JKIM - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the JK Global Opportunities Fund - Board of Directors
- Founder and CEO of DSG Asia Limited
Dr. Simon Ogus is the Founder and CEO of DSG Asia Limited, an independent consultancy, based in Hong Kong, which offers analysis of the economies and politics of Asia.
From 1994 to 1999, Simon was Managing Director and Chief Economist for Asia at Swiss Bank Corporation (subsequently SBC Warburg and then UBS), Hong Kong. He also held the position of Adjunct Professor of Economics and Finance at the City University of Hong Kong. Simon currently serves on the board of a number of companies and official bodies, including the Council of Advisers for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research. Simon trained as an actuary with William M Mercer Fraser. He subsequently moved into fund management with the United Bank of Kuwait in London before joining GT Management in Hong Kong in 1990.
Simon gained his PhD in Economics from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies. He also holds an MSc in Management and Finance from the University of London's Imperial College, and a BA in Economics and Econometrics from the University of Manchester.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the JK Global Opportunities Fund - Board of Directors
- Public and Private Sector Chair and Non - Executive Director
Fiona Ross is an exceptionally experienced public and private sector Chair and Non-Executive Director, having served on 17 Boards in Ireland and the UK over the past ten years. In addition to currently serving on a range of UK and Irish Boards in 2018 she was appointed by the Irish Government to Chair Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) Ireland's pubic transport provider and to the Board of the HSE Ireland's public health service. In May 2019 Fiona was appointed a Non Executive Director at The Scottish Government. Fiona was appointed by the UK Government to serve on the Board of Network Rail in May 2020. She also has Central Bank of Ireland authorisation (UCIT and MIFID) and serves as a non executive director at JK Funds and Smith and Williamson Europe where she chairs the Audit and Risk committee.
Fiona began her career as a stockbroker in the City of London and spent 25 years working in all areas within Capital Markets in Dublin, London, Eastern Europe and the United States.
In 2010, Fiona was appointed by the Minister for Arts to run Ireland's National Library, the NLI where she she successfully served two terms as Director/CEO. Subsequently Fiona continued her interest in the Arts and joined the Heaney family as a Non Executive Director to help establish the Heaney literary estate and was the Founding Director of EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum. EPIC was recently voted Europe's leading attraction for 2019.
Fiona is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, Queen's University Belfast and the Institute of Art and Design (IADT) where in 2017 she completed a MSc in Cyber Psychology. In 2012 Fiona was awarded a fellowship in Governance at George Washington University in the United States.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the JK Global Opportunities Fund - Board of Directors
Francis Kirkpatrick has been working in the financial markets since 1986. He joined Baring Securities ("Barings") in the UK in 1986. The firm's primary focus was Japan and Asia. He worked in settlements and research and then moved to sales, becoming Head of Japanese Equity Sales in London. He later became Global Head of Japanese Equity sales and a member of the Equity, Broking and Trading Executive.
In 1995, Barings was taken over by the ING Group. He became Global Head of the Japan Product (Equities) and a Member of the Equity Management Committee. He was made a Managing Director of ING Barings and became Global Head of Marketing and Client Management.
In 2001, he left to join Malabar Capital as Marketing Director, responsible for business development and client services.
In 2003, he left to set up JK Investment Management LLP as a founding member. He has a B.Sc. in Mathematical Statistics and Operational Research from Exeter University.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the JK Global Opportunities Fund - Board of Directors
- Consultant
- Independent, Non - Executive Director
Gerry Brady is an independent, non-executive director and consultant in the regulated, international financial services industry. Mr. Brady has 30 years' experience of the funds industry, both as a director and full-time executive, and has held senior executive management positions in Bank of Bermuda, Capita Financial Group and Northern Trust. Mr. Brady has worked both abroad and in Ireland and is a past Council Member of Irish Funds (IF) and former Executive Board Member of Financial Services Ireland/Irish Business and Employers Confederation (FSI/IBEC). Mr. Brady has a First Class Honours degree in Economics and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ireland (FCA) and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Mark Gelder has been in the accountancy business for the past 18 years. He joined The Lawford Company, Chartered Accountants in 1994, and was admitted to membership of the ICAEW with first time exam passes in 1998.
He was an audit manager until 2003, with additional responsibility for the more complex financial reporting and taxation clients as assistant to the senior partner.
From 2003 onwards, he took on a wider role including management accounting and tax planning and has extensive experience of compliance reporting including under the FSA regulations. He has a B. Eng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Birmingham.
Mark joined JK in 2006 and as Chief Operating Officer is responsible for all operational matters.
Ryan Mills was educated at Queen Mary's College in Basingstoke and then achieved a First Class Honours Degree (BSc) in Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He has completed all 3 levels of the CFA. Ryan joined JK in 2016.
He then completed a Masters (MSc) in Finance and Economics at the LSE with a Distinction in International Finance and a Merit in Financial Economics.
His Dissertation Thesis was "Value and Momentum Effects in Japanese and Korean Stock Markets 1990 - 2016."
Ryan joined JK full time in 2016 and is a Fund Manager, specialising in individual stock analysis, technical analysis and portfolio construction. He has completed Level I, II and III of the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst).
Simon Jones - Chief Investment Officer
Job Titles:
- Chief Investment Officer
- Member of the JK Global Opportunities Fund - Board of Directors
Simon Jones has been in the fund management industry since 1986. He joined Prudential Portfolio Managers in the UK in 1986 and initially specialised in managing US equities. In 1990 he transferred to PPM's Asia desk to specialise in Japanese equities and derivatives (principally warrants, options and convertible bonds).
In 1995 he moved to Jardine Fleming Investment Advisers in Japan where he managed Japanese equities and for the last five years was a Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of the JF Japan Portfolios Group, responsible for $20bn+ of Japanese equity funds as well as management oversight of the global fixed income and global equity funds managed in Japan for domestic clients. On merging with JP Morgan, he became a Managing Director and CIO of JP Morgan Fleming Asset Management (Japan) Ltd.
In addition, for six years while at JF/JPMAM, he managed the JF Macro Absolute Return Fund, a global macro hedge fund. He was the manager of a number of award winning Japanese equity funds during his time at both PPM and JF. He returned to the UK in April 2003 and became a founding member of the Investment Manager. He has a BSc (Hons) in Banking and Finance from Loughborough University (Midland Bank scholarship), is an Associate of the Society of Investment Professionals and a member of CFA Institute.
Tanya Bottaro has worked in all aspects of Fund Operations since 2005. She has worked at Muse Capital, Sofaer Global, Theorema, Lombard Odier and Old Mutual. Tanya joined JK in 2021