Jonathan Goodwin (entrepreneur)
Jonathan Goodwin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jonathan Philip Pryce Goodwin Error: Need valid birth date: year, month, day |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, investor, philanthropist |
| Years active | 1990s–present |
| Known for | Partner at Alvarium Investments; co-founder of Founders Forum and Founders Pledge |
Jonathan Philip Pryce Goodwin OBE (born November 1972) is a prominent British banker and investor. He holds the position of partner and leads Merchant Banking at Alvarium Investments, following the 2019 merger of Alvarium with Lepe Partners, the merchant bank he co-established in 2011. This firm manages assets surpassing $15 billion and operates across North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. Together with Brent Hoberman, Goodwin also co-founded Founders Forum, a platform that connects digital entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and senior investors.
Goodwin acts as treasurer for the Centre for Policy Studies and is a member of the Advisory Board on Planning and Development at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Additionally, he formerly directed the investment division of the British Fashion Council.
He has provided advisory services for over 200 media transactions valued collectively at more than $20 billion. Notable deals include Chris Evans' acquisition of Virgin Radio, ITV’s purchase of Friends Reunited, the sale of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and the consolidation of property websites Findaproperty.com, Primelocation.com, and Zoopla. More recently, his M&A advisory work encompassed News Corp's £220 million acquisition of Wireless Group plc.
In recognition of his contributions to the economy, Goodwin was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours.
Early career
Following his graduation from the University of Nottingham, Goodwin briefly joined Coopers and Lybrand, where he discovered a strong interest in media sector transactions compared to other industries. He then spent a year at private equity firm Apax Partners before participating in a News Corporation/Liberty Media-backed buyout of Talk Radio in 1997. As managing director, he played a key role in transforming Talk Radio into The Wireless Group PLC and served as Group managing director under Kelvin Mackenzie.
In 2000, Goodwin partnered with Julian Culhane to establish LongAcre Partners, a corporate finance boutique. LongAcre was instrumental in supporting Elisabeth Murdoch in expanding her TV production company Shine through acquisitions and was pivotal in the £175 million sale of Friends Reunited to ITV. Among its investors were law firm Olswang and private equity firm Corsair. In 2007, LongAcre was acquired by US investment bank Jefferies, where Goodwin led Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications until 2010.
Lepe Partners
In 2011, Goodwin and Culhane launched Lepe Partners, a merchant bank specializing in media, internet, and technology sectors. Named after a Hampshire hamlet where Goodwin spends weekends, Lepe combined advisory services with a venture growth fund aimed at late-stage investments. This fund operated as a pledge fund with annual commitments and invested in companies such as Pharmacy2U, Boat International Media, CreativeLive, Masabi, and Festicket. It exited its position in Wahanda (now Treatwell) following its acquisition by Recruit Holding in 2015.
Lepe also provided advisory services on major transactions for clients including News Corp, Ministry of Sound, and TalkTalk. In 2019, Lepe Partners merged with Alvarium.
Founders Forum
Founded in 2006 by Goodwin and Hoberman, Founders Forum serves as a network connecting digital entrepreneurs, top corporate executives, and prominent investors. Boasting a membership of around 1,500, it is frequently compared to the US-based Allen & Co Sun Valley gathering, which caters to media industry leaders. Distinguished participants and speakers have included Sir Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, Eric Schmidt, Reid Hoffman, Sean Parker, Niklas Zennstrom, Ben Horowitz, Natalie Massenet, Tony Fadell, Natalie Vodianova, Jessica Alba, Ashton Kutcher, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Daniel Ek, and Ari Emanuel.
The Forum hosts events across key global cities such as London, Paris, Madrid, Istanbul, Los Angeles, New York City, Rio de Janeiro, Mumbai, New Delhi, Qingdao, and Singapore. In 2013, it collaborated with the Financial Times to present two awards during the London conference.
That same year, Founders Forum partnered with the UK Government’s UK Trade & Investment to launch the Technology Innovators' Forum (TIF-IN), which connects British startups with influential figures in content creation, media sectors, and financial services worldwide.
In 2009, Goodwin and Hoberman joined forces with partners to establish PROfounders Capital—an early-stage investment fund supported by entrepreneurs targeting digital ventures. Among its initial portfolio was the UK-based TweetDeck platform, which Twitter acquired in 2011 for $40 million.
The Founders Forum brand has since grown to include complementary enterprises such as Founders Keepers—a specialist executive search agency—and Founders Intelligence, a strategic consultancy firm.
Founders Pledge
In June 2015, Goodwin co-founded Founders Pledge, a charity registered in both the UK and US that empowers technology entrepreneurs to pledge a minimum of 2% of their personal exit proceeds toward philanthropic causes. The initiative aims to eliminate obstacles to charitable contributions by simplifying the giving process for tech founders. Funded through sponsorships and private donations, the service is offered at no cost to entrepreneurs and provides ongoing post-exit assistance including identifying charities, conducting due diligence, and delivering impact assessments.
At its inception, £18.5 million was pledged by leaders from 50 UK tech firms such as Alex Depledge of Hassle.com, José Neves from Farfetch, Ben Medlock of SwiftKey, and James Alexander of Zopa. To date, Founders Pledge has enabled $15.5 million in actual donations and secured legally binding commitments totaling $180 million.
In March 2016, the organization introduced Founders of the Future, a philanthropic program leveraging AI-driven recommendations to discover promising entrepreneurial talent aged between 15 and 35 who have yet to establish their own ventures.
Founders Pledge has also formed alliances with US-based seed accelerators MassChallenge and Y Combinator to gather pledges from companies within their portfolios.
Personal life
Goodwin is married to Flora Hesketh—daughter of Alexander Fermor-Hesketh, 3rd Baron Hesketh and former treasurer of the Conservative Party. Among his personal interests is sailing; notably in 2012 he campaigned the J/109 yacht Harlequin, securing overall victories in Cowes Week’s White Group division as well as winning both the J/109 class and Cowes Week overall titles.
Awards and recognition
- Characterized by the Financial Times as "...among London's most well-connected media dealmakers."
- Listed in GQ Magazine's 2014 roster of the 100 Most Connected Men.
- Named on the 2014 Wired 100 compilation highlighting Europe's leading digital influencers.
External links
- Alumni of the University of Nottingham
- British investors
- British investment bankers
- Businesspeople in software
- Conservative Party (UK) donors
- English businesspeople
- English nonprofit businesspeople
- Entrepreneurship organizations
- English philanthropists
- People educated at Charterhouse School
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- Private equity and venture capital investors
- 1972 births
- Living people
- British social entrepreneurs