People Moves

UK Alternative Investment Firm Names COO

Rachel Walsh 27 April 2009

UK Alternative Investment Firm Names COO

UK-based alternative investment house Insparo Asset Management has appointed Jon Laidlow as its new chief operating officer, following Simone Kruys' decision to relinquish the role and return to her native Australia.

Mr Laidlow will take over an expanded role, which now includes responsibility for all the firm’s financial operations.

He will work alongside the firm’s founders Mohammed Hanif and Francis Beddington. Insparo’s inaugural fund, the Insparo Africa and Middle East Fund, is backed by high-profile investors such as Numis Securities chairman Michael Spencer, founder of ICAP, and South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth.

Mr Laidlow has held senior roles within the alternative investment, investment banking and accountancy industries during his 13 year career.

He moves from quantitative hedge fund manager GSA Capital Partners, where he was financial director.  In that role he had responsibility for fund accounting, compliance and legal operations.

Prior to joining GSA, Mr Laidlow was head of product control at BlueCrest Capital Management.  Before entering the hedge fund world, Mr Laidlow made his name in investing banking. 

After spending three years as product controller for UBS Warburg, he joined Barclays Capital in 2003. During a two-year career at Barclays he held a series of senior positions, most recently as a manager within the product control department. He started his career at Arthur Anderson.

Insparo focuses on esoteric investing and frontier markets. The firm launched its inaugural fund, the Insparo Africa Fund in May 2008.

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