Sir David James Scott Cooksey (14 May 1940 – 28 January 2024) was a British businessman,

venture capitalist Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in terms of number ...

and policy advisor.

Education

Cooksey was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (also known as The Hall and Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university" and was the las ...

, where he gained a degree in

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

. He was made an Honorary Fellow in 1995.

Career

Cooksey embarked on a career as an industrial

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, rising through the management of the company Formica International, and finally leading the management buy-out of a subsidiary in 1971. In 1981, he formed Advent Venture Partners, one of the first

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

firms in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, which provided financing for technology-based businesses. He remained chairman until September 2006. He was the first chairman of the British Venture Capital Association (1983/4) and chairman of the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (2005/6). Cooksey was chairman of the Audit Commission from 1986 to 1995, and in 1996, as chairman of the Local Government Commission for England, proposed the introduction of

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

in many areas of England. In 2003, Cooksey was appointed to chair the Biosciences Industry Growth Taskforce by

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury or HMT), and informally referred to as the Treasury, is the Government of the United Kingdom’s economic and finance ministry. The Treasury is responsible for public spending, financial services policy, Tax ...

and the DTI and issued the report "Biosciences 2015" that year. Cooksey revised and reissued the report in 2009. In 2006, he published the Cooksey Review of UK health research for HM Treasury which led to a new funding structure and approach to medical research in the UK. It also paved the way to new approaches to pharmaceutical licensing. Sir David Cooksey was a director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

from 1994 until 2005, including a period as Chairman of Directors from 2001. He was a Governor of the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

from 1995 to 1999, and was Chairman of the Board of Directors at Diamond Light Source Ltd from its formation in 2002 until September 2008. Cooksey was chairman of the

Francis Crick Institute The Francis Crick Institute (formerly the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation) is a biomedical research centre in London, which was established in 2010 and opened in 2016. The institute is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, Im ...

from 2009 to August 2017. He was Pro Chancellor of the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

from 2009–2013. Sir David Cooksey was

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of London and Continental Railways from 2006 to 2011. He was appointed chairman of

Bechtel Bechtel Corporation () is an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company founded in San Francisco, California in 1898, and headquartered in Reston, Virginia in the Washington metropolitan area. , the '' E ...

Ltd in 2008. He chaired UK Financial Investments Limited from 2009 to 2012.

Personal life

In May 1973, Cooksey married Janet Wardell-Yerburgh, known as Poppy, the widow of the Olympic oarsman Hugh Wardell-Yerburgh, who had a daughter from her first marriage. They had a daughter and a son, born in 1974 and 1976, and lived at Brooklands, Swanwick, Hampshire, and Aston House, Lower Mall,

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

. They were divorced in 2003. Cooksey married Mary Ann Lutyens, widow of Richard Lutyens, in January 2011. Cooksey was a keen sailor and a member of the

Royal Yacht Squadron The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) is a British yacht club. Its clubhouse is Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Member yachts are given the suffix RYS to their names, and are permitted (with the appropriate warrant) to we ...

. Sir David Cooksey died from a heart attack on 28 January 2024, at the age of 83.

Awards and honours

Cooksey was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1993. He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(GBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2007 for public service. He has received Honorary Degrees from

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, University of Southampton and

Kingston University Kingston University London is a Public university, public research university located within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South London, South West London, England. Its roots go back to the Kingston Technical Institute, founded ...

and he has Honorary Fellowships at The

Academy of Medical Sciences The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. It is one of the four UK National Academy, National Academies, the others being the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. Its ...

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and the

British Science Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chief ...

. He was elected Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

in 2020.

References

Sources

Our Board of Directors
Diamond Light Source Ltd

Hall of Fame
Sir David Cooksey: The yacht can wait until the £1.3bn health research spend is shipshape
''The Independent'', 23 April 2006
Curriculum Vitae
European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association * , BBC News {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooksey, David 1940 births 2024 deaths British businesspeople Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Knights Bachelor Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) Fellows of King's College London Honorary Fellows of the Royal Society People educated at Westminster School, London