Ric Lewis is a British businessman. He is a founding partner of Tristan Capital Partners, a British property investment firm, and its predecessor, Curzon Global Partners (1998–2008). He is also the founder and chairman of a registered charity, The Black Heart Foundation. He ranked first in the

Powerlist The ''Powerlist'' is a list of the 100 most influential people of African or African Caribbean heritage in the United Kingdom. The list is updated annually and has been published in book format by Powerful Media since 2007. The ''Powerlist'' is ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, an annual list of the UK's most influential people with African or Afro-Caribbean heritage.

Early life and career

Ric Lewis (born December 1962) was born in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

to African American parents. His father was chief of the local fire department and his mother worked for a local telecommunications company. Lewis attended public high school, was class president and at 6'10" also played on the basketball team. After high school, he attended

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

to study Spanish and Economics and later Harvard Business School. Lewis was a partner and senior managing director of

AEW Capital Management AEW Capital Management (AEW) is an American real estate investment firm headquartered in Boston. The firm is the real estate asset management platform of Natixis Investment Managers. In 2022, the firm was ranked by PERE (under Private Equity I ...

, a Boston investment management business, where he led the company’s expansion into Europe and moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

in 1998. After emigrating to 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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to found Curzon Global Partners, a property investment company that was a part of AEW he left AEW to become a founding partner of another London property investment company, ''Tristan Capital Partners'', in 2009. By 2019 Tristan Capital Partners was the largest black-owned business in the UK, with over £14billion under management in the investment firm. Lewis is involved in a number of advocacy and charitable projects. He is the Chairman of UK/US registered charity the Black Heart Foundation, which he founded in 2009. The Foundation is dedicated to supporting initiatives that improve educational benefits for under-resourced young people and providing opportunity to those who are otherwise denied it. Each year, it provides several educational scholarships to young people in need in the UK and abroad. At present, the Foundation has awarded over 550 Black Heart Scholarships at over 130 different, universities, schools, alternative academic institutions and training programmes throughout the UK and US. In addition, he is chairman of the Institute of Imagination ( London Children's Museum), and a trustee of the

Royal National Children's Foundation The Royal National Children's Foundation (RNCF) is a British charity which helps children facing abuse, neglect or trauma at home by providing them with the opportunity to move into a supported education environment. The RNCF currently enables near ...

. He is governor of

Ark King Solomon Academy King Solomon Academy is a non-selective, non-denominational, mixed all-through school within the English academy programme, located in Marylebone, London. It occupies the site of the former Rutherford School. History The Rutherford School w ...

, and a patron of Eastside Young Leaders Academy. He was a trustee of

Teach First Teach First (also Teach First Cymru) is a social enterprise registered as a charity which aims to address educational disadvantage in England and Wales. Teach First coordinates an employment-based teaching training programme whereby participa ...

and of International Inspiration, and a director of London First and the London Regional Council of The Prince’s Trust. In the United States he is a trustee of Dartmouth College and is on the board of visitors for the

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs The Robert and Renée Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, also known as the Belfer Center, is a research center located within the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University, in the United States. From 2017 until his death in Oc ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. He served as Board of Visitors, Rockefeller Center for International and Public Policy, Dartmouth College; Board Director, Boys & Girls Club of Boston; Board Director, I Have a Dream, Boston; Board Director, International House of Blues Foundation; Trustee, Hyams Foundation Inc.; Overseer, The Judge Baker Children’s Center, Boston and Non-Executive Director, Innovision LLC He was a director of Grassroot Soccer in South Africa, and of the Smurfit School of Business of

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

. In June 2020, the Board of Legal & General Group announced Lewis’ appointment as an independent non-executive director. As of October, 2020, Lewis was taking part in a 12-week financial podcast, 'The Mentor', where he had teamed up with David Whitely to mentor three young people. Each of the young people gets £5000 and an hour per week with Lewis. The Mentor is a non-profit podcast and all funds raised go to the Black Heart Foundation. In February 2021, Lewis was awarded the Urban Land Institute (ULI) European Leader Award for his contribution to urban development and real estate, along with his civic and social endeavours as part of the Black Heart Foundation.

Recognition

2019 - First Place, in addition, Lewis was ranked second in the Powerlist 2018 and 2017. *10th PERE Global Awards, Industry Figure of the Year: Europe. * Boston Jaycees Ten Outstanding Young Leaders Award (1998). *2021 Urban Land Institute (ULI) European Leader Award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Ric Living people British businesspeople 1962 births Dartmouth College alumni Harvard Business School alumni People from Salem, Massachusetts