Ewan Kirk

Ewan Mckinnon Kirk
Born	Swindon, Wiltshire, England
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, investor
Years active	1980s–present
Known for	Founder of Cantab Capital Partners

Ewan Mckinnon Kirk (born February 1961) is a British entrepreneur specializing in technology, known for founding Cantab Capital Partners. He serves as the chair of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences and holds a Non-Executive Director position at BAE Systems. Additionally, he co-leads the Turner Kirk Trust, which supports STEM education and conservation efforts both within the UK and in developing nations.

Early life and education

Born in February 1961 in Swindon, Wiltshire, Kirk grew up in Scotland where he attended Greenfaulds High School in Cumbernauld. He completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural philosophy and Astronomy at the University of Glasgow. Afterwards, he pursued Part III of the Mathematical Tripos at the University of Cambridge and earned a PhD focusing on General relativity from the University of Southampton.

Career

During his university studies, Kirk established DaLEK Software, which created the MicroDraft CAD program for Amstrad CPC and PCW platforms. Following his doctorate, he returned to Cambridge to take up the role of Director of Innovation at Scientific Generics, a consultancy specializing in science and technology.

Goldman Sachs

Kirk joined Goldman Sachs in 1992, initially working within commodities before transitioning to currency markets. He was promoted to managing director by 1998 and became a Partner in 2000. In this capacity, he led the European quantitative technologies division, overseeing a team of approximately 120 mathematicians, scientists, and statisticians who developed and tested systematic investment approaches.

Cantab Capital Partners

In 2006, Kirk launched Cantab Capital Partners, a quantitative investment firm based in Cambridge that operates with a scientific research methodology rather than following conventional financial industry models. The majority of its staff hold advanced degrees in fields such as mathematics, physics, statistics, or computer science. Cantab maintains close collaborations with the University of Cambridge.

Cantab was acquired by GAM Investments in 2016 and integrated into GAM Systematic. At that time, the firm employed 56 people and managed assets totaling £4.5 billion. GAM Systematic earned Eurohedge’s 'Managed Futures – Under $500m' award for 2019.

Kirk was honored with HFM’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020 for his innovative leadership at Cantab and his influence on quantitative investing and science-driven finance. He stepped down as President of GAM Systematic Cantab in March 2021.

Other activity

Kirk holds the chairmanship of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences. In June 2021, he joined the Board of Directors at BAE Systems. Furthermore, he is Chair and Founding Investor of Deeptech Labs, a Cambridge-based accelerator and venture capital fund dedicated to nurturing deep tech enterprises.

In 2023, Kirk was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by the University of Southampton and appointed as the Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence within the mathematics department at the University of Cambridge.

Philanthropy

Together with his wife Dr Patricia Turner, Kirk established the Turner Kirk Trust in 2007 to support STEM education and conservation projects both domestically and internationally, particularly targeting "very high risk" initiatives. Since its founding, the trust has allocated over £7 million in funding.

The trust ranks among the UK's largest private supporters of fundamental mathematics research. In 2015, through Cantab Capital Partners, Kirk contributed £5 million to create the Cantab Capital Institute for the Mathematics of Information at the University of Cambridge.

Political involvement

In 2016, Kirk financially backed the pro-science initiative promoting the UK's continued membership in the European Union during the EU referendum, contributing £10,000 to Scientists for EU. He participates in the Liberal Democrats Business and Entrepreneurs Network, which provides guidance to the party on matters related to business and economic strategy. During the 2019 general election, Kirk was one of 60 business figures who publicly supported the Liberal Democrats and donated £300,000 to the party.

Personal details

Kirk is married and lives in Cambridge.