Robert 'Bob' Finch was Head of Coal Trading at leading energy trading company

The Vitol Group Vitol is a Swiss-based multinational energy and commodity trading company that was founded in Rotterdam in 1966 by Henk Viëtor and Jacques Detiger. Though trading, logistics and distribution are at the core of its business, these are complemente ...

until June 2015. He was born in the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

suburb of

Kingston-upon-Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

in 1954 as the son of an

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

fighter pilot. After leaving school at the age of 17, Finch started working as entry level junior at

Petrofina Petrofina was a Belgian oil company. It merged with Total in 1999 to form TotalFina, which after subsequent mergers has changed its name back to Total. In the United States, Fina's former refining and marketing operations are now owned by De ...

. Over the years he worked his way up to the position of trader. Finch joined Vitol in 1979 as the

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

-based trader began its international growth. Oil trading was in its infancy then. For many years, he was head of trading and served on its board for 15 years. Finch helped with establishing Vitol’s entry into the coal markets in 2007. In January 2012, Finch was involved in the agreement between Vitol Anker International BV and Vitol Mauritius Limitada (“Vitol”) and Grindrod Limited of South Africa (“Grindrod”), whereby Vitol gained a 35% interest in the company which owns the Maputo coal terminal concession. In addition Vitol and Grindrod entered into a partnership (65% Vitol / 35% Grindrod) to combine their respective sub Saharan coal trading businesses. Finch has five children. He is a supporter of Chelsea Football Club.

Business interests

Finch is the co-founder of the venture capital firm Talis Capital, which invests in a broad range of early-stage technology companies in the UK, US and Europe, typically at seed to Series B stage. Talis Capital is known for leading cybersecurity firm

Darktrace Darktrace is a British-American information technology company that specialises in cyber-defence. The company was established in 2013 and is headquartered in Cambridge, England, and San Francisco, California, United States. It is listed on the ...

's Series A in 2015, as well as for its investments in Onfido, Pirate.com, Luminance, iwoca, Garten and Ynsect.

Charitable work

Finch is a supporter of multiple charities. In 2005, he co-founded charity Oil Aid with Michael Holland and Marc Thomson, which has supported a variety of charities. Their main focus is on medical and children's charities, including Cherry Lodge Cancer Care Centre, the

Willow Foundation The Willow Foundation is a national charity established in 1999 by Arsenal footballer and BBC sports commentator Bob Wilson and his wife Megs as a lasting memorial to their daughter, Anna, who died of cancer aged 31. It is the only national charity ...

and

The Prince's Trust The Prince's Trust ( cy, Ymddiriedolaeth y Tywysog) is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. It supports 11-to-30-year-olds who are u ...

. The same year, Bob Finch and his wife Rohini set-up the Generations Charity. Their aim is to provide a better quality of life for disabled, ill or disadvantaged children in the UK as well as abroad. Finch is also an ambassador for the

World Land Trust The World Land Trust is a UK registered charity. It raises money to buy and then protect environmentally-threatened land in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America. In 2018 it claimed to have raised more than £25 million and to have bought ...

, an international conservation charity, and a supporter of Lashings Wold XI,Lashings News: Lashings Charity Match against Maidstone United
/ref> a cricket club in Kent, England.

References

Living people British businesspeople Year of birth missing (living people) {{Improve categories, date=August 2021