Derek Douglas
Chairman & Chief Executive
Derek founded the business of ASL in 1988 and is a leading advisor on early commercial development for 'breakthrough' science.
Derek is university educated in accountancy and science. Qualifying as a Chartered Accountant at Coopers and Lybrand, he then moved to Arthur Young. In 1983, he emigrated to New Zealand where he joined the New Zealand United Corporation (NZUC) gaining experience in entrepreneurial activities and how they interface with different aspects of merchant banking from corporate finance, banking and trading equities and financial markets. Derek was involved in developing the online, real time banking system, which later became the Wang Banking System. He became one of the five general managers who ran the bank and during his time there built its biggest division. He was seconded to Barclays de Zoete Wedd in banking and corporate finance and equity trading. Derek spent a further year in New Zealand working with companies that were affected by the crash of October 1987.
In 1988, Derek returned to Scotland to establish ASL. In 1995 and 1996 he was a visiting lecturer to the University of Otago and gave lectures to MBA students on Business Planning, Venture Capital and Initial Public Offerings. In 2003, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Abertay University, Dundee and became a Fellow of the RSA . Outside corporate finance Derek was Chairman of Maggie Keswick Jencks Cancer Caring Centres Trust for 7 years and was awarded the Ernst and Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year in Scotland and the UK, 2001. He is also a founder member of the Generation Science Club, Edinburgh International Science Festival. In June 2005 he was awarded a C.B.E. He was a trustee of Macmillan Cancer Support for 6 years untill 2012.
Derek's directorships have included non-executive chairman roles in the following companies; Kymata, Digital Animations Group, Acuid Corporation, Aktina, Demure (Carlton Clubs) and Maggie Keswick Jencks Cancer Caring Centres Trust . He has also been a Director of Inner Workings and Peopledoc.
Memory Corporation was the first technology client of ASL and Derek's science background immediately brought an understanding to the workings of the deal. Derek takes an active role in all projects and has been working closely with Acuid Corporation and Aktina.
Derek's involvement with flotations enabled him to work closely with brokers and understand their requirements, using this knowledge to maximise potential value for ASL clients.
He is a qualified representative of the Financial Conduct Authority.
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