Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust plc

Board of Directors

Richard Davidson, Chairman
Appointed: 26 January 2019

Richard is also Chair of MIGO Opportunities Trust plc. Formerly, he was a Partner and Manager of the Macro Fund at Lansdowne Partners. Prior to to that, he was a Managing Director and No.1 ranked investment strategist at Morgan Stanley. In more recent years, Richard was also the Chair of Foresight Sustainable Forestry Company plc and of the University of Edinburgh’s Investment Committee. Since 2003, Richard has also been heavily involved in forestry investment and management.

Jaz Bains
Appointed: 10 October 2022 | Member of the Audit Committee

Jaz has worked in the energy sector for over 30 years. In 2013 he helped set up and launch The Renewables Infrastructure Group (‘TRIG’), a FTSE 250 listed investment company, and until January 2024 he was responsible for leading the Operations Manager function of TRIG. He is also a non-executive director and senior independent director for the Jupiter Green Investment Trust Plc.

Patricia Dimond
Appointed: 3 March 2022 | Senior Independent Director | Chairs the Audit Committee

Patricia is a non-executive director and chair of audit of Hilton Food Group plc and of Foresight VCT Plc. She is a trustee of the Booker Prize Foundation, English National Opera and the National Academy for Social Prescribing. She has had an international career with over 30 years in the consumer, retail and financial sectors. As an industry executive or strategic advisor she has worked with FTSE 100, Private Equity and founder/owner managed companies with a focus on finance, strategy and corporate governance. She is a McKinsey & Company alumna, CFA charter holder, has an MBA from IMD Switzerland and qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte, Haskins & Sells.

Victoria Stewart
Appointed: 1 September 2020 | Member of the Audit Committee

Victoria spent twenty two years as a fund manager, mostly with Royal London Asset Management. She was the sole manager of the Royal London UK Smaller Companies Fund from its inception in 2007, leaving in 2016 and taking up a non-executive director role with Secure Trust Bank PLC where she was chair of the remuneration committee. She stood down as a director of Secure Trust Bank PLC on 31 December 2024. Victoria has considerable experience of managing and investing in various investment vehicles and mid and small-cap listed companies and has a strong working knowledge of performance analysis and corporate governance. Victoria is a non-executive director of JPMorgan Claverhouse Investment Trust plc and until November 2024 was a non-executive director of Artemis Alpha Trust plc.

Martin Warner
Appointed: 1 March 2018 | Member of the Audit Committee

Martin co-founded Michelmersh Brick Holdings plc in 1997 and served as Chief Executive and subsequently, from 2017 until 2024, as non-executive Chairman. Martin is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and until recently was Chairman of the Brick Development Association.