Our Purpose is to Reimagine Business

Private Equity, Venture Capital

CEO and Co-founder

Read bio

Paul Cocker, CEO & Co-Founder True. As CEO Paul oversees all aspects of True’s operations but has a particular focus on the private equity business. He has sat on the board of 12 high growth retail/consumer businesses/brands over the last 18 years. He has particular expertise in digital retail and has been involved at board level across a wide spectrum of industry verticals including apparel, home, consumer technology, health & fitness and FMCG. Paul also leads True’s ESG initiatives which has included partnerships with the Centre for Social Justice, Universify, the Careers & Enterprise Company as well as driving True’s B-Corp Certification, which was achieved in 2021.

Advisory, Venture Capital, Private Equity

Executive Chair and Co-founder

Read bio

Matt is the Executive Chair and Co-Founder of consumer and retail specialist investment and advisory firm True. With significant assets under management spanning venture capital, private equity and public equities and its own proprietary strategy, value creation and technology business advising the likes of Walmart, ABF, Haleon, TJX Inc, Warner Brothers Discovery, Primark and M&S, True has a unique business model and perspective with investments across the capital spectrum.

Advisory

Managing Director

Read bio

Liam leads True’s advisory practice. A trusted partner of ambitious consumer and retail leaders, Liam has 20 years of international experience spanning M&A, new venture building, technology partnerships, startup studios, innovation-focused joint ventures and new business line development for some of the world's best loved brands.

Advisory

Commercial Director

Read bio

Fin leads True's Partnership division. A trusted leader to ambitious technology, retail and consumer businesses, Fin has over 20 years of international B2B technology experience spanning SaaS software sales, enterprise ecommerce solutions, senior start-up leadership and multiple board-level reporting positions, gained working with some of the world's best loved technology and retail brands around the globe.

Advisory

Principal

Read bio

George is a Principal in True’s advisory practice, helping consumer and retail leaders create value through technology and AI. Drawing on nine years of experience across What If, Accenture and True, he combines innovation strategy and consumer insight with technology advisory to identify growth opportunities, improve business performance and translate emerging technologies into practical commercial applications.

Advisory

Principal

Read bio

Kevin brings over a decade of experience across growth strategy, digital transformation and venture building. Prior to True, Kevin led the strategy team at Accenture’s Venture Studio, co-founding and scaling new businesses for Europe's most recognised brands. Kevin held strategy roles at Hunch Strategic Innovation and Cognizant, partnering with ambitious leaders to define digital strategies, build new customer propositions and design operating models fit for fast-moving markets. He is passionate about the people and cultural changes required to compete in an increasingly AI-dominated business landscape.

Advisory

Principal

Read bio

Owen is a Principal in True's advisory practice, where he leads client engagements across technology strategy, vendor discovery, and technology evaluation. Since joining True in 2021, Owen has worked across many of the firm's corporate partners including Primark, ABF, Walmart, Bensons for Beds, Fortnum & Mason, Holland & Barrett, and Johnson & Johnson. He also leads True Advisory’s AI work across client advisory, technology builds, and on our internal technology stack.

Advisory

Analyst

Read bio

Alice is an Analyst within True’s Advisory practice, where she supports client engagements across strategy, value creation, and technology for corporate partners including Sainsbury’s, M&S, Haleon, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Prior to joining True, Alice began her career in merchandising at Boden before moving into fashion market research and data analytics at GlobalData, where she focused on identifying industry and consumer trends. She holds a BA in Arabic and French from the University of Leeds

Advisory

Analyst

Read bio

Sam is an Analyst in True's advisory practice, where he supports client engagements across strategy, value creation, and technology for the firm's consumer and retail partners. Since joining True in 2025, Sam has worked across major corporate partners including Holland & Barrett, TJX Inc, and ABF. Prior to True, he worked at organisational and operating model design consultancy, Kindred, having begun his career at proptech start-up Bricklane. He holds a BA in Political Science and Government from Newcastle University.

Advisory

Analyst

Read bio

Meelosh is an Analyst in True’s Advisory team, supporting consumer and retail leaders to identify and understand emerging opportunities for growth. His work spans market research, innovation and strategic advisory across a range of consumer sectors.
Prior to joining True, Meelosh spent two years in management consulting at Clarasys, working with clients on strategy and transformation. He holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Bristol.

Advisory

Analyst

Read bio

Oli is an Analyst in True's Advisory practice and Lead Engineer in the True AI Studio, where he designs and builds custom AI products, agents and tools for True's institutional clients and portfolio. An Economics graduate from the London School of Economics, he has a background in building AI systems from the ground up, drawing on the mathematics and quantitative methods that power AI. Since joining True in 2025, Oli has worked with some of the UK's leading consumer and retail businesses, including Sainsbury's and Primark.

Advisory

Analyst

Read bio

James works across True's advisory practice, helping consumer and retail leaders turn data and emerging technology into growth. His work spans strategy, market research, and AI adoption, from sizing new consumer markets and mapping competitive landscapes to building practical AI roadmaps for some of the UK's best-known retailers. James joined True in 2026 with prior experience in robotic process automation, and holds a degree in Financial Mathematics from the University of Nottingham.

Advisory

Analyst

Read bio

Dylan is an Analyst in True’s advisory practice, where he supports client engagements across technology evaluation and strategy. A Dean’s List Chemistry graduate from Imperial College London, he brings a background in building machine learning models to support the integration of AI and technology solutions across True’s consumer and retail partners. Since joining in 2026, Dylan has worked with some of the UK’s leading businesses, including Primark and the Billington Group.

Private Equity

Managing Director

Read bio

Prior to joining True in 2021, Richard was a Director at Qatar Investment Authority, leading direct private equity investments into retail and consumer companies in Europe, the US and parts of Asia. Before QIA, Richard worked in mergers and acquisitions at Lazard in London. 

Private Equity

Managing Director

Read bio

Prior to joining True in 2021, Ejike was a Director at Centricus, leading investments into branded consumer and media companies in Europe and the US. He began his private equity career at EMK Capital, where he was a founding team member, investing in UK and European mid market buyout opportunities. Before private equity, Ejike worked in M&A at Greenhill & Co in London.

Private Equity

Director

Read bio

Kishen is a Director at True, where he focuses on portfolio management across the fund's private equity portfolio. Before joining True in 2020, he was FP&A Director for a tech start-up, supporting the business through its Series B funding round. Earlier in his career, at KPMG, he led due diligence transactions spanning multiple sectors, ranging from £10m to £1.5bn, in the middle-market space. Kishen is a qualified Chartered Accountant (ICAEW).

Private Equity

Director

Read bio

Prior to joining True as an Associate in 2014, Rich had been an analyst at Citigroup, part of the Consumer M&A team in London. Rich is focused primarily on our strategy in sport, having previously led investments in digital consumer and F&B. 

Private Equity

Principal

Read bio

Oscar is a Principal at True, where he focuses on transaction execution and portfolio management for the private equity funds. He has built a comprehensive track record across True’s consumer and retail portfolio, supporting transactions including Zwift, Sneak, Hush, Apparel Brands, Represent, and German Doner Kebab. He represents the firm as a Board Director for Apparel Brands and German Doner Kebab.

Venture Capital

Managing Director

Read bio

Mike co-leads True’s early-stage venture funds, investing in the next generation of technology companies across the consumer and retail sector. Prior to joining True in 2022, Mike spent 13 years at Sky, spanning strategic finance roles and latterly helping run Sky’s CVC activities with a focus on technology investing across the US, Europe and Israel.

Venture Capital

Managing Director

Read bio

Joe joined True in 2022 to co-lead True's early-stage VC fund. Prior to True, Joe was Director of Corporate Development & Strategy at Virgin Management, the family office of Sir Richard Branson, supporting the family's Virgin-branded and venture capital investment activity. Joe began his career in strategy consulting with OC&C in London.

Venture Capital

Associate

Read bio

Silvana is an Associate in True's VC team. She studied Biomedical Engineering at the University of Barcelona before moving to London for business school. She began her career in consulting at Strategy&, where a secondment at PwC Raise introduced her to venture capital. Before joining True, she worked at Antai Ventures, a Barcelona-based venture studio, where she gained first-hand operational experience working alongside founders.

Venture Capital

Associate

Read bio

Camille is an Associate in True’s VC team. She is originally from Paris and moved to London to study Economics at UCL, followed by a Masters in Management at ESCP. She began her career at KPMG before moving into the startup world with an insurtech, then transitioned into venture capital at VentureFriends, an early-stage generalist fund, before joining True.

Public Equities

Managing Director

Read bio

Mike is Portfolio Manager for the True Public Fund. His career has taken in posts at PwC (working with the likes of BAT, Glaxo, SAB and Associated Newspapers) and Cazenove, where he led advisory relationships with Tesco and Booker, and the IPOs of Burberry and Inditex. Mike joined True from UBS, where he advised Sainsbury’s and Greggs and led Ocado’s IPO. Prior to his current role leading True Public, Mike built True’s Advisory business, overseeing relationships with corporate Partners including Shell, Coca Cola Europacific Partners, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health, TJX Inc, M&S, Walgreens and many more industry giants.

Finance, Private Equity

Managing Director

Read bio

Will began his career at Deloitte, and subsequently spent twelve years at GE Capital (~$600bn AUM) holding several CFO and senior finance roles . Will leads True’s PE Portfolio alongside Paul, working closely with each of our PE portfolio companies.  He also oversees all of the Finance, Operations and Compliance activities of True.

Finance

Finance Director

Read bio

Vikesh is Finance Director at True, where he leads Finance, Fund Operations and FP&A. He began his career at PwC, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, before moving into senior commercial finance roles at Tungsten Network and Zeal Network SE. 

Finance

Finance Manager

Read bio

Dieko is the Manager in True's Finance function, joining in 2022 after 6 years at PriceWaterHouse Coopers in their Assurance practice, executing and delivering on audit engagements across Asset Wealth Management clients. He is involved across the financial activity and day to day management of True and its associated Funds, ensuring accurate reporting of financial data and transformation into insights that equip the wider teams with the information they need to drive decision making. Dieko is a qualified Chartered Accountant registered with ICAEW (ACA) and an avid semi-pro footballer one or two nights in the week.

Compliance

Head of Compliance

Read bio

Nathan joined True in 2021 with broad experience delivering risk and compliance programmes and change/transformation projects across consumer, commercial, and investment banking. His past roles were at GE Capital, Latitude Financial Services, Westpac, and Deutsche Bank.

Marketing & Operations

Head of People & Operations

Read bio

Serena oversees True’s operational infrastructure and manages the executive and office support teams. She joined the business in 2016, following eight years at global firms JLT and Zurich, where she supported senior executives before moving into broader operational leadership.

Marketing & Operations

Senior Executive Assistant

Read bio

Nicole is a Senior Executive Assistant at True, supporting the Executive Chairman/Co-Founder and Managing Directors. She joined the firm in 2023 as Team Personal Assistant before stepping into her current role in 2024. Prior to True, Nicole spent four years at NHS Lothian in Edinburgh, working as a Personal Assistant.

Marketing & Operations

Team Executive Assistant

Read bio

Jess joined True in early 2025 as a Team Personal Assistant, supporting the firm's Managing Directors. She brings over eight years of experience in executive support, operations and team leadership, having previously spent seven years at London Vision Clinic, where she progressed to Senior Lead Clinic Coordinator and Executive Assistant. Throughout her career, she has built a reputation for her organisation, attention to detail and ability to keep fast-paced teams running smoothly.

Marketing & Operations

Host

Read bio

Born and raised in Ireland, Charlotte brings the warmth of Irish hospitality to her role as a Host at True. After studying Hospitality Management in Dublin, she built her career in some of Ireland’s leading five-star hotels, including The Merrion, InterContinental Dublin, and Ashford Castle. Combining operational expertise with a passion for delivering exceptional, personalised service, Charlotte's friendly approach and commitment to exceptional service help create a welcoming and memorable experience in her role as Host at True.

Marketing & Operations

Host

Read bio

Lottie is a Host in True’s operations team, where she is passionate about creating welcoming and engaging experiences for clients and visitors. Originally from North Yorkshire, she moved to London 3 years ago after graduating from Newcastle University with a BA in Sociology. Her sociological background and previous work in private healthcare provides valuable insight into understanding and engaging with people from all walks of life. 

Senior Advisors

Senior Advisor

Read bio

Christine Hodgson is Chair of Severn Trent Plc and Whitbread Plc, both FTSE 100 companies. She spent 22 years at Capgemini, where she was Chair of the UK business, the Global Chief CSR officer and a member of the Group Executive Committee. Christine was the Senior Independent Director of Standard Chartered PLC before stepping down in January 2023 after nine years. Christine is an external board adviser for Spencer Stuart, Chair of Newton, a consultancy specialising in strategy delivery and operational efficiency, and the chair of council of Loughborough University. Christine is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales. Christine has a First Class Bachelor of Science honours degree in Accounting & Financial Management, and an honorary doctorate, from Loughborough University. She was awarded a CBE for services to Education in January 2020. Christine is a fellow of Business in the Community, and a member of the King’s Seeing is Believing Council.

Senior Advisors

Senior Advisor

Read bio

Richard has a 35 year career in retail and consumer businesses, as a CFO, CEO and Chair. His first management buyout took place in 1989, and since then he has worked for public and private household names including Laura Ashley, Wetherspoons, Bulmers, RAC, Morrisons and the Coop. His last Executive role was as CEO of the Coop, which he turned around following its near failure caused by trouble in its banking subsidiary. He now has a plural career Chairing Boards and coaching Founders, and until recently was the Lead Non Executive at the Department for Education, where he established Skills England at the request of the new Government. A past Chair of the British Retail Consortium, he established and still Chairs the Retail Sector Council, a body which operates under the auspices of the Department for Business and brings together Government, Business and the Trades Unions to promote the health of the retail sector.

Senior Advisors

Senior Advisor

Read bio

Mark McClennon is a senior technology and transformation leader with over 35 years' experience helping major organisations use technology to drive growth, resilience and change. As a Senior Advisor to True, Mark helps clients and portfolio companies cut through technology hype, make sharper strategic choices and build organisations ready for the future.

Senior Advisors

Operating Partner

Read bio

Zillah has extensive technology sector experience, spanning online gaming, digital media and e-commerce. She retired at the end of March 2023 from her position as Chief Executive of Future plc., a global platform for specialist media, a position she assumed in 2014. Future has been a leader in the Global media publishing industry and was transformed under her leadership. With over 20 years of experience as an executive officer, she has demonstrated a focus on driving operational excellence and is a proven people manager, identifying and developing talent at the senior level. Currently a Non-Executive Chair of TrustPilot Group plc, and Non-Executive Director of NCHL plc, Ms. Byng-Thorne also served as a Non-Executive Director of Flutter Entertainment for nine-years before stepping down in early 2023. She was Chief Financial Officer of Trader Media Group (owner of Auto Trader) from 2009 to 2012, and Interim Chief Executive Officer from 2012 to 2013. Previously, Ms. Byng-Thorne was Commercial Director and Chief Financial Officer at Fitness First Limited and Chief Financial Officer of the Thresher Group and a former Non-Executive Director of THG Holdings plc. Ms. Byng-Thorne is a chartered management accountant (CIMA) and qualified treasurer (ACT) and has an MA in Management from Glasgow University and an MSc in Behavioral Change from Henley Business School.