Beyond King’s

An 11+ entrant and King’s Scholar, OV Lindsey Matthews (Cl 81-88) triumphed in academics at school, securing a place at Cambridge with A-levels and S-levels in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.

In addition to his studies, Lindsey also enjoyed spending time with the photography club and 6th form cinema club, scoring for the cricket team and supporting behind the scenes in the Theatre.

Having completed his MA in Natural Sciences and Computer Science at Cambridge, Lindsey began his career in financial markets by joining SBC (soon to become UBS) in 1992.

Lindsey remained with UBS for 28 years in various roles, including Global Head of Investment Risk and European Chief Risk Officer of UBS Asset Management, Co-Head of UBS Delta (a risk software platform for clients) and a Senior Advisor to UBS Wealth Management.

He now has over 30 years’ experience in financial markets, now as Chief Risk Officer for the Universities Superannuation Scheme. Lindsey has also served as Chair of CFA UK and became a governor of CFA Institute in 2024, the industry body for the global investment management profession.  He is also a Visiting Fellow at Henley Business School.

OV Dr Jonathan Cox (W 80-83) joined King’s to study Biology, Maths, Physics and Chemistry A-level, alongside enjoying rugby and athletics. His passion for science then led to a BSc and a PhD in Chemistry at Durham University.

Moving to Cambridge, Jonathan was a postdoctoral research assistant in the Chemistry Department. Onwards to the MRC Centre for Protein Engineering, where, with 2018 Nobel Prizewinner Sir Greg Winter, Jonathan cloned human antibody genes for therapeutic antibodies.

In 1993, he became a lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Bath and has been there ever since. At Bath, amongst other things, Jonathan invented a colourful educational magnetic model of DNA, and discovered various tricks that sharks use to detect scent. The shark work is on display at the Natural History Museum, London. Jonathan added, “Currently I am developing a shark-inspired device to detect tiny concentrations of chemicals involved in disease, security (e.g. explosives) and well, anything!”

A sports journalist and broadcaster by trade, OV Louise Gwilliam (K 03-10) is currently Talent Director at Crowd Network, a Manchester-based company that creates multi-platform content for athletes, brands, clubs and governing bodies. Louise co-founded the company in 2020 with three former BBC colleagues and has since launched successful shows such as For The Love of Rugby, For The Love of Cricket and most recently Long Story Short with former England footballers Jill Scott and Karen Carney.

Among her responsibilities at Crowd are setting the company culture, bringing in new talent both on and off-air and further expanding Crowd’s female-led content. Louise is passionate about promoting gender equality in sports, challenging the status quo in audio, video and beyond and encouraging authentic investment in the women’s sports space.

At King’s, Louise was Head of Kittermaster House and involved in all sports including hockey and athletics. Her main love, though, was Netball, and as part of the 1st VII, Louise helped the team to the U19 Schools Nationals Finals. Louise went on to read French and History of Art at University College London, where alongside her studies, she began her career in sports media starting out as a runner on BBC Radio 5 Live’s 606 football phone-in with Ian Wright and Kelly Cates.

Louise has undertaken a number of roles since leaving University including reporting on the 2015 Rugby World Cup and working as a talent assistant for Tongue Tied Media. Louise joined BBC Sport as a full-time broadcast journalist in 2017, working across the BBC Sport website and driving their rugby and women’s sport coverage. This culminated in a two-year stint as 5 Live’s Rugby Union producer where her highlight was working at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

In 2020, Louise started Crowd Network and has since used her platform to encourage more diversity into the sports media world, both on and off camera.

OV Alex Wenyon (Cr 07-14) is currently Head of Global Marketing and PR at Friisberg, a management consultancy specialising in C-suite executive search. Her expertise in branding, stakeholder engagement and strategic transformation has contributed to her rapid progression into this global leadership role.

Alex began coxing at King’s in 2009, a passion that went on to shape much of her life. During her time at school, she served as Captain of Boats and Head of Creighton House, took part in Young Enterprise, performed with the Dance Company, appeared in dramatic productions and supported the Charity Committee, all while completing A levels in Business, Drama and Classics.

After King’s, she continued coxing at Oxford Brookes University while studying Business and Marketing Management. Her placement year with Harley-Davidson marked the beginning of a flourishing career and coincided with significant developments in her rowing. Competing for Moseley Boat Club, she secured several race wins and including the Thames Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, alongside fellow OV Rufus Tilt. She was subsequently selected to represent Team GB as a cox.

Alex went on to win gold at the Gavirate International Para Regatta in the PR3 Mixed 4+. Racing against strong international crews the GB boat not only secured victory but also set a new world’s best time. She achieved this while maintaining a full-time professional career, training within GB High Performance programmes, demonstrating resilience, discipline and commitment.

Professionally, Alex’s trajectory has been equally impressive. After her placement with Harley-Davidson, she joined Nissan Motor Corporation on the Sales and Marketing Graduate Scheme, rising through several promotions to become Campaign Management Controller. She later moved into the communications sector as an Account Manager at Performance Communications, supporting major clients including Triumph UK, Michelin, FIAT, Stellantis and CUPRA, delivering integrated marketing and PR strategies across digital and traditional media.

A sabbatical in Sydney gave Alex the opportunity to establish a freelance PR consultancy while coaching at UTS Haberfield Rowing Club. In January 2025, she returned to the UK to join Friisberg & Partners International as a consultant, progressing quickly to her current role as Head of Global Marketing and PR.

Since retiring from competitive coxing, Alex has continued to champion women in sport. She has helped to launch a new female sports podcast, Only Dead Fish Go With the Flow, aiming to inspire women and girls to stay involved in sport and address the significant dropout rate among girls.

OV Steve Perera’s (Cr 86-93) journey began at King’s thanks to an Assisted Place – an opportunity that proved transformative. Growing up on a housing association estate in a single-parent family, the transition was significant, but sport quickly became his anchor.

He represented the school in athletics and the 1st XV rugby team, and was a committed member of Creighton House, captaining the tug-of-war team to consecutive victories in the Sixth Form.

After leaving King’s, Steve pursued a career in financial planning, driven by a desire to help people make confident long-term decisions about their money. Today, Britannic Place, the Worcester-based Chartered financial planning firm he founded, celebrates its 20th year. Under his leadership, the firm has earned national recognition for its technical expertise, client-centred approach and consistently high professional standards.

Recent accolades include being named Leading Adviser Practice at the Schroders UK Platform Awards and winning Micro Wealth Management Firm of the Year at the MoneyAge Awards for the third time in four years. Britannic Place is also one of only three small Chartered firms in the UK to be recognised as a VouchedFor Top Rated Firm for four consecutive years and was recently named in the Citywire Top100.

​Lifelong learning has always been central to Steve’s career. In addition to numerous industry qualifications, he recently completed an MSc in Finance at the University of Gloucestershire, graduating with a Distinction – demonstrating his commitment to staying ahead in a fast-moving profession.

Steve also contributes to the wider Worcestershire community. He recently became a Director of Worcestershire Ambassadors, an organisation dedicated to promoting the county as a great place to live, work, invest, visit and do business. The Ambassadors have raised more than £1.25 million for local causes.

King’s has remained a constant throughout Steve’s life. All three of his children have passed through the school, and he is regularly seen on the touchline supporting his youngest at senior school fixtures. His connection with Worcester Rugby Football Club is equally long-standing: from making his debut at 13 to coaching his son’s team to victory in the North Midlands Cup, matching his own success in the same competition as a youth player. Britannic Place now proudly supports the club as a main sponsor.

From a life-changing opportunity at King’s to building a nationally recognised financial planning firm, Steve’s story reflects resilience, purpose and a commitment to giving back to the communities that shaped him.

Few scientists can claim to have reshaped our understanding of plant diversity on a global scale. OV Professor Bill Baker (W 85-90), a systematic biologist of international renown, has spent his career unravelling the evolutionary story of flowering plants, from the intricate taxonomy of palms to the grand architecture of the angiosperm tree of life.

He is currently Senior Research Leader at Kew, where he has worked since 1998, and Honorary Professor at Aarhus University, Denmark.

Some OVs may remember hearing from Bill when he returned to King’s in 2011 to give the Barnabas Address.

A King’s Scholar, Bill took Physics, Chemistry and Biology for A-level alongside his duties as a School Monitor and Head of House, somehow finding time for theatre productions and fencing too! Bill’s hard work earned him a place at Oxford, in Pembroke College, to read Botany. Having achieved his degree, Bill went to the University of Reading where he secured his MSc in Plant Taxonomy and then his PhD in Botany.

Bill’s fascination for the natural world, demonstrated by his academic journey, has evolved into a lifelong commitment to plant science. Today, his work spans taxonomy, phylogenetics, evolution, biogeography and conservation, drawing on biological collections at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. His approach is holistic: herbarium specimens, cutting-edge genomic tools and fieldwork converge to answer fundamental questions about plant diversity.

For over three decades, palms have been at the heart of Bill’s research. These iconic plants, vital to tropical ecosystems and human economies, have served as a model group for exploring taxonomy and evolution. His work has clarified relationships within this complex family and illuminated their role in global biodiversity.

Perhaps Bill’s most ambitious endeavour is leading Kew’s Tree of Life Initiative. This groundbreaking project aims to sequence all 13,600 genera of flowering plants using the Angiosperms353 genomic toolkit. The goal? To complete the angiosperm tree of life – a resource that will transform our understanding of plant evolution and open new frontiers in comparative biology.

Bill’s vision extends beyond taxonomy. He explores how phylogenetic data can inform pressing global questions: How have biomes evolved? What drives speciation? How can we manage natural resources sustainably? Recent studies under his leadership have tackled these challenges, demonstrating the practical power of evolutionary science.

From the herbarium shelves of Kew to the forests of the tropics, Bill’s research not only deepens the knowledge of plant diversity but also equips us to address the ecological and economic challenges of the future. In mapping the tree of life, Bill is charting a course for science that is as visionary as it is vital.

OV Jimmy Graham (Os 06-17): Entrepreneur / Co-Founder of Streamz

Nominated by his business partner, OV Archie Connor (Os 10-17)

While at King’s, Jimmy studied Business, Geography, and Design Technology (DT) at A-Level and took part in Young Enterprise, where he found a passion for business.

Upon leaving school, Jimmy founded his first company, a property-technology start-up, at 18 years old (in 2017). The venture attracted external investment early on and was soon recognised as a finalist in the 2021 Great British Entrepreneur Awards, highlighting his natural aptitude for building meaningful businesses. He has since exited his prop-tech business and his property law firm; these experiences laid the foundation for a series of successful projects that followed.

Jimmy’s entrepreneurial drive evolved into the creation of Streamz Solutions during COVID (www.streamz.store) an online tech and e-commerce business he co-founded with Archie Connor. Streamz helps influencers, artists, gyms, events, and businesses build custom-branded merchandise and e-commerce stores and set-ups, combining in-house design, production, and direct-to-customer fulfilment.

Originally launched to help independent gyms and sports clubs boost brand awareness and generate new revenue streams, Streamz quickly expanded its client base. By 2024, it was collaborating with major festivals, content creators, and high-profile artists, with one client alone generating nearly £300,000 in sales through Streamz’s platform in just six weeks.

In 2025, Streamz was again named a finalist for the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, cementing its reputation as one of the UK’s most exciting dynamic creative-commerce businesses. The company continues to grow, now supplying products not only for influencers, events and gyms but also public organisations and government tenders, leveraging its UK and overseas manufacturing capabilities to deliver quality products at scale.

OV Matt Jones (W 90-97) attended King’s, where he was involved in various activities including working backstage on drama productions, participating in the Himalayan Club, and serving as a House Prefect. He furthered his education at the University of Birmingham, graduating with a first-class Master of Engineering degree in Electronic & Electrical Engineering with Management. He is also a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and a Chartered Engineer within the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET).

Matt began his professional career in 2002 as a graduate engineer at Land Rover. He subsequently built a successful career at Jaguar Land Rover, eventually serving as Director of Future Technology in the UK and then the US. Following his tenure at Jaguar Land Rover, he became Chief Product Officer at moovel Group, Daimler’s mobility solutions company. From August 2017, Matt served as Senior Vice President at Virgin Hyperloop One, based in Los Angeles. In this role, he led the software and embedded hardware engineering teams, which were responsible for developing all the systems required to manage, control, and operate an autonomous hyperloop system, encompassing embedded software and electronics, networking, cloud data and services, and customer-facing applications.

Prior to joining Ford, Matt was the corporate vice president of global engineering at Wind River. There, he spearheaded the delivery of safety-critical connected intelligent systems, accelerating digital transformation across diverse sectors such as aerospace, industrial, defence, medical, networking, and automotive.

Currently, Matt Jones holds the position of executive director of technology platforms at Ford. In this capacity, he oversees the Connected Vehicle Software, Research & Advanced Engineering, Global Technology Strategy, and Technology Platform Program Management teams. His responsibilities involve the delivery, development, research, and planning of activities related to digital software and systems, electrification, automated systems, robotics, sustainability, materials, and manufacturing.

Beyond his direct professional roles, Matt is a speaker at international conferences and exhibitions. His contributions have been recognised with accolades such as being named TU-Automotive Influencer of the Year in 2015 and again in 2022, and Motorsport leader of the year for SDV in 2025. He actively contributes to the industry by serving on the AUTOSAR executive board and as the president of COVESA (formerly GENIVI). COVESA is an alliance that unites like-minded organizations globally with the shared goal of developing open standards and innovative technologies for connected vehicle systems, including in-vehicle, on-edge, and in-cloud services, interfaces, and data exchange.

With a career spanning nearly three decades, OV Toby Moody (K 80-91) has become one of the most recognisable voices and faces in global motorsport. From the dusty trails of the Dakar Rally to the hallowed tarmac of Le Mans, his work as a commentator, journalist, PR professional, and host has brought the thrill of racing to audiences across continents. Most recently Toby has again been working at the Le Mans 24 hours for Porsche Motorsport where he shared the stage with OV Derek Bell (S 56-58) a five time winner of the race.

While at King’s, Toby was busy with a little cricket but much cross-country, cycling (regional champion in 1988) as well as being an NCO in the CCF. His love for motorsport, though, was clear from an early age. At 16, Toby worked as a mechanic for the Benetton Formula One team and Prodrive during the school holidays. His career aspiration was to work in PR for a race team, which he realised very quickly as his hands-on experience laid the groundwork for a PR role with WilliamsF1 and later a successful stint running PR for the Nissan Rally Team in the UK, which clinched the British title twice in three years.

Toby’s commentary years started at the Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb, eventually leading to his role as the worldwide voice of MotoGP on Eurosport TV for 18 years with a distinctive style that went down well with viewers.

He has also lent his voice to the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) and British Superbike Championship (BSB) for ITV Sport, and was the lead commentator for the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) that included the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours.

Toby’s commentary has reached audiences in the USA, Australia, South Africa, and the Far East. He was the voice of the Paris-Dakar Rally from 2001 to 2010, and notably commentated the first World Championship motorsport race in 4K Ultra HD at Silverstone in 2015 for BT Sport.

His work has also included being a lead commentator at X Games for ESPN in Los Angeles, Rally X on Ice in Scandinavia, and hosting for Audi AG and Porsche Motorsport at Le Mans and Spa.

In recent years, Toby has served as Media Manager for the Prodrive Bahrain Raid Xtreme team and motorsport legend Sébastien Loeb on the Dakar Rally that he has been part of since 2001 when it was still running in Africa. He also hosted Porsche Motorsport’s press conferences and Race Talk updates at Le Mans over the past five seasons as well as hosting MotoGP and F1 VIP guests at Silverstone’s premier hospitality with his now 30+ year knowledge of the sport, working alongside Jake Humphrey, Vernon Kay, Vicki Butler-Henderson and Jodie Kidd.

Beyond commentary, Toby has worked for KTM Motorcycle AG in Austria assisting with their brand building and VIP Hospitality Experiences centred around the MotoGP world championship.

Jumping the other side of the microphone Toby has driven quick single seater race cars too holding class records at Shelsley Walsh and Prescott while also played a pivotal role in bringing the legendary Auto Union C Type Grand Prix car back to Shelsley Walsh in 2016, honouring the venue’s status as the oldest motorsport track in the world that is “Formula 1 up a country lane”.