Stephen Peel
Stephen Peel | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 29, 1965 Blackburn, Lancashire, England |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, private equity professional, former Olympic rower |
| Known for | Co-founder of Novalpina Capital; Olympic rower at 1988 Seoul Olympics |
Stephen Mark Peel (born 29 December 1965) is a British entrepreneur, private equity professional, and former Olympic rower.
Early life
Born in Blackburn, Lancashire on 29 December 1965, Peel attended King's School, Chester before completing a degree in land economy at Downing College, Cambridge in 1987, where he holds the title of Wilkins Fellow. In 2015, he earned a Master of Advanced Studies from the Jackson Institute of Global Affairs at Yale University.
Rowing career
Peel’s rowing journey started at King’s School Chester. During his time at University of Cambridge, he was a consistent member of the Blue Boat and served as president of the Cambridge University Boat Club in 1987. Between 1985 and 1988, he represented Great Britain internationally, competing in coxless fours at the Seoul Olympics. Additionally, he secured a silver medal for England in the eight at the 1986 Commonwealth Games held in Edinburgh.
He established the Infinity Boat Club in Teesside to create competitive rowing chances for disadvantaged youth. Peel also played a key role as an initial benefactor of The Cambridge University Boat Club Rowing Charitable Fund.
Career
Beginning his professional path at Goldman Sachs in 1989, Peel went on to launch TPG’s European branch in 1997. He subsequently managed TPG’s operations across Russia and Eastern Europe starting in 2006 and co-led their Asian division from 2009 until departing in 2014.
Peel currently chairs the board of the Tujenge Africa Foundation, founded in 2015, and held a visiting fellowship at Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government between 2016 and 2017. He serves on the advisory council for Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs as well as the Advisory Board for the Institute for State Effectiveness, which concentrates on economic growth and peacebuilding initiatives.
In 2016, Peel co-established Novalpina Capital, a private equity firm specializing in control-focused investments within European mid-market companies. The firm notably acquired a 70% ownership interest in Israeli surveillance technology firm NSO Group in 2019. Nevertheless, after internal conflicts arose, investors removed Novalpina as fund manager in 2021.
Amid related controversies, Peel resigned from his position as non-executive director at NGO Global Witness. He also founded SMP Policy Innovation Ltd, a nonprofit organization dedicated to designing and advocating for government policy reforms.
Personal life
Peel is married to Yana Peel, a business executive, philanthropist, and supporter of the arts who formerly served as global head of arts and culture at Chanel. The couple has two children and lives in Bayswater, London. Their marriage took place in 1999.