Philip Edward Yea (born 11 December 1954) is a British businessman and

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...

investor, and the chairman of

Equiniti Equiniti Group is a British-based outsourcing business focused on financial and administration services. History The business has its origins in the share registration business of Lloyds TSB which was bought out from Lloyds by Advent Internat ...

and Mondi plc. He is a non-executive director of Aberdeen Standard Asia Focus plc and

Marshall of Cambridge Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, a ...

(Holdings) Ltd. He is a former chairman of

Greene King Greene King is a large pub retailer and brewer. It is based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The company owns pubs, restaurants and hotels. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by CK Assets in October 2019. H ...

plc (2016 to 2019) and

bwin.party digital entertainment bwin.party Digital Entertainment was an online gambling company, formed by the March 2011 merger of PartyGaming plc and bwin Interactive Entertainment AG. Formerly the world's largest publicly traded online gambling firm, it was best known fo ...

plc (2014 to 2016). He was chairman of the trustees at the

British Heart Foundation The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a cardiovascular research charity in the United Kingdom. It funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and runs influencing work aimed at shaping public policy ...

from 2009 to 2015, and was an independent trustee director of The Francis Crick Institute during its formation (2011 to 2018). Prior to this, he was chief executive of 3i Group plc, from 2005 to January 2009. Yea was a non-executive director of

Vodafone Group plc Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

from 2005 to 2017 and senior business adviser to

Prince Andrew, Duke of York Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger brother of King Charles III and the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Princ ...

. between 2009 and 2014. In 2008, he was ranked 41st in The Times Power 100 list, a list which rates the most powerful people in British business.

Early life

He attended

Wallington County Grammar School Wallington County Grammar School (WCGS) is a selective state boys' grammar school with a coeducational Sixth Form located in the London Borough of Sutton. From 1968 to the mid-1990s the school was known as Wallington High School for Boys. One o ...

and later obtained a degree in Modern Languages (French and Spanish) from

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

Career

Yea joined 3i in July 2004, after a career spanning both public and private companies, having been a managing director at

Investcorp Investcorp is a global manager of alternative investment products, for private and institutional clients. Founded in Bahrain in 1982, the firm has offices in United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, India, China, ...

, where his main focus was on the performance of portfolio investments. He joined Investcorp in 1999 from

Diageo Diageo plc () is a multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweichow Moutai of China in 201 ...

. He spent six years as group finance director, both at

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ov ...

and then at Diageo after Guinness's merger with

Grand Metropolitan Grand Metropolitan plc was a leisure, manufacturing and property conglomerate headquartered in England. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it merged with Guinness plc to for ...

in 1997. Yea's thirteen-year career at Guinness/Diageo mainly involved financial positions but also saw him in a number of wider-ranging roles including the chairmanship of The

Gleneagles Hotel Gleneagles Hotel is a hotel near Auchterarder, Scotland. It was commissioned by the Caledonian Railway and opened in 1924. The bandleader, Henry Hall, performed at the hotel before the Second World War during which it served as a military h ...

and

Guinness Publishing ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

. He was also a director of Moët Hennessy. He has also been a non-executive director of

HBOS HBOS plc was a banking and insurance company in the United Kingdom, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lloyds Banking Group, having been taken over in January 2009. It was the holding company for Bank of Scotland plc, which operated the Ba ...

plc and of

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

plc. Yea is a member of the

Chartered Institute of Management Accountants The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) is the global professional management accounting body based out of the UK. CIMA offers training and qualification in management accountancy and related subjects. It is focused on accountan ...

Personal life

He is married with three children.Big Shot
The Times, 12 May 2006

References

External links

Philip Yea: The Acceptable Face of Private Equity
The Independent, 23 June 2007
The Poster Boy of Private Equity
The Telegraph, 8 July 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Yea, Philip Edward 1954 births Living people People educated at Wallington County Grammar School Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Private equity and venture capital investors Manchester United F.C. directors and chairmen 3i Group people Vodafone people British chief executives British corporate directors