United Kingdom - Alumni
Alumni Profiles
“On 14 March 2009, I am planning to overcome my fear of heights and jump out of an aeroplane at 10,000 feet. Please state ref: Keith’s Skydive and indicate if you can gift aid your donation.” Are you involved in a fundraising event? Let us know.
Plymouth Banjul charity rally On December 26, James and Ian will be setting off from Leeds to take part in the Plymouth Banjul charity rally, driving a car valued at around £100 through England, France, Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Senegal before reaching the Gambia. The rally, which is expected to take around three weeks, loosely follows the route of the original Paris Dakar rally. Apart from a dogleg to avoid a large minefield in Northern Mauritania, the rally route heads almost unwaveringly south, says Ian. “This will mean some awesome contrasts along the route, from winter in Europe, to snowy mountains in Morocco, to the Sahara desert, and the heat and humidity of Banjul.” Extreme challenge Ian and James will be driving a 1975 Land Rover Series III, and will be raising money for charities in the Gambia through the auction of their car and gear at the end of the rally. They are also supporting The Teenage Cancer Trust and the Bradford and District Autistic Support Group in the UK. Ian says he and James got involved in the challenge through a shared love of cars and adventure. “We have taken part in less extreme events round Europe before and decided it was time to push ourselves a little. The challenge has been running for several years now, but is completely unsupported. We will be travelling in groups but if things go wrong – and they do – it will be up to us to get ourselves out of trouble.” Military coup and minefields A recent military coup in Mauritania and having to cross a minefield in the no mans land between Western Sahara and Mauritania has added to the excitement of the trip, as has the very real prospect of Ian and James’ car breaking down away from civilisation, Ian continues. “The car is far from showroom condition, and there will undoubtedly be many heart-in-mouth moments, as our transport coughs up a mountain road, or crashes over a sand dune!” Despite this, Ian and James are looking forward to the adventure and experiencing new cultures. “Countries such as Mauritania and Western Sahara are simply not on the tourist radar,” says Ian. “This challenge allows us to visit parts of the world we’d otherwise never even think to visit. There is some spectacular driving to be done and we'll have the opportunity to see Africa in a unique way.” Gambia charity auction Once Ian and James reach the Gambia, they will auction their car to raise funds for charity. Official rally rules state the vehicle should cost less than £100 in the UK. Ian says: “While £100 sounds like a low value, the vehicles raise significant funds due to the relative scarcity of cars in the Gambia. It is not unusual for cars costing £100 in the UK to raise more that £1000 in there. "Any other useful gear that has survived the trip will also be auctioned or donated. The charities we’re supporting do amazing work, and all donations will and do make a big difference.” If you’d like to support Ian and James, you can make a monetary donation to The Teenage Cancer Trust through their website, or to the Bradford and District Autistic Support Group by contacting Ian Waterman directly. You can also donate gear for Ian and James to use on their trip, and then give to specific charities on their arrival in the Gambia. For more information, please contact Ian Waterman. Are you involved in a fundraising event? Let us know.
It’s not often that your client presents you with an award for all the hard work you’ve put in over the years; but this is exactly what happened to alumnus Peter Dunn. After 17 years working on audits for the Royal Household, the Queen presented him with an M.V.O. (Member of the Royal Victorian Order) in recognition and gratitude for his service to the monarchy. Casual request It all started when a colleague stopped by Peter’s desk back in 1990 and casually asked if he had time to help with an audit - little did he know that it would lead to responsibility for the audits of The Privy Purse, The Prince Of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall's Office, and many others. Peter commented: “A big highlight of the work was visiting the Royal Palaces, and I have also met several members of the Royal Family.” This now includes the Queen herself, who received Peter at Buckingham Palace for his investiture on 25 June. “She was very nice and told me how grateful she was for the work that I had done and my assistance to the Royal Household. It went by in a bit of a blur and before I knew it she was shaking my hand!” Variety and support Peter may have considered leaving KPMG at several points throughout his 43-year career, but each time something made him change his mind: “A new responsibility or an interesting new piece of work would come up and I found I didn’t want to go. I have been able to work with hundreds of different people, both internally and externally, and I felt that there was more variety in professional life than I would have found in industry or commerce.” And what of the changes that he’s seen since starting as an article clerk back in 1964? “Well, regulation has changed everything, but then the whole world has changed. The work is different, too. When I started out, I was involved not only in audit work, but also in Corporate Recovery and investigation work. One thing that doesn’t change, though, is the people. They have always been very supportive and enjoyable to work alongside.” Leadership A great admirer of Winston Churchill, Peter believes in the value and importance of leadership: “Churchill was a great leader and a man of vision at a time of need. He knew how to rally everyone else, regardless of his own feelings – he was the right man for the time.” This admiration of great leadership obviously influenced Peter’s career, where he took the responsibility for training and coaching those in his team very seriously. Richard Reid, Alumni Chairman, comments: “He has mentored many people during his time at KPMG and it’s no wonder that so many of these people are extremely highly rated by the client. I am sure they will be able to carry on his great work.” Does Peter have any advice for the next generation of professionals? “Use and develop the skills that you have and don’t be afraid to apply your expertise in a different environment.” Travel plans Having retired at the end of 2007, Peter will now focus on his charitable interests and work in church leadership. Following the cricket and spending more time with his family will also feature prominently in his retirement plans, as will travel, starting with a big trip to Australia in the autumn. If you would like to contact Peter, please let us know. TOP
The Foyle Boys – an interview with Lex Roulston
Harry Best (1943), Brian Roberts (1946), Alexander (Lex) Roulston (1951), Blair Smith (1952), Billy Regan (1953), Gavin Kelly and Tom Rankin (1957) were all sent to apprentice under James T Dowling, a Thomson McLintock partner and brother-in-law of Mr McConnell. Student Life in Glasgow A 12-hour overnight trip onboard the Burns & Laird boat, sitting up because of the lack of bunks, was their first taste of travel from Londonderry to Glasgow. “Often there were live cattle in the hold of the ship and between their roaring all night and some drunken Irishman we did not get much sleep.” Digs in Glasgow were fairly basic, but gave them everything they needed: “I paid £2 a week for lodging in 1951 and that included breakfast, dinner and laundry.” Working during the day and taking night classes given by The Scottish Institute of Chartered Accountants, the boys all signed up for a five-year contract at a starting salary of £30 a year. Classes at Glasgow University also featured in their apprenticeship and the final exam was no easy task – five subjects to pass or have to sit them all again. All the ‘Foyle Boys’ passed their exams, with the exception of Billy Regan, who sadly was drowned in a boating accident in Lough Foyle, Ireland in 1956. “When we started with TMcL in the late 1940s most accounting transactions were recorded in handwritten books. There was a comptometer department that used mechanical machines for major jobs. Large computers came next, but the personal computer undoubtedly made the biggest difference to the accounting profession.” International career paths The years following were busy for all the Foyle Boys. Harry Best returned to Belfast and worked in public accounting. Brian Roberts meanwhile lived for much of the next 35 years in Brazil, with spells in India and Malaysia, as part of his work with the Dunlop Rubber Company and later with Reckitt & Colman. Lex Roulston emigrated to Canada in 1960 and worked for Johnson & Johnson for the next 34 years, also spending time in Brazil and the USA, before retiring as Worldwide Corporate Controller. “Brian and I were both in Sao Paulo in the early 1970s and enjoyed playing cricket together at The English Club.” Blair Smith stayed in Glasgow and became a Tax Partner at TMcL. Gavin Kelly spent a few years in industry before returning to the accounting profession in 1980 and starting his own practice in Merseyside, England. “Gavin is still working and two of his sons have now joined him.” Tom Rankin spent 29 years in Glasgow, 14 with TMcL and 15 with Yarrow Shipbuilders, the last nine as Financial Director. Tom then spent 13 years in Belfast, with Short Brothers, finishing his active working life as VP Treasurer and Secretary of the Belfast subsidiary of Bombardier. Sporting life “We were always sporty at Foyle and we all carried on into adulthood, variously playing rugby, badminton, tennis, table tennis and cricket. We all took up golf and Tom captained the Royal Belfast Golf Club in 2005. Gavin enjoys sailing and has taken his 38-foor sailboat to Ireland, Scotland and France on several occasions.” Lex comments: “We had a great start to our education at Foyle and our TMcL training prepared us well for the careers we led throughout the world.” Brian, Blair, Tom and Lex are enjoying retirement in England, Scotland, Ireland and United States respectively. Lex would be pleased to hear from his former colleagues and can be contacted at lex@roulston.us
Jill should know a gap in the market when she sees one. Having spent six years with KPMG firms in New York, Sydney and London as a management consultant after finishing her Masters from Columbia University, Jill then spent six months developing the business model for Fashion Public. “I raised money from friends and family and I’m in the process of raising £1 million of finance to enable us to launch at London Fashion Week. “We want to capitalise on unmet global demand for unique or niche products and provide fashion designers with a new, more profitable route to market,” Jill explains. “For a small designer, it seems like the world is stacked against them. I want to change the proposition.” Fashion Public allows consumers to not only buy fashions from the catwalks that are not available locally, but also to interact with each other and the designers. They can ask questions, discuss products and events, and really get involved. It works equally well for the designers, too. They pay a fee for being on the site and Fashion Public then gets a percentage of each sale. But that’s it. They can sell whichever products they want from their collections – they don’t have to be limited to just the pieces that a shop might choose to buy and sell on, and they don’t have to sell at unprofitable wholesale prices. “It may seem lofty or idealistic,” Jill adds, “but I want to turn this industry on its head.” To be the first to know when Fashion Public launches, register at www.fashionpublic.com
These Alumni Web pages may refer to service providers who are independent of KPMG LLP (UK) and over which KPMG LLP (UK) has no control. To the fullest extent permitted by law, KPMG LLP (UK) will not accept any responsibility or liability for the content, availability or use of such services or product providers, or for any consequences. KPMG’s participation and contribution in this regard is not an endorsement, sponsorship or implied backing of any person or product mentioned or referred to in these pages.
Peter Hargreaves has achieved great things since working at KPMG. Leaving the world of chartered accountancy early on in his career, he went on to co-found Hargreaves Lansdown, an investment and financial planning company, in 1981. May 2007 saw the flotation of Hargreaves Lansdown on the London Stock Exchange, with the company valued at £1 billion. So how does it feel to create a £1 billion company? Listen and find out...
To listen to the interview, simply click on the part you wish to listen to. This will open the audio file in your default media player. Alternatively, click on the If you experience any problems playing these audio clips, please contact us. Working as a venture capitalist during the dot.com boom of 1999-2000 was a time of great temptation and risk for those with money to invest. KPMG alumnus Robert Gorton was in the thick of it. “It really was an incredibly dangerous time to be in the possession of £20 million! Start-up companies with no revenues were often being valued at more than decade’s old traditional businesses with significant profits. Ideas alone were being backed with millions. “I was working for Herald Investments at the time that the dot.com revolution was gaining its heady momentum, investing in early stage IT and media companies. We reviewed hundreds of business plans and our best decision was to retain over 80 percent of our fund in cash.” When the crash came in 2000, that decision proved incredibly wise. “The eventual crash and ensuing aftermath to 2004 was equally as bizarre as the boom, as promising businesses were often being valued at less than their cash. An investors’ paradise!” Having successfully made it through a boom and bust in the investment world in relatively quick succession, Robert was ready to move on to a new challenge. “What could be more refreshing than starting up my own dot.com?! “We launched LynkU.com in December 2005. It is still the UK’s only service of its kind, combining the two areas of the Internet with the greatest potential - local search and shopping. LynkU.com focuses exclusively on those retailers having sales, reductions or promotions to provide users with a choice of where all the best deals are, both on the local high street and online.” By April 2007, LynkU.com closed its first significant round of external fundraising, being some three times oversubscribed. The funding will enable LynkU.com to expand its ervices across London. Robert adds: “As the Internet continues to change the way we both interact socially and do business, it is hard to believe that the whole industry is still only an infant, barely walking in regards to its stage of development. It has been a fascinating experience turning the tables on my previous role and challenging some of the investment principles that I had previously held within this fast-changing industry.” Robert qualified with KPMG in 1993 and then spent 18 months working for KPMG in Sydney. He returned to KPMG in the UK in 1995 to work in Corporate Finance. He left in 1999 to join Herald Investments. Would you like to share your experiences since leaving KPMG? Contact us with your details.
These Alumni Web pages may refer to service providers who are independent of KPMG LLP (UK) and over which KPMG LLP (UK) has no control. To the fullest extent permitted by law, KPMG LLP (UK) will not accept any responsibility or liability for the content, availability or use of such services or product providers, or for any consequences. KPMG’s participation and contribution in this regard is not an endorsement, sponsorship or implied backing of any person or product mentioned or referred to in these pages.
KPMG alumnus David Murrell was recently elected President of the £50m Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund (CTBF) for the next three years. The charity provides assistance to all personnel who are in need and have worked in any aspect of the UK film and television industries (except the BBC and actors and actresses). The CTBF holds the rights to the annual Royal Film Performance, which last year featured the premiere of James Bond's Casino Royale in all four Leicester Square screens David is currently senior independent director of the listed Chrysalis Group. He is also a director or partner in five other media, leisure and property businesses, including Casa Catalina, a Spanish bar and restaurant close to KPMG's Blackfriars premises. David commented: "The CTBF has developed significantly in recent years with the provision of benefits annually to more than 1,200 film and television industry personnel. "There are many current and proposed initiatives in hand to enhance the profile and expand the resources to provide much needed help to industry beneficiaries. Together with the Fund's board of trustees and staff, I intend to see these through to fruition, starting with the completion of the £12m redevelopment of the CTBF's care home at Glebelands in Wokingham, Berkshire by the end of this year." View David’s Alumni Directory profile.
KPMG alumnus John Armistead (Leeds office 1964–71) will take over as President of the Humberside & District Society of Chartered Accountants (H&DSCA) in May 2007. The H&DSCA has around 1,000 members in East Yorkshire (primarily Hull), part of North Yorkshire (up to Scarborough), and reaches south of the Humber to north Lincolnshire. John adds: “The Society is very active, with training, professionals’ lunches and social events - the annual golf competition at Ravenscar being a firm favourite. It also has an active General Practitioner Group and, through appropriate local committees and representatives, is actively involved in technical advisory, enterprise and careers advice. “The H&DSCA was formed in 1927 and we plan to celebrate the 80th anniversary at the Annual Dinner in the Hull Guildhall on 2 November. Order your tickets now! “Another long-standing and popular event is the residential Scarborough conference (now in its 37th year), organised in conjunction with the other two Yorkshire Societies. “Whilst the Society has a relatively small membership, scattered over a large area, it is a proud and active Society and now with 70 provisional members serving training contracts in the district, it is set fair to continue to prosper.” John joined KPMG (‘Peats’, as was) from Leeds Grammar School in 1964 and was initially articled to Derek Veale and then (following Derek’s retirement) to Ted Shaw, under Departmental Manager John Mordy. John left in 1971 to become Financial Accountant at Joseph Terry & Sons, the confectioners in York, and then moved to Rowntree, before returning to Leeds as Chief Accountant at steel stockholders Dunlop & Ranken. “Ironically, D&R was a KPMG client and I had spent many a happy hour there ‘ticking and bashing’ in earlier years,” says John. Following various roles with the east coast power generation company Dale Electric, he joined Scarborough-based print and new media company G A Pindar & Sons as Group Financial Director in 1996. For more information on the H&DSCA, please contact John Armistead.
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"If you would like to make a difference to the lives of these children, please sponsor me either by contacting me directly (
Long before career counseling was a feature in education, seven students from Foyle College, Londonderry, were sent by their Headmaster, Mr McConnell, to train at Thomson McLintock & Co (TMcL) in Glasgow. 
Quote of the week
"There are no foolish questions and no man becomes a fool until he has stopped asking questions."
Saul Steinberg