Meet the Team
Meet our team of Analysts, Developers, Marketers and Creators
Executive:
Craig Burgess
CEO & CIO
Craig Burgess is Chief Executive Officer of ebi Portfolios. Craig has been involved in financial services since 1992, with experience in the wealth management industry both as a financial adviser and serial entrepreneur. An early adopter of evidence based investing, Craig founded ebi Portfolios as the first ‘Turnkey Asset Management Program’ (TAMP) in the United Kingdom, to supply advisers with an outsource facility for investment management. In 2014, Craig launched Vantage, a Discretionary Fund Management (DFM) service to supply low-cost balanced fund management. Previously, Craig founded and sold Blackstone Wealth Management, a successful financial adviser practice. Craig holds the Investment Management Certificate, is a Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Financial Planner and is a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society.
Guzz Burgess
Consultant
Guzz Burgess is a Consultant for ebi Portfolios. Guzz has been involved in financial services since 1991, both as a financial adviser and business owner. Previously, together with husband Craig, Guzz founded and sold Blackstone Wealth Management, a successful Wealth Management practice. Guzz was one of the early adopters of fee-only advice (implemented in 2002, long before it became mandatory in 2013), wrap platform technology (shortly after it became available in 2001), and evidence based investing, now one the fastest growing forms of fund management in the UK, in small part due to the influence of ebi. Guzz is one of the key driving forces behind ebi, having a passion for building a business of resources designed to help advisers deliver a robust investment proposition to their clients.
Samuel Adams
Consultant
Samuel Adams joined ebi’s board as a Consultant in September 2020, bringing a wealth of experience as a senior manager in the financial services sector, and particular expertise in ESG investments and presenting ESG solutions to advisers and investors alike. Previously, Sam started Dimensional’s Financial Advisor business in the UK & Europe, leading it for 10 years. In 2016 he founded Vert Asset Management, a dedicated ESG investment manager that is focused on making sustainable investing easier for financial advisers and their clients. Sam is leading ebi’s charge into the adoption of sustainable and ESG investing, and aiding in delivering this philosophy to advisers and investors.
Harry Hitchcock
Chief Operating Officer
Harry Hitchcock is Chief Operating Officer at ebi. Joining the company in 2019, Harry is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of the business, coordinating between departments to manage and control diverse business operations and functions crucial for ebi’s growth. Harry has a background in digital marketing and systems management within the pharmaceutical and medical research industry, holds the CIM Professional Diploma in Marketing, and is working towards the ISM Diploma in Strategic Sales Management.
Management Team:
Ashley Owen
Head of Business Development
Ashley Owen is Head of Business Development at ebi Portfolios. Joining in 2020, Ashley is the main point of contact for any new adviser enquiries, introducing ebi and presenting the solutions offered. Ashley has a background in investments and wealth management, both in the channel islands and London, having spent time at an exclusive wealth manager advising UHNW clients with a minimum net worth of £100m, over seeing DFM operations, conducting fund due diligence and maintaining client relationships. Ashley previously worked at AES International, covering positions of Head of Investment Strategies, helping centralise their investment proposition, and as Associate Director, coaching advisers on building their business.
Nick Walker
Head of Client Relations
Nick Walker is Head of Client Relations at ebi Portfolios. Joining in 2016, Nick has oversight of all client relations for ebi’s core activities, providing advisers with evidence based portfolio construction and all associated resources they might need, to help them advise and manage their clients. Nick also works closely with wrap platforms and is responsible for portfolio rebalancing and platform integration. Nick has over 10 years’ experience in financial services and prior to joining ebi he was a branch manager for Santander bank. Nick has completed the following qualifications; R01 Financial Services, Regulation and Ethics, R02 Investment Principles and Risk, R03 Personal Taxation, R04 Pensions and Retirement Planning and R05 Financial Protection.
Client Support:
Amun Burgess, CFA
Operations Analyst
Amun Burgess works within the Client Relations team at ebi, supporting the Sales Team and assists in maintaining the company’s day to day activities. Alongside Claire, Amun provides support and deals with any queries new and existing ebi members may have, as well as other members of the team at ebi. Amun has completed the CII’s R01 Financial Services, Regulation and Ethics qualification as well as holding the CFA UK Level 4 Certificate in ESG Investing and the CFA UK Certificate in Climate and Investing.
Debbie Holmes
Business Development Manager
Debbie Holmes is Business Development Manager at ebi Portfolios. Joining in 2017, Debbie is responsible for introducing ebi Portfolios to new advisers and building relationships with both new and existing firms, providing training and support to onboard and utilise the tools and materials ebi provides it’s members. Debbie also works closely with the ebi team to provide feedback and development ideas from advisers. Debbie has over 17 years’ experience in financial services, holding a BA (Hons) Business Management, 2:1 from Wolverhampton University, a Certificate in Mortgage and Advice Practices (CeMAP) and in January 2021 gained the CFA UK Certificate in ESG Investing.
James Fouche
Business Development Manager
James is the passionate South African in the team. His love for rugby is closely rivalled by his interest in financial markets. He joined as a Business Development Manager in 2022. James is skilled at articulating complexity into simplicity and is responsible for introducing ebi Portfolios to new advisers and building relationships with both new and existing firms, providing training and support to onboard and utilise the tools and materials ebi provides their members. He has an accounting undergraduate degree and an advanced Post Graduate Diploma in Investment Planning.
Keaton Jones
Business Development Manager
Keaton is Business Development Manager within ebi. Joining in 2022, his main responsibilities include actively managing client relationships, researching new business opportunities, leading sales and training meetings and taking responsibility for day to day project management. Keaton holds a 1st class BA in Financial Management from the University of Portsmouth as well as being on his way to completing Level 4 diploma in Regulated Financial Planning.
Claire Gittus
Client Relationship Manager
Claire Gittus is Client Relationship Manager at ebi Portfolios. Claire was originally employed by ebi’s previously owned advisory firm Blackstone Wealth Management as Office Manager, supporting the in-house adviser and looking after the firm’s clients. Towards the end of 2019, Blackstone Wealth Management was sold and Claire moved across to join the ebi team to apply her knowledge of working within an advisory practice, providing support to both its existing/new members and the team at ebi. Claire holds a Certificate in Financial Administration and Para-planning (CeFAP) and since joining Blackstone/ebi has successfully completed the following qualifications; R01 Financial Services, Regulation and Ethics, R02 Investment Principles and Risk and R03 Personal Taxation.
Emily Silva
Client Operations Executive
Emily Silva is Client Operations Executive at ebi Portfolios. Emily joined in 2022, after graduating with a first-class Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Hertfordshire and working for two years in academic and commercial publishing. Working alongside Claire and Amun, Emily assists in maintaining the company’s day to day activities, providing support, and dealing with any queries that ebi members may have. New to the world of investing, Emily is an enthusiastic member of the team currently studying for the CII’s R01 Financial Services, Regulation and Ethics qualification.
Jonathan Simpson
Investment Support Analyst
Jonathan joined ebi in January 2024. He graduated from the University of Birmingham with a Master’s degree in Theoretical Physics in 2015 and has since had a varied career, firstly in retail management and later as a science teacher.
Jonathan works in the Client Relations team to assist clients with ongoing queries, and has also spent some time in the Investment Team where he helped create InSight reports and supported in writing market commentary.
He holds the CFA UK Investment Management Certificate (IMC), has passed the CFA Level 1 exam and is currently a CFA Level 2 candidate.
Investment Team:
Joshua Clarke, CFA
Portfolio Manager
Josh is the Portfolio Manager at ebi Portfolios. Joining in 2018, Josh is responsible for ebi’s evolving performance and analytical resources, trading and rebalancing, as well as developing ebi’s portfolios and strategy. Josh is a CFA Charterholder and a BSc Economics and Finance graduate with first-class honours. He holds the CFA Investment Management Diploma (ESG), CFA UK Investment Management Certificate, CFA Certificate in ESG investing and the CFA UK Certificate in Climate and Investing.
Jonathan Griffiths, CFA
Investment Product Manager
Jon is an Investment Product Manager at ebi Portfolios. Joining ebi in 2023, he brings with him 10 years’ experience in the investment industry, including roles as an Investment Specialist within a fund manager and as an Investment Analyst within an investment consultancy.
Jon is responsible for investment research and analysis, communicating information on ebi’s portfolio suite, and providing investment solutions to clients. Jon is a CFA Charterholder, and graduated from the University of Nottingham with a BSc (Hons) Mathematics and Economics (First Class) degree. He holds the CFA UK Investment Management Certificate (IMC), the CFA Institute Certificate in ESG Investing, and the CFA UK Certificate in Climate and Investing.
Chris Johnston
Data Analyst
Chris, a Data Analyst at ebi Portfolios, joined the team in 2023. He holds an MSc in Brain Imaging and Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Birmingham, as well as a BSc (Hons) in Biological Psychology from the University of the West of England. Chris has a specialisation in data analysis, quantitative research, and statistics, utilising Python alongside other programming techniques. At ebi, his primary duties include collecting, curating, and managing data in both internal and third-party systems. He also builds and maintains automated workflows within the organisation, and provides support to the broader business in their data analysis needs.
Sam Startup
Investment Analyst
Sam, an Investment Analyst at ebi portfolios, became part of the team in July 2022 following his graduation from the University of Liverpool with a BA (Hons) Degree in Business Economics. His responsibilities include portfolio construction and management, performance reporting, and conducting fund research and analysis. Additionally, he manages the monthly, quarterly, and annual economic market commentary. Sam holds the (CISI) Investment Advice Diploma and the Bloomberg Market Concepts (BMC) certificate, now choosing to study towards his CFA Charterholder.
IT:
Ben Hadley-Evans
IT Manager
Ben Hadley-Evans is the IT Manager at ebi Portfolios. Ben joined the company in 2014, primarily focusing on the ebi website and its many member-only features. He maintains critical IT infrastructure within the ebi office and in the cloud. Ben holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Wolverhampton.
Ryan Aspinall
Senior Developer
Ryan Aspinall is a C# Developer at ebi Portfolios, his primary focus is to maintain and develop the company’s adviser tools and product offering, including Turnkey and the Vault. After graduating from Loughborough University in 2017 with a BSc in Computer Science, Ryan has focused on specialising in .NET and Oracle development frameworks.
Iain Brazendale
Lead Developer
Iain Brazendale joins as a Senior Developer, focusing on ebi’s digital product offering; the Vault, Turnkey and Members Area. He has over 30 years of software development experience ranging from embedded systems to cloud projects. As well as qualifications in software development, Iain also holds a BA in Business Management from Stafford University.
Catalina Luchian-Placinta
IT Support Engineer
Catalina Luchian-Placinta is an IT Support Engineer at ebi Portfolios. Catalina joined ebi in 2021 just after graduating from an IT Technician Traineeship specialising in troubleshooting hardware and software issues. She holds a CompTIA A+ certification and a MSc Project Management from the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies. With over 10 years work experience she is able to successfully provide technical solutions to non-technical team members.
Rachel Wilmshurst
Product Manager
Our Product Manager, Rachel, joined the team at the start of 2024. Leveraging her bachelor’s degree in computer science, Rachel has held roles in Systems Support, Quality Assurance, and most recently, Product Ownership. In her role as Product Manager, she collaborates closely with the broader business to establish a product strategy, aligning the software development objectives with internal teams, the user base, and the market. Additionally, she applies her experience in software development to assist with the day-to-day operations of the development team.
Lateefah Annagib
.NET Developer
Lateefah Annagib is a software developer and predominantly works on ebi’s digital products. She has worked on a range of various projects within her career and holds a BSc in Computer science at Staffordshire University and MSc in Computer Games Development at Liverpool John Moores University .
Gurdeep Blaggan
.NET Developer
Gurdeep Blaggan is a .NET Developer who has joined ebi in September 2023 with a Computer Science degree from Aston University. His experience spans various industries including food management, the automotive sector and finance, where he specialises in both front and back-end technologies. Gurdeep’s primary focus will be on The Vault and Turnkey future development.
Alasdair Cooper
.NET Developer
Alasdair Cooper joined ebi in 2023 as a .NET Developer. He helps with ebi’s current suite of digital products and contributes to the development of future products. He graduated from Durham University in 2022 with a BSc in Computer Science.
Jack Grant
Junior .NET Developer
Jack Grant is a Junior .NET Developer at ebi portfolios who joined in mid 2023. Jack has almost 3 years’ experience in developing both back-end and front-end applications using a variety of languages, such as; C#, Typescript, and SQL. He is also a postgraduate from Staffordshire university with a MSc in Computer Science.
Marketing:
Scott Waistell
Marketing Manager
Scott Waistell is the Marketing Manager at ebi Portfolios. Scott joined in June 2021 and brings with him 15 years’ marketing experience. He is responsible for campaign management, digital advertising, content production and CRM. Scott has recently achieved a CIM Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing.
Arun Burgess
Digital Marketing Executive
Arun Burgess is a Digital Marketing Executive at ebi portfolios. Arun joined in October 2020 and holds a BSC Business with Marketing from University of Brighton and a MSC Digital Marketing from Kings College London. Arun has responsibility for CRM database maintenance and communications, social media advertising and reporting.
Jason Murphy
Graphic Designer & Content Creator
Jason Murphy is a Graphic Designer and Content Creator at ebi Portfolios. Jason joined in 2020 and brings with him 8 years’ experience working in the creative industry, since graduating in Graphic Design (Ba Hons 2:1) from Staffordshire University. Jason maintains and develops the look and feel of the ebi brand and brand assets across web, email, digital, social and print media.
