The family office of British billionaire James Dyson has promoted Jane Simpson to run its financial investments unit, making her one of the top female money managers for the world’s superrich.
Simpson recently took over as Weybourne’s chief investment officer following the departure of Bjorn Thelander, 59, said people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the details are private.
Simpson, 54, formerly served as deputy CIO of Weybourne, which oversees holdings spanning hedge funds, venture capital and real estate.
A representative for Dyson — the UK’s richest person, with a net worth of about $17.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index — declined to comment on the staffing changes.
Simpson joins a growing number of female professionals taking on top roles at family offices.
Former Foresite Capital executive Alisa Mall was hired in 2022 to oversee Michael Dell’s assets, while Sergey Brin’s family office recently hired Rachel Teo, the former head of sustainability for Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, to manage green investments. A group of female Credit Suisse veterans is also helping usher in a new era at a family office for Europe’s Opel dynasty.
Overall, women make up about a fifth of family office staffers globally, according to research published last year by the recruitment firm Agreus and KPMG. That lagged behind totals for the global workforce during the same period based on a LinkedIn survey of businesses in 163 nations.
Vacuum riches
Weybourne has more than 60 employees between the UK and Singapore who help support Dyson’s fortune, which includes his eponymous vacuum-maker, country estate and one of Britain’s largest farming businesses.
Simpson, a British native who has worked at Weybourne since at least 2018, previously served as a director of a UK publishing company focusing on military history, according to registry filings. She also helped oversee businesses owned by John Botts, a former executive at the European private equity giant CVC Capital Partners PLC, filings show.
Simpson took on her latest role when Thelander stepped back as CIO after almost six years in the London-based role. The Swedish native previously ran his own investment firm in Switzerland and held senior finance positions at the food-packaging giant Tetra Laval before joining Weybourne. He’s now looking for part-time and contract adviser roles across the UK, Sweden and Switzerland, according to his profile on LinkedIn, where he didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.
Set up in 2013, Weybourne has recently sought to add new members to its money management team, with London job postings for a real estate associate and a venture capital analyst as well as an investment manager to develop strategies for long-based equity allocations. Former British army officer James Bucknall, 65, is Weybourne’s CEO