Bulent Salih is a serial fund-raiser with experience in private equity, investment banking, engineering and teaching. He has raised more than €15 billion for clients across the European Economic Area. He continues to advise firms and funds seeking new capital in Europe.

Previously Bulent was a Senior Director at Nordea Bank, based in Copenhagen and Stockholm, a Director at Credit Suisse First Boston and a Vice President at Barclays Bank, both in London. He started his banking career at SG Warburg (latterly UBS) after completing his MBA. Before banking he worked as a civil engineer.

Bulent holds an MBA (Finance) from London Business School and a BS MechE in Robotics and Automated Manufacturing from the University of California. Bulent is a UK citizen who was born in the Czech Republic and grew up in Wales, Kuwait and California. So far two birds, two dogs and three cats have added a lot of joy to his life.

Siavush Shahrizad is a serial entrepreneur who founded three companies. Latterly, he developed a web app called Poor Alexander, which helps job seekers prepare for interviews using a combination of expert human and algorithmic assessment.

Previously Siavush co-founded the Research Academy, which provides research methods and statistical training for the R&D and marketing departments of FTSE 350 companies. He then co-founded RA Consulting, which delivers research projects in sectors such as technology and education for some of the most well-known brands in both sectors. He has completed multinational projects in 15 countries.

In his early career, Siavush was a lecturer for postgraduate and PhD students in statistical modelling and machine learning. He holds an MSc in Applied Market Research from University of Westminster and a BA in Sociology from Goldsmiths, University of London. Siavush is German citizen who moved to the UK as a teenager. He has been known to borrow his sister’s cat for extended periods.