This week's London appointments

Jeevan Sunner, Jeremy Luzinda and Elise Congram, Playfair Capital

Early-stage funding specialist Playfair Capital has welcomed Jeevan Sunner, Jeremy Luzinda and Elise Congram to its team.

Jeevan joins as an associate from PwC where she worked with founders of early-stage B2B SaaS companies to identify new commercial opportunities and raise Series A funding.

Jeremy joins as an off-cycle analyst and has experience in COO and CCO roles at a range of startups.

Elise, who worked with the team before lockdown, has now come on board in a full-time role, where she will be responsible for managing the firm’s space and leading a new initiative for its founders.

Chris Smith, managing partner, commented: “We are delighted to announce these new joiners to the Playfair family.

“They are an incredibly talented group of individuals who share our passion and commitment to make a positive impact on the ecosystem and our local communities, as well as generate financial returns.

“In such an uncertain and challenging environment, we’re delighted that we are in a position to significantly expand our team to keep up with demand.”

Elizabeth Anderson, British Interplanetary Society (BIS)

The British Interplanetary Society (BIS) has appointed Elizabeth Anderson as chief executive officer.

Elizabeth brings 15 years’ experience working in non-profit organisations to her new role, and has previously spent time working at the Confederation of British Industry and at The Aldridge Foundation where she led the development of Kensington Aldridge Academy, as well as a number of schemes to develop the ambition of pupils living in deprived areas.

Elizabeth also spent six years at the Royal College of Surgeons of England from 2014, where she oversaw an overhaul of governance and supporting the council’s development of a new four year strategy.

In 2011, Elizabeth was named Real Business Magazine’s Woman of the Future for Public Services at a ceremony hosted by HRH The Princess Royal. She also holds a BSc in International Relations and a Diploma in the Common Law from the University of London, and an MSc in Corporate Communication and Public Affairs from Robert Gordon University.

Elizabeth commented: “The work, ethics, and commitment to positive change from the British Interplanetary Society, is nothing short of inspirational, and I am thrilled to be leading such a prestigious and iconic society.

“Despite the widespread disruption caused by Covid-19, we are dedicated to providing a smooth service to our members, bringing together the best of the space industry, with plans to build on the long history of successes formulated by the BIS, in the not too distant future.”

Ed Vaizey and Dr Adam Black, Perlego

Educational book subscription service Perlego has appointed Ed Vaizey and Dr. Adam Black to its board of advisors.

Ed was formerly the Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Ed commented: “It’s an incredibly important time for the education sector and Perlego is making a real difference for students, educational institutions and academic publishers.

“Perlego offers unrivalled opportunities to drive real change and innovation in the sector, benefitting thousands of students as they start a new semester during such an uncertain time.”

Publishing executive Dr. Adam Black joins the board having worked with the likes of Pearson Education, Macmillan Learning, and Cambridge University Press. In addition to this, Adam has coached over 150 education startups through his career. Using this experience, Adam will contribute to the development of Perlego’s global strategy.

Adam commented: “Perlego has a bold mission to make learning accessible to more students globally by building the worlds’ largest subscription service of textbooks and study tools. In the process, they’re killing piracy and growing a vibrant direct-to-student marketplace for publishers to benefit from.

“I’m thrilled to join Perlego’s advisory board at this exciting phase in their growth to help them achieve these important ambitions.”

Perlego co-founder and CEO Gauthier Van Malderen added: “Implementing digital resources isn’t a short-term fix whilst we socially distance. If we want to make educational resources more accessible to more people, technology needs to be adopted as part of a long term strategy within all educational institutions.

“We’re honoured to welcome Ed and Adam to the Perlego team and know their experience will help get us one step closer to this goal.”