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Sir Ronald Cohen (1945- ) is an Egyptian-born British businessman and political figure, known as "the father of British venture capital".

Biography

Early life

Cohen was born in Egypt; his paternal family were Sephardi Jews, originally from Allepo, Syria, though his mother, Sonia Douek, was English. In 1957, following the Suez Crisis, Cohen's family was forced to abandon their all their assets and flee Egyptian President Nassar's persecution of Jews. The family (including younger brother Andre) moved to England. Though initially speaking only a few words of English, Cohen went to Orange Hill grammar school in Burnt Oak, North London, where he excelled.

Cohen won a scholarship to Oxford University, where he became president of the Oxford Union, and earned a degree in politics, philosophy, and economics at Exeter College. He subsequently attended Harvard Business School.

Business career

After leaving Harvard Business School, Cohen worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company in the United Kingdom and Italy. In 1971, along with two partners, he founded Apex Partners, Britain's first venture capital firm. The company grew slowly at first, but expanded rapidly in the 1990s, becoming Britains' largest venture capital firm, and "one of three truly global venture capital firms". Apex provided startup capital for over 500 companies, and provided money for many others, including AOL, Virgin Radio, Waterstone's, and PPL Therapeutics, the company that cloned Dolly the sheep. In 1996 Cohen helped establish Easdaq, a technology focused stock exchange intended to be the European counterpart to the American Nasdaq.

Political career

In 1974 Cohen stood as the parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Party in Kensington North, and in 1979 he stood as its European candidate in London West.

In 1996 he switched allegiance to the Labour Party, becoming a supporter of Tony Blair. In 2004, Cohen was the Labour Party's fourth largest financial supporter, after Lord Sainsbury, Sir Christopher Ondaatje and the late Lord Hamlyn. In 2005 he became the "bankroller" of Gordon Brown's leadership bid,..

Personal

In 1972 Cohen married Carol Belmont, French Jew; they divorced in 1975. In 1983 he married a second time, to Claire Enders, an American; they divorced in 1986. Cohen has two children, Tamara and Jonathan, with his third wife, Sharon Harel-Cohen, one of the producers of the film Gosford Park.

In 2005 Cohen became a director of the British Museum.

External links

• Midas with a mission -- Sir Ronald profiled in The Times
• Brown picks tycoon to back power bid -- Sir Ronald profiled in The Sunday Times

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