cambridge focused on building deep tech companies.[23][24]

In 2023, Kirk was appointed the Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Cambridge's mathematics department.[25][26]

Philanthropy

In 2007, Ewan Kirk and his wife Dr Patricia Turner founded the Turner Kirk Trust,[27][28][4] which provides funds to STEM, education and conservation causes in the UK and developing world.[29]

Since founding, Kirk's charitable trust has disbursed more than £7 million in funding.[30] It is one of the largest private funders of fundamental mathematics research in the UK. In 2015, through Cantab Capital Partners, he donated £5 million to the University of Cambridge to establish the Cantab Capital Institute for the Mathematics of Information.[29][31][32][33]

Political activity

In 2016, Kirk was part of the official campaign making the pro-science case for remaining in the European Union during the UK’s referendum on EU membership and donated £10,000 to Scientists for EU.[34]

Kirk is a member of the Liberal Democrats Business and Entrepreneurs Network, which is ‘a network of senior business people’ that ‘provides the party with expert advice on business and economic policy’.[35] During the 2019 general election, Kirk was one of 60 business leaders to sign an open letter endorsing the Liberal Democrats[36] and donated £300,000 to the party.[37]

Personal life

Kirk is married and lives in Cambridge.[38][39]

References

  1. ^ gam.com. "Biography - Ewan Kirk". www.gam.com. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Management Committee | Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences". www.newton.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Dr. Ewan Kirk". BAE Systems | International. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  4. ^ a b Trust, Turner Kirk Charitable. "Dr. Ewan Kirk | Official Biography". turner-kirk.org. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Ewan Mckinnon KIRK – Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". Companies House, Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  6. ^ a b Alden, William (13 May 2013). "Forging Its Own Path, British Hedge Fund Finds Success". DealBook. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Meet the Team". Share title EN. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  8. ^ a b c "Ewan Kirk". THE MARQUE. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  9. ^ a b c "Silicon Fen's Hedge Fund". thehedgefundjournal.com. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  10. ^ "I interviewed with 22 people to get a job at Goldman Sachs. But a computer could have done a better job". eFinancialCareers. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  11. ^ "Oxford business school to teach algorithmic trading". Financial Times. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  12. ^ "Hedge fund Cantab Capital snapped up by Swiss wealth firm GAM". London Evening Standard. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Company Overview Cantab Capital". Cantab Capital Partners.
  14. ^ "Cantab Quant Fund 'Right' to Trust Computers: Ewan Kirk". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  15. ^ a b c d gam.com. "GAM announces acquisition of Cantab Capital Partners". gam.com. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  16. ^ gam.com. "Biography - Ewan Kirk". www.gam.com. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  17. ^ "AwardStage". eurohedgeawards.awardstage.com. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  18. ^ "2020 Winners". Hedge Funds Review European Performance Awards. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  19. ^ Booth, David Ricketts and James. "Ewan Kirk to exit GAM Systematic as assets slump". www.fnlondon.com. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  20. ^ "Interview: Dr Ewan Kirk on research, philanthropy and the Kirk Distinguished Visiting Fellowships scheme | Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences". www.newton.ac.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  21. ^ "Directorate Change". otp.tools.investis.com. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  22. ^ Robinson, Jon (11 February 2021). "Former CBI director to take BAE Systems role". Business Live. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  23. ^ "Deeptech Labs, Cambridge's new accelerator, set up 'to bridge seed to Series A'". Cambridge Independent. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  24. ^ "About". Deeptech Labs. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  25. ^ Tyler, Richard (12 June 2023). "Government terrified of migration, says tech entrepreneur". The Times.
  26. ^ "Entrepreneur in Residence | Royal Society". royalsociety.org. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  27. ^ "The Kirk Global Challenge to fund undergraduate teams to develop inventive technology | Department of Engineering". www.eng.cam.ac.uk. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  28. ^ "Patricia Turner". THE MARQUE. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  29. ^ a b "Ewan Kirk". THE MARQUE. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  30. ^ "New competition for engineering students: the Kirk Global Challenge". The campaign for the University and Colleges of Cambridge. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  31. ^ Fletcher, Laurence (3 November 2015). "Hedge Fund Cantab Backs Big Data Institute at Cambridge University". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  32. ^ "New institute is set to push the boundaries of information science". University of Cambridge. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  33. ^ "Science and Politics: The Perfect Misunderstanding?". Radix Think Tank. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  34. ^ "Search - The Electoral Commission". search.electoralcommission.org.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  35. ^ "About LDBEN". Liberal Democrat Business & Entrepreneurs Network. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  36. ^ "Dozens of business leaders back Lib Dems as party tries to outflank Tories". inews.co.uk. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  37. ^ "View donation - The Electoral Commission". search.electoralcommission.org.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  38. ^ Gray, Brad (20 May 2020). "The top 25 richest men and women in and around Essex". essexlive. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  39. ^ "Dr Ewan Kirk | Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences". www.newton.ac.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
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