Dr Ling Ge
Brent is Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of firstminute capital, Founders Factory and Founders Forum. Previously, Brent co-founded lastminute.com in 1998, was CEO from its inception, and sold it in 2005 to Sabre for $1.1bn.
Brent is Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of firstminute capital (2017: $100m seed fund with global remit, backed by Atomico, Tencent and over 30 unicorn founders), Founders Factory (corporate-backed venture studio and accelerator), and Founders Forum (global community of founders, corporates and tech leaders). Previously, Brent co-founded lastminute.com in 1998, was CEO from its inception, and sold it in 2005 to Sabre for $1.1bn.
Technology businesses Brent has co-founded have raised over $750 million and include Karakuri (provider of robotics, AI and automation systems), made.com (leading European direct-from-factory consumer homewares retailer with $137m funding to date), PROfounders Capital, Founders Intelligence (entrepreneur-powered consultancy), accelerateHER (network taking action to change the underrepresentation of women in technology), Founders Keepers (technology executive search firm), Founders of the Future (network that identifies and supports aspiring entrepreneurs), Founders Pledge (community for entrepreneurs committed to finding and funding solutions to global challenges), Grip (AI powered event networking solution) and most recently Founders Academy (a new type of business school for a changing world).
Brent is Chairman of the Karakuri board and sits on the advisory boards of The Royal Academy, the UK Government Digital Service, the WEF Digital Europe Group and the Imperial College Innovation Fund. He is also a Male Champion of Change for The Global Tech Group, and in 2015 was awarded a CBE for services to entrepreneurship.
Previously, Brent was Chairman of the Oxford Foundry advisory board from inception, co-chaired the Prime Minister's Theresa May and Boris Johnson, Business Sector Council for Small Business, Scale-ups and Entrepreneurs, chaired The Royal Foundation Taskforce on the Prevention of Cyberbullying for The Duke of Cambridge, and further former advisory board roles include LetterOne Technology (a $16bn investment fund), TalkTalk, TimeOut, The Guardian Media Group, Shazam Entertainment and The Economist.