Sir David James Scott Cooksey (born 14 May 1940) is a British businessman,

venture capitalist Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which hav ...

and policy advisor.

Education

David Cooksey was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (sometimes known as The Hall or informally as Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university ...

, where he gained a degree in

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

. He was made an Honorary Fellow in 1995.

Career

Cooksey embarked on a career as an industrial

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, rising through the management of the company Formica International, and finally leading the management buy-out of a subsidiary in 1971. In 1981 he formed Advent Venture Partners, one of the first

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...

firms in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, which provided financing for technology-based businesses. He remained chairman until September 2006. He was the first chairman of the British Venture Capital Association (1983/4) and chairman of the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (2005/6). Cooksey was chairman of the Audit Commission from 1986 to 1995 and in 1996 as chairman of the Local Government Commission for England, proposed the introduction of

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

in many areas of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 2003 Cooksey was appointed to chair the Biosciences Industry Growth Taskforce by

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...

and the DTI and issued the report "Biosciences 2015" that year. He revised and reissued the report in 2009. In 2006 he published the Cooksey Review of UK health research for

which led to a new funding structure and approach to medical research in the UK. It also paved the way to new approaches to pharmaceutical licensing. Sir David was a director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

from 1994 until 2005, including a period as Chairman of Directors from 2001. He was a Governor of the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glaxo ...

from 1995 to 1999, and was Chairman of the Board of Directors at Diamond Light Source Ltd from its formation in 2002 until September 2008. He was chairman of the

Francis Crick Institute The Francis Crick Institute (formerly the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation) is a biomedical research centre in London, which was established in 2010 and opened in 2016. The institute is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, Impe ...

from 2009 to August 2017. He was Pro Chancellor of the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

from 2009-2013. Sir David was

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

London and Continental Railways London and Continental Railways (LCR) is a property development company owned by the Government of the United Kingdom for developing former railway land. The company was originally established in 1994 as a private consortium to own European Pa ...

from 2006 to 2011. He was appointed chairman of

Bechtel Bechtel Corporation () is an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company founded in San Francisco, California, and headquartered in Reston, Virginia. , the ''Engineering News-Record'' ranked Bechtel as the sec ...

Ltd in 2008. He chaired UK Financial Investments Limited from 2009 to 2012.

Awards and honours

He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1993. He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(GBE) in the Queen's

Birthday Honours 2007 The Birthday Honours 2007 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 17 June 2007, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2007.Antigua & Barbuda list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and ...

for public service. He has received Honorary Degrees from

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

and

Kingston University , mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress" , established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute , type = Public , endowment = £2.3 m (2015) , ...

and he has Honorary Fellowships at The

Academy of Medical Sciences The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. It is one of the four UK National Academies, the others being the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. Its mission is to adv ...

University of Wales The University of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru'') is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff � ...

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

and the

British Science Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

. He was elected Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 2020.

Personal life

In May 1973, Cooksey married Janet Wardell-Yerburgh, known as Poppy, the widow of the Olympic oarsman

Hugh Wardell-Yerburgh Hugh Arthur Wardell-Yerburgh (11 January 1938 – 28 January 1970) was a British schoolmaster and rower. He won a silver medal in the coxless fours event at the 1964 Summer Olympics, together with John Russell, William Barry and John Jam ...

, who had one small daughter from her first marriage. They had a daughter and a son, born in 1974 and 1976, and lived at Brooklands, Swanwick, Hampshire, and Aston House, Lower Mall,

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

.Peter Yerburgh, ''The Yerburgh Family History''
vol. 134
(2015) p. 35 They later separated. Cooksey is a keen sailor and a member of the

Royal Yacht Squadron The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) is a British yacht club. Its clubhouse is Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Member yachts are given the suffix RYS to their names, and are permitted (with the appropriate warrant) to we ...

References

Our Board of Directors
Diamond Light Source Ltd

Hall of Fame
Sir David Cooksey: The yacht can wait until the £1.3bn health research spend is shipshape
''The Independent'', 23 April 2006
Curriculum Vitae
European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association * , BBC News {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooksey, David 1940 births Living people British businesspeople Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Knights Bachelor Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) Fellows of King's College London Honorary Fellows of the Royal Society People educated at Westminster School, London