Bryn joined us in August 2021 as Legal Counsel. Bryn will be working alongside General Counsel and Company Secretary Peter Solimon and the investment teams. He will be providing legal support across the entire Hambro Perks business with a particular focus on corporate structuring and negotiating and executing investments.
We sat down with Bryn to find out a bit more about his career path to date, and why he chose a career in venture capital.
Q: Bryn, please can you tell us a bit about your career path to date?
I started my career literally on the other side of the world in New Zealand where I trained as a corporate and technology lawyer. After three and a half years working in NZ, I moved to Hong Kong where I worked as a private equity lawyer at UK-headquartered magic circle law firm Freshfields before, finally, moving to the UK where I specialised in venture capital and growth M&A at Shoosmiths. I eventually made the move in-house when I joined Hambro Perks as legal counsel.
Q: You’ve practised law in a number of different sectors – what has attracted you to work in-house at a venture firm?
It is really exciting to work in a sector where your job is to help turn revolutionary ideas into a reality by helping pioneering entrepreneurs grow and scale their businesses. The people in VC – both investors and founders – are futurists and (contrary to what you might expect from a lawyer!) I am a blue-sky thinker who loves being part of an industry and organisation which has innovation in its DNA.
Q: What is your prediction for the ‘next big thing’ in tech?
There are so many potential game-changers out there, but one area of tech that I think has the potential to truly turn things upside down is the continued growth and development of Environmental Technology as its own sector. Sustainability challenges are going to affect every area of our lives, personal and professional, and we are seeing a real quickening in the speed at which companies want to address issues such as Net Zero targets. As new tech comes into play, existing solutions also need to catch up which, in turn, catalyses further change. For example, the growth of renewable energy is forcing the power grid to adapt. Fossil fuel generated power is predicable (it burns rain or shine), but weather-generated power is clearly not. The power grid is not designed to handle sudden supply fluctuations, so pioneering software developers are creating algorithms to analyse changes in the grid in real-time to smooth out troughs that occur if the wind stops blowing or the sun stops shining. The same principle can be seen in many other areas too. The answer to many of the most pressing environmental issues undoubtedly lies with technology, so it is hugely exciting to watch the industry emerge and evolve, and the potential for the sector is immense.
Q. Outside of the office, what do you love?
I am an active relaxer, meaning I really can’t sit still! I love the outdoors (I think as a Kiwi it is compulsory!) so on the weekends you’ll find me outside of the city hiking, running, rock-climbing or doing anything to get a bit of fresh air.