Meet the Team

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  • Founder/CEO

    Richard is a highly experienced and dynamic business operator.

    He has 33 years experience at director level, working in multinationals, major family businesses and in Private Equity (PE). He worked for Mars Incorporated and Barilla Alimentare in Marketing Director and Business Development Director roles before moving on to PE projects in 1998.

    During his years in PE, he has covered both operational and advisory roles specialising in dealing with problematic businesses and moribund investments. He has been tidying up tail-end investments for a variety of UK PE firms and turning illiquid assets into realised investments for over 27 years.

    He joined Growth Capital Partners (GCP) as a Partner in 2013 providing independent non-executive advice to their Funds and the Partnership itself.

    Through Efemera, he has advised on 18 SME transactions including 11 MBOs. In addition to transaction projects, Richard has counselled many business owners and CEOs, providing Commercial, Corporate, Refinancing, Restructuring and Strategic advice in order to help them puzzle through business problems and make better decisions. Efemera enables CEOs to tackle and fix commercial and corporate issues, then it prepares businesses for sale and manages the sale process.

    Richard has experience across a wide range of business sectors from Food Manufacturing, Wholesaling, Pet Care, Engineering, Telecoms, Consulting, Pharmaceuticals, to Household Goods and the Property sectors.

    After university Richard served as a police officer and a drugs squad detective in the Merseyside Police for six years. An unlikely start for a career in business! However, he says that it taught him to interrogate information with great care and to leave no stone unturned. Outside work, he retains an avid interest in politics and current affairs, is a keen supporter of Liverpool football club and adores the family spaniel, Sasha.


  • Director

    A former House of Commons personal assistant, BBC production assistant and teacher, Lysette has been key to the Efemera operation from the outset. She has provided administrative, payroll and back-office support to the company for over 20 years.

    When not working, Lysette loves reading, cooking and gardening. She also has a small vineyard producing English wine, not famed for its quality!


  • M&A Consultant and Business Analyst

    He is a Chemistry MSc with 4 years working in Switzerland in the field of blood sugar chemistry and biology.

    His scientific training allows Keir to use empirical evidence and data-driven analysis to present complex financial models in a comprehensible manner and to trawl through highly detailed and dense information to extract key insights. He can then utilise that information to identify issues, plot a route to better business growth, to evaluate suitable markets and help support the process leading to the sale of businesses.

    Outside his working life, Keir loves travelling, hiking, golf and is a big Liverpool FC fan.

External Consultants

Efemera has access to a broad network of senior talent spanning multiple industries and disciplines, enabling it to effectively support and manage investments through to successful outcomes. This includes a deep bench of experienced external consultants who can be called upon to provide targeted expertise in areas such as strategy, leadership, funding, finance, operations, marketing, branding, sales organisation and structure, general management, technology, R&D, new product development, public sector IT, and IT strategy and execution.