GEAS Team
Graham Elliott
Managing Director
Graham founded GEAS in November 2014 to expand upon his experiences in working with young UK companies. During a successful 30 year career in the financial markets, Graham reached the position of CEO at two separate US securities firms in Japan.His career spans sales, trading and banking over a variety of different instruments and markets at large banks such as Merril Lynch and Nikko Citi. His career included several years as a multi-strategy hedge fund manager trading convertible bonds, equities and credit.
Expanding on both his historic network and experience and his growing familiarity with the needs of earlier stage companies in the UK, Graham set about building GEAS Advisory into an alternative option for young companies seeking advice. Graham applies his comprehensive skill set to introduce interesting growth investments to potential investors.
Michael Chinnick
Sales Director
Michael began his career in 1984 for Cresvale International in the City of London trading Japanese convertible bonds and equity warrants and continued to do so as a senior trader in the company’s newly established Tokyo Branch in 1988. In 1993 he was hired by the Morgan Stanley Japanese desk, then the European equity trading team, which became a leading revenue driver for the firm.
In late 2000 Michael was hired by Credit Suisse to build an equity facilitation and proprietary desk in Tokyo. In 2003 was hired by Deutsche Bank Tokyo and was successful in achieving multiple growths.
In 2011 Michael established a Japanese trading desk for MF Global in Tokyo and Hong Kong. Michael moved to the buy-side trading Japanese and Hong Kong equities/derivatives and then expanded into Private Equity and Secondary markets building up an expanded client base with Mandarin Capital Ltd in before joining GEAS Advisory in early 2019.
At GEAS, Michael is responsible for handling all sales business with a particular focus on Asia, utlising his strong networks with both investors and companies globally, supporting growth across all regions, introducing further capital and companies seeking finance
Harry Elliott
Consultant
Harry joined GEAS as an associate in 2016, after working several years as a listed financial derivatives broker at BGC Partners, a leading US brokerage. At BGC, Harry handled sales and execution across a wide array of listed products, including fixed income, commodities, and equity futures and options. During his time, he spoke with institutional buy-side clients on both trade execution and formulating, writing and providing alpha seeking trade ideas for some of Europe’s largest Hedge Funds.
At GEAS, Harry was responsible for the origination, selection, structuring of new deals and on-boarding of new companies. From his experience in financial markets coupled with his time reading Business at Birkbeck, University of London, he has a strong understanding of macro-economic trends and multiple asset classes. He Joined Liquidnano, a company which GEAS introduced capital for, and remains a consultant to GEAS. At Liquidnano, he is consulting on strategy, operations and finance for the group, which features fast growing, nanotechnology based, protective coating products. At GEAS, Harry still maintains relationships with corporates and investors alike, and seeks to bring further corporate introductions to GEAS Advisory/Capital through his exposure to the SME growth industry sector.
Partners
Meet the Team
Joseph Jayaraj
Joseph Jayaraj (BComm, LLB from UNSW Sydney, MBA from INSEAD) has over 25 years’ experience in financial services, most notably as a Managing Director of the Macquarie Group, with a focus on European credit special situations and as Head of Macquarie Global Investments & Environmental Technology Assets.
His previous roles with Merrill Lynch’s M&A team in New York and RAB Capital’s Special Situations Fund in London. Joseph founded ORB Capital to lead principal investments in private equity and private debt opportunities, largely to SMEs.
Joseph was introduced to GEAS when working together on UK based disruptive jeweller Vashi. We have been working with Joseph for 3 years and have completed several deals together.
Meet the Team
Nick David
Nick currently runs his own consulting business GDL Advisors, and is a founding partner of Neo Kuma Ventures, a venture capital firm focussing on the nascent psychedelic medicine space.
Before starting in his current advisory role, Nick had a successful career in recruitment, becoming Managing Director of an international executive search firm, placing candidates in EMEA and the US.
Over the past three years Nick has met with over 500 start-ups and seen business plans / decks of another 1,000+. He has worked closely with a number of these, typically on a retained, exclusive, on the full gamut of issues that confront early stage ventures, successfully advising on many fund raises. He focusses on technology – particularly clean tech, AI, deep tech and biotech – and has a significant network of VCs and Family offices that are interested in these areas. Nick has also advised numerous early stage businesses in the wellness sector, both in Europe and the US.
Nick holds an MA from Oxford University.
Meet the Team
Rob Ebert
Rob started his career in Finance in 1985. His experience spans trading with investment banks Daiwa and Morgan Stanley, in London and Tokyo, and from 1996 a long and successful career in a variety of senior sales and trading roles at Deutsche Bank across the globe, ultimately becoming
Head of the Equity Division APAC and Head of Global Markets, Hong Kong.
Rob was Chairman of the Board of Deutsche Securities Asia Limited, sat on the Global Equity Executive Committee and the Global Markets ExCo in Asia Pacific, before retiring from the Bank in the Summer of 2016.
Since stepping away from Investment Banking he has been actively investing and advising, mainly in the Technology and Medical fields and is particularly focussed on opportunities that can have a positive social impact.
Rob sits on a two private boards in the financial sector and is an advisor to a number of firms in the sector both on the buy and sell side. He is additionally on the Advisory Board of Panoteck, a digital media company.
Currently, Rob is the Founder and CEO of Zenithar, a company created to help source capital for growth stage companies, mainly in the field of Life-Sciences and to aid in matching investors with the best managers of funds.
Meet the Team
James Turner
James set up and successfully ran various businesses in different sectors before joining the city in 1998. He worked at Herzog Heine Geduld, Knight Securities, Jefferies Investment Bank and Oriel securities, with a specific interest in small to midsized companies. James helped set-up and establish equity trading desks in London, with an international presence, but concentrated on AIM and FTSE 250 companies in all sectors. His entrepreneurial spirit and easy nature have gained him a global trusted client base in all areas of business. James is also a co-founder and director of a business that advises companies working in Africa. To date they have brokered the successful sale of mining and agricultural projects for private companies and UK PLCs. He has retained strong links in Africa ever since: establishing local business partners; liaising with local tribes and developing philanthropic business models.
