Simon Thornton

Founder & CEO at PEARonline Ltd

Panellist

With some three decades of experience, Simon Thornton is a well-respected private equity industry stalwart. He has focused on the interface between GPs and LPs for more than 20 years, and cares passionately about improving the efficiency of an interaction that has evolved very little in those years.

Prior to founding PEARonline in 2006, Simon worked as both a GP and an LP. He designed PEARonline to be the tool that he wanted to make his job easier in both roles. That perspective has continued to inspire the development of the service over the last nine years, and will remain at the core of PEARonline’s DNA.

Simon’s previous experience includes investor relations and fund-raising with BC Partners, as well as running the European operations of Landmark Partners, a U.S. firm specializing in secondaries. He cofounded and was joint managing director of Initiative Europe.

He is familiar as a speaker at conferences, symposiums, and seminars, where he shares the long view of issues affecting fund-raising and investor relations. Simon has also been influential in setting up private equity industry standards through his work with the EVCA.