Meet Our People

Seonaid Mackenzie is the founder of Sturgeon Ventures, the award-winning firm she established in 1998 as a single-family office. From its inception, the company embraced its role as a Venture Catalyst, incubating businesses and nurturing entrepreneurial talent. Over the years, Sturgeon Ventures has become a specialist in developing both financial services brands and individual professionals.

In December 2001, Seonaid pioneered the concept of Regulatory Incubation—an innovative model enabling individuals to become approved persons under the Financial Services Authority (FSA) following its transition from the SFA and IMRO, now the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In 2005, she further broke new ground by creating the first wholesale Appointed Representative (AR) firm—a structure previously reserved solely for retail business—now widely recognised in the wholesale industry as Regulatory Hosting, supporting both emerging UK businesses and overseas entrants. Long before remote working became mainstream, she introduced flexible arrangements in 2001, allowing her team to work from home full- or part-time.

Seonaid began her career in financial services in 1985, spending 13 years as a US Equity Institutional Stockbroker with leading firms. In 1995, she launched the UK’s first paid independent research product, Off the Record Research, funded through Commission Sharing Agreements (CSA). She has since worked extensively as a corporate finance adviser, leading numerous M&A transactions and capital-raising initiatives. In 2007, she earned the Corporate Finance Qualification from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and has served as both Compliance Officer and MLRO.

As a Portfolio Manager, she sits on internal Investment Committees, personally advising and managing multiple family office portfolios. She has also served on the boards of onshore and offshore funds and is a member of Sturgeon’s Finance and Management Committee. In March 2016, Sturgeon Ventures became an early signatory to the Women in Finance Charter, committing to a minimum of 50% women in senior management. In 2011, she launched Sturgeon Compliance Services to support both the firm and the broader corporate finance and wholesale venture community.

Recognised as an innovator and original thinker, Seonaid mentors emerging talent and regularly speaks in schools about the entrepreneurial journey of women in finance. Outside work, she enjoys time with her young adult children and her family’s spaniels, Sandy and Marley.

Since 24 September 2008, Seonaid has been a Citizen and Freeman of the City of London.

Since 2019 Seonaid has been a Trustee of Crosslight Advice (a debt counselling charity regulated by the FCA)

Partner, member of the Finance and the Management Committee of Sturgeon Ventures. Andrew Haggard has been working with Sturgeon Ventures for 14 years, and became acquainted with the firm when Peter Crowther merged his business with Haggards. Andrew’s background was as an entrepreneur and now as an Accountant for entrepreneurs

Sarah is a Designated Member of the Partnership, a member of the Compliance and Risk Committee, Internal Counsel and Compliance Officer for Sturgeon Ventures, and together with Seonaid Mackenzie sits as a member of the Management Committee and in most closed ended fund committees. Following an English degree at Oxford, Sarah qualified as a solicitor, joining Clifford Chance’s investment funds department, her time there including a year in Man Group’s derivative funds team in Switzerland. Sarah then spent eleven years at ING Group, first as a trading floor lawyer, then in the capital markets team, becoming head of debt capital markets for Russia and the CIS. Before joining Sturgeon in 2016, Sarah worked for five years at the Pemberton funds group as an inhouse legal and compliance advisor.

Kirsten Bedford is an Executive Assistant to Seonaid as well as being responsible for managing all internal Senior Management and Committee meetings, and supporting Seonaid on internal projects.

Kirsten has over 15 years’ experience, having supported a number of UHNWIs in all aspects of their personal and professional lives, across a range of industries with interests spanning Politics, PR, Fashion, Retail, Philanthropy, Real Estate and Finance. Kirsten joins Sturgeon from an UHNW Single Family Office, where she was the Executive Assistant to the Principal.

Stephen joined the team in 2017 and is responsible for the risk monitoring of the liquid investment portfolios managed by Sturgeon. Having gained over 20 years of experience on both the buy and sell sides of the market, working within some of the largest banks and systematic hedge funds in London. He has held senior positions within both trading teams, portfolio risk and operational risk committees during his career.

Alex Brown, Senior Marketing Associate, is the longest standing member of the current team, having joined Sturgeon in 2008 as Seonaid’s Executive PA. Alex came to Sturgeon from Goldman Sachs, where she was the Assistant to two Senior Partners. She has had many roles throughout her tenure at Sturgeon, embracing our marketing role five years ago. Her activities include the co-ordination of new enquiries, liaising with the Sturgeon on-boarding team, through to the approvals of all new approved persons as they become fully embedded into the Sturgeon incubation journey. Alongside this, Alex also runs Seonaid’s busy work schedule.

Alex loves a challenge and spearheads Sturgeon’s volunteering and charity events, most recently, a 26 mile sponsored walk and Ride the Night.

Paul is a Non-Executive Advisor to Sturgeon Ventures; sitting on our Executive Management Committee. A PwC qualified accountant; Paul has over 30 years investment experience working primarily in the funds industry with Rothschild and Fidelity Investments, where Paul was a Managing Director From 1987-90. In 1991, Paul founded the Forsyth Partners Group, a multi-manager research and investment firm that managed almost USD 2 billion of assets which was sold in 2013. Paul has regularly chaired and presented papers at investment conferences around the world and has featured as a commentator on BBC World and CNBC.