Óm.bros (Ancient Greek) genitive ὄμβροςUm.bră (Latin) plural umbras or umbrae
Derivation of Umbra
Alexander is a Partner. He is responsible for originating and executing transactions and has significant experience across private equity and transaction services. Prior to Umbra, he was a Principal at JZ International, a pan-European mid-market private equity firm, where he sat on the board of Karium. Before joining JZ, Alexander worked at Langholm Capital and KPMG, where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2012. Alexander holds a Masters from ESCP Business School and a BSc in Chemistry from UCL.
Tom is a Partner in the Merchant Banking team. He is responsible for originating and executing transactions and brings significant experience in private capital transactions, in particular venture & growth capital and transaction services. Prior to Umbra, Tom worked at Gresham House Ventures, an early-stage investor which was part of a specialist alternative asset manager, where he invested in growth stage businesses across a range of sectors. Prior to Gresham House he worked at lower mid-market private equity firm Livingbridge and KPMG where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2012.
Neal Neilinger has spent over four decades in commercial and investment banking as well as asset management. Neal started his career on Wall Street at Bear Stearns and co where he was a vice-president in intl sales . Neal moved to London where he spent close to 20 years as a senior member of the fixed income group for Lehman Brothers, Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank and credit Agricole. He was CIO an and vice chairman at Aladdin capital, a 25 billion dollar hedge fund and became a senior advisor to Emigrant Bank and most recently head of family office coverage for Jefferies.
Gus is Managing Partner. He has extensive origination, execution, advisory, investing and operational experience across large-cap, mid-cap and early stage companies in Europe. Prior to founding Umbra, he was part of the founding team at Cordet in 2013, where he was an investment professional and COO. He started his career with Dresdner Kleinwort and was later part of the UBS leveraged finance team in London.
Mark is Chairman. He has more than 25 years of investment banking and advisory experience. He joined UBS from Morgan Stanley and went on to co-head the financial sponsors division which advises private equity clients in Europe, being made Chairman in 2013. The following year he joined KPMG’s private equity division as Head of Origination and Partner.
Jean-Louis Guisset is a Partner and Head of Wealth Management, with nearly 30 years of experience in Private Banking and M&A. He held leadership roles at Citi and JP Morgan across Mexico City, London, Brussels, and Luxembourg. Now based in Madrid, he focuses on bespoke family wealth solutions and leads the launch of Umbra’s Spanish division to serve international clients.
Martin has over 20 years' experience working in a variety of international Private Banking and Wealth Management roles. Prior to joining Umbra, Martin was a Director of Barclays Private Bank, working with UHNW and HNW families in Asia and the UK. Before joining Barclays Martin worked for HSBC for 12 years in different advisory and investment roles in the UK, South Africa and Hong Kong. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute For Securities & Investment.
Dylan is a Partner. He has more than 10 years of experience dealing with private clients. Prior to Umbra, he was part of the international team at Brown Shipley in London dealing with cross-border banking and investments for HNWI’s and families. Prior to the U.K., he worked in South Africa at Investec as well as a boutique asset manager. Dylan is a graduate of University of Cape Town with a degree in Finance.
Andrew has over 30 years of experience in financial services, beginning his career in accountancy and investment management with Coopers & Lybrand, BZW, and Warburg. He later moved into wealth management, where he held senior leadership roles at several of the world’s leading private banks, including HSBC Private Bank, Citi, and Barclays Wealth & Investment Management.
In addition, Andrew has invested in and served on the boards of several early-stage growth businesses, particularly in the innovative technology sector.
Marcus’s investment career spans over 20 years, working exclusively on the buy-side, and has covered traditional long only equity and bonds, in addition to alternative investments. Marcus began his career as an equity buy side analyst at Philips & Drew (part of UBS Global Asset Management). He moved to Headstart advisers as a hedge fund analyst before progressing to a similar role within Stonehage Fleming. Marcus then moved to ACPI Investments where he was a Partner, Fund Manager and Head of Research. From 2008 through to 2021 he was the sole portfolio manager of the ACPI Balanced UCITS Fund, a multi award winning global multi asset vehicle. In 2021 Marcus moved to Umbra Capital Partners and became the firm’s CIO. In addition to his role as CIO, Marcus covers the firm’s broader DPM offering. Marcus holds a degree in Banking & Finance from Loughborough University and holds the Certificate in Investment Management (CertIM).
Laurence is an Investment Analyst within Umbra’s investment team, where he plays a key role in the firm’s research, portfolio construction, and asset allocation. He works closely with the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) to identify global investment opportunities, conduct in-depth financial analysis, and support the execution and ongoing oversight of client portfolios. Before joining Umbra, Laurence was part of the investment consulting team at a London-based Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). His responsibilities included manager due diligence, portfolio reviews and the preparation of detailed investment reports. Laurence holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Liverpool. He is currently studying towards the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, having passed Level I, and also holds the Investment Management Certificate (IMC).
John is General Counsel. He has more than 30 years of corporate finance, capital markets and investment experience across multiple products and countries. John began his career as a corporate lawyer at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York. He later joined Morgan Stanley in London, where he became Managing Director and Co-head of EMEA Global Capital Markets Execution, Chairman of the Equity Underwriting Committee and COO of Global Capital Markets. Before joining Umbra, he was an Investment Professional, General Counsel and member of the Investment & Credit Committee at Cordet Capital.
Simon is a Partner and Head of Compliance. Simon has 20+ years of experience working in financial services within Compliance, risk and operations roles in wealth/investment management, broker firms and exchanges. Prior to joining Umbra, Simon was at Oberon Investments and has previously held senior roles at Bloomberg, GH Financials and NYSE LIFFE.
Katie Prentke English is CEO of Ekorn and Partner at Umbra Capital Partners. Previously, Katie was Founder and CMO of Harness Wealth, a US-based fintech company that makes bespoke financial advice accessible, intuitive and valuable through its advisor marketplace and tools, its in-house tax firm, and its financial wellness offering for employers. Katie also led the Commercial team as CMO of Nutmeg, the largest European robo-advisor, which was recently acquired by JPMorgan. Prior to that, she held a number of marketing and product roles at American Express in both the UK and the US, including Director of UK Digital Acquisition and Centurion Product Manager, and worked in the Investment Bank and Private Bank at JPMorgan. Katie received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Princeton. She serves on the Board of the Princeton University Rowing Association.
Shruti joined Umbra as Financial Controller in July 2024 and assists with the finance and accounting for the corporate group. Prior to joining Umbra Shruti was Financial Controller at Unilode, where she was responsible for the corporate accounting, tax and financial regulatory compliance of the B2B businesses, as well as the Group Holding company. Shruti is a qualified chartered accountant (ACCA).
Eda is the Office Manager and HR lead, responsible for ensuring the smooth day-to-day operations of the business and supporting the team through every stage of their journey—from onboarding to ongoing development. After earning her degree in Economics, she began her career in the banking sector with roles at HSBC and Citi Bank, gaining valuable experience in corporate operations and client service.
Tohmev is Counsel, supporting Umbra across its practices. His experience includes corporate finance, debt finance and general corporate/commercial law advisory, with specific expertise in M&A and investment management. Prior to joining Umbra, Tohmev began his career as a corporate lawyer at global law firm DLA Piper UK LLP where he gained experience in advising numerous global financial institutions and corporates on their M&A and investment activities and continues to leverage this experience in advising Umbra on its investment and advisory services. Tohmev also sits as a Judge in the Sikh Court, arbitrating national disputes alongside other UK qualified Judges of the English Courts.
