Dave Webster

Chairman

Retailer | UK’s Largest Private Landlord | Experienced Natural Resources Professional

A natural leader and previously one of the largest private landlords in the UK, David has over 27 years of experience in the property sector as both a developer and a landlord. David has previously built significant personal and corporate portfolios, consisting of developments in excess of £500 million of both residential and commercial property. Following his initial retirement from the property sector, David partnered with SNR Dentons as a commodity advisor in the precious metals industry, before launching his own venture in the natural resources sector, Lusso Tesoro (now Seventy Ninth Resources).

As Chairman of the Seventy Ninth Group, David oversees the overall direction and growth of the Group and its subsidiaries, continuously seeking out new and exciting opportunities that elevate our operations to new heights. Additionally, David has won Asset Management Chairman of the Year at CEO Monthly’s Chairperson Awards for the last two years running.

Jake Webster

Managing Director

Portfolio Management | Corporate Finance | Pilot

Working as Managing Director across the Seventy Ninth Group and its subsidiaries, Jake is highly experienced and proficient in portfolio management, deal structuring and private finance. Jake has been heavily involved in the natural resources and asset management sectors for several years, working internationally with central banks and global commodity houses to establish and arrange finance for projects and commodity supply chains.

Jake is a fully qualified pilot who holds an EASA license, as well as a martial arts instructor. Jake also studied at the American Institute of Diamond Cutting and is a certified rough diamond grader and won the International Young Entrepreneur Award at the Global Business Excellence Awards 2022.

Curtis Webster

Investment Director

Online Retailer | Entrepreneur | Capital Markets

An organised and hard-working professional, Curtis followed in his family’s footsteps and entered the real estate and natural resources sectors. Within his role at the Seventy Ninth Group, Curtis provides valuable support to our stakeholders situated across the globe, managing new and existing relationships as well as overseeing the Seventy Ninth Group’s existing and future capital raising activities. Over recent years, Curtis has gained significant experience in natural resources, with a particular focus on mineral extraction and general supply chain management.

Curtis is a keen martial artist, practising both Muay Thai and Brazilian jiujitsu. Additionally, Curtis won Outstanding Young Executive (under 35 years) at the Global Business Excellence Awards 2022.

Natalie Bellis

Chief Executive Officer

Global Regulatory Auditor | Risk Committee Chairwoman for Investment and Savings

Throughout her career, Natalie has been appointed across a wide range of governance roles, including being a regulatory auditor for globally established brands such as Selfridges, EasyJet, Toyota and Nintendo. Natalie has also led large, well-known retail and financial services operations with over 500 employees in each sector, delivering their corporate strategies alongside chairing Corporate Risk Committees. A highly experienced compliance specialist with a wealth of regulatory and administrative knowledge, Natalie has over 10 years in the sector and has a background in creating and implementing governance frameworks and FCA regulations.

As CEO of the Seventy Ninth Group, Natalie defines and oversees the company’s primary goals and objectives, leading a team of executives to deliver major business milestones, including acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures and large-scale expansion. Natalie also won the Outstanding Personal Achievement Award at the Global Business Excellence Awards 2022.

Andy Cole CBE

Board Advisor

An almost 50-year veteran of the Civil Service, Andy is a highly experienced tax professional who, having trained as a criminal and civil investigator, subsequently held a wide range of senior posts throughout his career, including operational delivery management, strategy development and project/programme management.

Andy’s previous senior appointments have seen him tackle the largest and most complex fraud and avoidance risks using a range of bespoke criminal, civil and insolvency powers, in addition to developing HMRC’s strategy to tackle promoters and users of aggressive tax avoidance.

Adriènne Kelbie CBE

Non-Executive Director

An inspiring and award-winning transformational leader, Adriènne brings over 25 years of leadership experience in high-profile public sector organisations spanning community funding, local authorities, safeguarding, criminal records and nuclear regulation.

Adriènne has spoken to global audiences about the importance of psychological safety, inclusion and cognitive diversity to high performing teams. Most recently, Adriènne led the UK’s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) to international credit for its effective stakeholder engagement, strong international contribution and enabling regulation.

Genevieve Pearson

Non-Executive Director

Genevieve has over 20 years extensive project and operational experience across commodities in Africa. Following deep level gold mining experience in South Africa she ran Greenfields gold exploration projects. Over the years she has developed experience in artisanal to large-scale gold mining and exploration projects.

As an independent consultant, she has advised investors, commodity traders and mining companies on their various strategies for investing in a range of exploration and mining projects across commodities throughout Africa.

Gary Pitts

Board Advisor

Gary has been a compliance professional for over 27 years, beginning his career at Lautro and the Personal Investment Authority and including spells at Threadneedle, Henderson, Head of Compliance at hedge fund Brevan Howard, and Head of Compliance in Europe, Mid-East, Africa and Japan for a boutique investment bank.

Since 2013, he has run his own regulatory and training consultancy, Tetractys, with operations in the UK and Ireland. He delivers open and bespoke training courses and external Board effectiveness assessments alongside his consulting work.

Andor Lips

Non-Executive Director

With over 25 years of professional experience within mining and minerals and his status as a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, Andor is a highly valuable member of our board of Non-Executive Directors. Andor has on the ground experience within the Republic of Guinea, a country in which we currently hold many assets within our natural resources division.

Throughout his career, Andor has had over 25 publications and is a published author, with a PhD and MSc in Geology.

Lydia Ruiter

Compliance Manager

Lydia has worked in compliance for over six years, including roles as QA Manager and Audit, Risk and Compliance Coordinator. Lydia worked with clients such as BT, EE, River Island and government bodies, responsible for ensuring FCA compliance, ISO standards, Quality Assurance oversight and implementing QA frameworks, risk management systems and developing risk and compliance committees, internally and with clients.

At Seventy Ninth Group, Lydia has developed a compliance framework across all aspects of the company. She implements and upholds business standards documentation and procedures, internal audits and oversees the QA framework, supports the Group’s ESG strategy and maintenance of ISO and other accreditations.

Alicia McMahon

Human Resources Manager

A highly driven, CIPD-qualified manager with over 20 years of human resources experience, Alicia is responsible for improving and protecting the health, happiness and general well-being of our team.

Passionate about building a positive environment for staff, Alicia is complemented by a rich history spanning a variety of sectors, including telecommunications, aerospace, residential care and manufacturing. Her main areas of responsibility include staffing, setting policies, managing employee benefits, retention, training and payroll.

Amy Jones

Client Support & Onboarding Manager

Amy graduated from further education in travel. Her previous role at a well-known life insurance company also saw Amy heavily involved with the business’ compliance procedures, which enables her to provide a fresh perspective and valuable input towards our compliance strategies.

Amy quickly progressed within the company to one of the team leaders, now onto managing the investments department. Amy’s qualifications and previous experience have proven advantageous in gaining a more thorough understanding of the needs of our global client base.

Eleanor Longworth

Onboarding Team Leader

Eleanor studied business management at Edge Hill University. Upon leaving, Eleanor worked in accounts for a nationwide retailer and was then Team Leader for an Insurance Brokerage before becoming Sales Team Leader for a Sales and Marketing Consultancy. As an Onboarding Team Leader, Eleanor manages one of the teams within the department, monitoring their performance and workloads

Matthew Guildford

Onboarding Team Leader

Matthew has previously worked in the legal field as a legal assistant at several solicitors’ offices in Liverpool and followed this with a position as Team Leader at a large insurance company. As an Onboarding Team Leader at the Seventy Ninth Group, he manages the day-to-day running of one of the Investment teams.

Ashley Weston

Finance Team Leader

Ashley previously worked at family-owned company for eight years, acquiring various business and accounts qualifications. She has been a part of Seventy Ninth Group for over two years, previously part of the investments team and now as Finance Team Leader, reviewing internal finance procedures and co-ordinating the company’s finance processes. Ashley also develops and maintains key supplier relationships and oversees the smooth running of our international departments’ financial processes and the purchase ledger activity.

Georgia Peach

Relationship Manager

Georgia has a sales background in the insurance sector, as well as experience working in pensions. This has allowed her to gain key networking skills which help her to build rapport with clients. Georgia’s role involves working closely with the onboarding officers to support our investors and to foster good relationships across the business. This includes tracking the progress of all relationships and ensuring investors’ needs are met and enquiries are dealt with accordingly.

Olivia Vaivela

Relationship Manager

Olivia has previously worked in the hospitality industry where she has always thrived on overcoming new challenges. At the Seventy Ninth Group as Relationship Manager, Olivia is responsible for ensuring the client experience is seamless from start to finish.

Sean Berry

Onboarding Officer

Sean began his working life at Betfred, where he gained experience working with a focus on customer service and exposure to both anti-money laundering and anti-bribery processes. At the Seventy Ninth Group, Sean’s position as an Onboarding Officer sees him working closely with our investors, ensuring that strong relationships are created and maintained throughout the entire client journey.

Craig Johnson

Onboarding Officer

After finishing Music Production in college, Craig went on to work for British Gas as an Emergency Dispatcher and moved on to work from home as an Out of Hours Dispatcher, liaising with both engineers and customers. At the Seventy Ninth Group as an Onboarding Officer, Craig helps with the onboarding process and can jump into various work streams to assist both clients and colleagues.

David Andrews DipPFS

Strategic Partner Manager

David has over 7 years’ experience as a qualified Financial Advisor providing financial advice to trustees, business owners and investors. David has joined the Seventy Ninth Group as a Strategic Partner Manager, managing the relationships with both investors and joint venture partners.

Phil Hayton

Digital Marketing & Events Manager

Initially intending to work as an accountant, Phil trained towards his qualifications at Big Four financial services company, KPMG, working there until he ultimately decided to focus his efforts on his passion for digital marketing. A highly versatile professional, Phil is responsible for the management of company wide communications and events. Much of Phil’s time is spent on brand, lead generation and social media content creation for the Seventy Ninth Group across a multitude of platforms, from posts covering up-to-date news on the company to informative podcasts and videos.

Georgia Dutton

Senior Graphic Designer

Georgia has both a BA (Hons) in Media Production and an MA in Animation. She kickstarted her career in graphic design with freelance work before moving into the energy industry at a large energy consultancy company in the Northwest. At the Seventy Ninth Group, Georgia manages the workflow of all the design work and oversees the day-to-day projects for the graphic designers both in-house and external.

Matthew Kinsey

Graphic Designer

Matthew completed his bachelor’s degree in graphic design in 2020, and has since gained experience working with post-production companies and print and digital design companies in South Africa and the UK. Matthew is one of the in-house graphic designers at the Seventy Ninth Group, delivering creative design content and managing the marketing material that goes for print.

Hannah Gregg

Marketing Assistant

Hannah graduated with first class honours in BA (Hons) Media, Communication, Cultures from Leeds Beckett University. After she graduated, she moved on to retail where she stayed for just over a year. As marketing assistant, Hannah supports the entire marketing team with digital content, PR, events production and more.

Rhian Pennington

Operations Support Manager

Rhian has over 25 years of office experience with a wide and varied skill set. She joined Seventy Ninth Group as an executive assistant and has recently expanded her role to Operations Support Manager, helping co-ordinate the business approach to health, safety and welfare, leading on the maintenance of our office headquarters in the UK, and the project management of our natural resources campaigns in the Republic of Guinea.

Ella Simpson - Williams

Executive Assistant to the CEO

Ella studied Law with Criminology at Edge Hill University and graduated in 2019 with a first-class degree. She then went to work for Weightmans as Legal Engineer where she worked alongside legal professionals to help bridge the gap between the legal world and tech. At the Seventy Ninth Group as an Executive Assistant to the CEO, Ella oversees both internal and external projects, liaising with stakeholders to reach project milestones. She also assists with CEO communications, travel arrangements and diary.

Jennifer Salcedo

Personal Assistant to Jake and Curtis Webster

Jennifer has a background in real estate with over three years’ experience in the residential property sector. Her BTEC in Business and Enterprise from Southport College gave her valuable business insight. She has previous experience within different sectors of the property market such as conveyancing, identification handling and estate agency work. As the Personal Assistant to the Managing Director and the Investment Director, Jennifer ensures that their schedules are properly managed, and all related projects are completed efficiently to the best quality.

Emma Cox

Business Support Administrator

Having trained in Hospitality Management, Emma worked for a hotel chain in Oxfordshire and Middlesex. After moving to the North West, she has worked in several sectors including hospitality, recruitment, medical supplies and building and maintenance, giving her a broad range of administrative skills. At the Seventy Ninth Group as the company’s Operations Support Administrator, Emma is responsible for assisting the Operations Support Manager and wider team with workstreams, projects and administration.

Jon Holmes

Compliance Coordinator

Jon has joined the Seventy Ninth Group from a role with the NHS. He has previously worked as a Quality Assurance Officer at PaymentShield and been a Quality Control Manager at a company which handled PPI claims from people that had previously been in IVAs. He also worked for the Inland Revenue when living in New Zealand. As Compliance Coordinator at the Seventy Ninth Group, Jon will be assisting the Head of Compliance and the senior management team in protecting business assets, reputation and sustainability.

Paige Walker

Purchase Ledger and Accounts Assistant

Paige has graduated with a degree in Business Management and Finance. Since leaving university four years ago, she's been working in property management. Paige works as Accounts and Purchase Ledger Assistant, managing the company accounts and dealing with daily invoices.

Anastasiia Kozmina

Receptionist

Originally from Ukraine, Anastasiia has a Master’s degree in International Law and International Relationships. She has two years’ experience as a lawyer. Anastasiia works as the Seventy Ninth Group receptionist at our head office, and looks forward to developing her career in the UK.

Reenu Sehgal

Investor Relations - Corporate

Reenu is a passionate, empathetic and seasoned professional. She has nearly two decades of experience working with one of the largest media companies in MENA; in key account management, corporate sales, strategy, partnerships and relationship management. Over the years, Reenu has created an impressive network within the VC industry, fund managers and family offices. She takes pride in her attention to detail and can create unique and bespoke opportunities for the clients she engages with. She was born in the UAE and considers Dubai her home.

Ben Rockell

Head of Capital Markets

Ben heads the capital raising activities of the Seventy Ninth Group through the company's Dubai-based entity, Seventy Ninth Global. He oversees our fixed-income and private equity divisions raising capital for the Group's projects across the UK property sector and the natural resources sector in the Republic of Guinea. Ben manages and strengthens relationships with, and is trusted by, hundreds of clients and capital partners from over 30 jurisdictions globally.

Previously working for a leading financial brokerage in the Middle East, Ben also qualified as a UK-qualified financial advisor through the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (CISI), ensuring he is fully Retail Distribution Review (RDR) and MiFID compliant, with adept knowledge of FCA and PRA regulations.

Patrick Willard

Senior Account Manager

After graduating from Canterbury Christ Church University, Patrick accepted a position at a leading wealth management company in the Middle East. Leading strategic business development and strengthening client management and relationships. Patrick is also ESMA/MiFID II compliant for investment advice through the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (CISI); demonstrating thorough understanding of the essentials of financial planning and private client asset management. In his role as Senior Account Manager, Patrick plays a pivotal role in the day-to-day management of, and communication with, prospective and current clients, whilst providing support in implementing strategic solutions to achieve clients' goals.

Jack Gallagher

Client Onboarding Administrator

Jack has previously worked for a large hotel chain as a reservation's agent and is a detail-orientated professional with hands-on experience in utilisation of content development, writing, editing and research skills. He has a broad knowledge of computer software, including Microsoft Office, Opera PMS and Guestline.

Jack's role as Client Onboarding Administrator will see him assist and support the investment team, with all aspects of onboarding and administrative tasks.

Ethan Webster

Administrative Assistant

Ethan studied Business, Media & Sports at school, before going on to study Uniform Public Services with the intention of starting a career in the Police. Before long Ethan was keen to follow his brothers into the Seventy Ninth Group family business, and bring further value by training as a financial advisor, which he is currently undertaking. In the meantime Ethan is supporting Jake, Curtis and the investments team across various business projects.

Suzanne Wolohan

Marketing Analyst

Suzanne has worked with and consulted for a variety of brands and companies across different industries, including the environmental and extractive oil & petroleum energy sectors. She has worked in both the UK and US before progressing to the Seventy Ninth Group in her role as a Marketing Analyst, leading on insights and analysis for the marketing team and acting as marketing lead for key projects.

Emily Lawrence

Social Media & Content Co‑ordinator

Emily graduated in 2022 with a 2:1 BBSC (Hons) in Business & Management with Marketing at Edge Hill University. After her graduation she worked in retail for a year before joining Seventy Ninth Group as Social Media & Content Coordinator, creating and planning content for the company’s social media platforms.

Rebecca Lloyd

Client Onboarding Administrator

Rebecca has worked in customer service at an independent spectacle lens supplier, where she managed all customer queries.

Rebecca's role as Client Onboarding Administrator will see her support the investment team, with all aspects of onboarding and administrative tasks.

Matthew Thomas

Client Onboarding Administrator

Matt has spent the last 8 years working in insurance, firstly in the customer services team and then moving into the administration team. Matt then went on to work as a system support analyst.

At the Seventy Ninth Group as a Client Onboarding Administrator, Matt will help with the onboarding process, assisting the investment team with all aspects of onboarding and administrative tasks.

Liene Buklagina

Client Onboarding Administrator

Originally from Latvia, Liene worked in Preston Magistrates Court as court clerk after university, before moving back home to work as a sanctions screening specialist for the SEB (Banking) Group. After gaining experience in both sectors, Liene moved on to working as Junior Compliance Specialist.

At the Seventy Ninth Group as a Client Onboarding Administrator, Liene will support the investment team, with all aspects of onboarding and administrative tasks.

Joseph Crawley

Property Development Manager

Joe has worked in the construction industry for over 20 years. He began his working life contracting throughout the UK and Europe where he gained a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of construction. Working with investors around the globe, Joe has sourced, designed and project managed numerous properties from residential dwellings to commercial and leisure assets. Joe's role at the Seventy Ninth Group as Property Development Manager will see him continuing this, helping with the progression of our property developments.

Laura Fletcher

Human Resources Assistant

Laura is a proactive and ambitious Human Resources professional with over 6 years of experience in the field. She is CIPD-qualified, and has gained valuable expertise in various sectors, including retail, financial services, and social housing. Laura is known for her excellent communication and leadership capabilities. As HR Assistant, Laura supports the HR Manager in implementing the people operational strategy throughout the organisation.