Menu
Founded in 2009 by Rob Hersov and Marcus Watson, Adoreum Partners was originally launched as a specialist business development consultancy, connecting global clients with a broad and influential network. The initial proposal was to identify and introduce relevant prospects and partners to luxury, lifestyle and financial services brands and charities, through direct introductions, events and strategic partnerships. Adoreum’s first clients included Bombardier Aerospace Business Aviation, The Arts Club, U-Boat Worx submersibles, Six Senses Resorts and Spas, and YachtPlus (the world’s first fractional ownership model of a fleet of superyachts designed by Lord Norman Foster), amongst others.
Since its inception, Adoreum has collaborated with some of the world’s leading companies and premium brands including Audemars Piguet, Bentley, Bloomberg, Cartier, Hearst, IWC, Jaguar, Krug, Mercedes, Metro Bank, MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Net-a-Porter, Roberto Cavalli, Rolex, Rolls-Royce, SkyBridge Capital, UBS, UNICEF, Veuve Cliquot, VistaJet, and Zegna. Adoreum has created events for brands in locations across the world, including Sydney, New York, LA, San Francisco, Marrakesh, Prague, Bulgaria, Florence, Monaco, South of France, Zurich, Geneva, Dublin and London.
Adoreum has developed a proprietary global database of 35,000+ HNW and U/HNW influencers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, academics, philanthropists and creative visionaries. From day one, Adoreum has worked closely with charities and foundations, connecting them with this audience in a bid to use the collective philanthropic power and influence of the network to help build a better future for all.
Ever evolving to meet the needs of the day, Adoreum has transformed from a successful stand-alone consultancy business to a members’ club, featuring an impressive series of weekly, monthly and annual events. More recently, it has built a merchant banking platform to manage and commercialise its ever-expanding network of meaningful relationships through investing, deal-brokering, and creating new businesses, whilst also helping to accelerate these and other companies and organisations through its global network and collective expertise.
Adoreum © 2022
close
Creative Partner
Andy is a compassionate Creative Director, Strategist, Coach & Mentor, working with many high-profile music artists, brands, organisations, creative individuals and creative businesses through his company, Belonging Studio Ltd.
A long-time collaborator with Massive Attack, Robert del Naja and West Management (Young Fathers, Soulwax, Baba Stiltz, Arinze Kene, etc.), Andy has co-produced feature docs (Nureyev, One Hour of Girl Power), co-founded podcasts (Saints of Somewhere), script developed & edited for high profile directors and EPs (Chris Symes, Mario Stylianides, Amanda Boyle, Traktor, Ringan Ledwidge, Ed Morris, etc.), written, directed, produced, co-commissioned and EP’d music content for myriad artists (from Rudimental, to Elton John, to Spice Girls and beyond), marshalled campaigns for high-profile brands, and co-founded and run a multi-award winning Creative Technology Studio within Oscar-winning VFX business, The Mill.
Andy is a long-time champion of diversity and inclusivity and mentors many young (and not so young) people from diverse backgrounds to help them be visible, take their rightful place and shine, particularly within the creative industries. He also fights, through his creative work and coaching, to deliver new narratives of representations for men and boys, challenging toxic masculinity, helping to create a future that’s better for us all.
close
Co-Founder & Chairman
Marcus is an experienced corporate adviser, entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. Marcus began his career in private banking and wealth management, initially in sales and marketing and later as an investment analyst, at private merchant bank Duncan Lawrie. He moved to Sigma Technology Management where he invested in the TMT sector; became founding Director of Sales & Marketing of Home House; and then co-founded Edison Interactive Group, the owner of TV production company Done & Dusted, online broadcasting network Swtich2 and sports e-commerce site Kitbag.
Marcus is a co-founder of Ironbridge Capital Partners LLP, a regulated corporate advisory and investment business, and a Senior Advisor of D5 Capital a regulated corporate finance advisor operating in the global media, technology and marketing services markets. Marcus is also the co-founder of genomics company Deepself Health. He is the co-founder of recruitment companies in London, New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta and an investor in more than 30 media, technology, health and wellness companies.
Marcus was formerly a non-executive director of The Arts Club and Pulse Films, now part of Vice Media, and is the co-founder and Chairman of the Advisory Board of production company Object Media. Marcus is on the Advisory Board of Unicef UK and a supporter of a number of other charities including Crohn’s & Colitis UK and The Listening Place. He has an MSc in International Business Management from King’s College, University of London.
Marcus founded Adoreum Partners with Rob Hersov in March 2009.
close
Partner & Chief Ideas Officer
David is an internet and media entrepreneur, and recognised as one of the pioneers of the internet in Europe credited with writing one of the first books on the Internet in 1991 and also wrote an influential work anticipating the Internet boom of the 1990s in ‘The Internet an Investment Perspective’ (Financial Publications Ltd 1994).
David was the co-founder of a number of successful technology startups such as 365 Corporation (Football 365, Rugby 365 etc.), Demon Internet, Autonomy, Rage Software, Durlacher (now Panmure Gordon) and others.
David graduated from the University of East Anglia in 1986 where he now sits on the advisory board. He was involved in the forming and founding of Metrodome Film in the UK and in Ginger Media’s purchase of Virgin Radio in the late 1990s. He also purchased Laughing Stock, Europe’s leading comedy record label in the mid- 1990s, a company whose artists included Eddie Izzard, Bill Hicks, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore, Rowan Atkinson and Arnold Brown.
He was the founder of VideoJug, the instructional video educational website, which had produced approximately 60,000 original how- to films by June 2010. Videojug specialised in making food films and David has stated that his next project will involve food technology, TV and media FoodCorp.com.
close
Partner & Chairman of The Adoreum Club
Andrew started his career within The Barclays Group where he held several senior management positions and gained over twenty years’ experience in corporate banking, intermediary business and high net worth complex lending. He went on to form his own specialist property finance and acquisition company helping select clients build diverse property portfolios.
His innate ability to proactively problem solve and approach deals from new and creative perspectives has led to high demand for his skills. A key element of his success lies in his unprecedented networking capabilities and connections around the world. These skills have seen him move into sectors as varied as stockbroking, financial consultancy, music publishing and film production. He is a founder and financial director of Gennaker Films and a key adviser to University of Wales Trinity Saint David where he creates mutually beneficial investment opportunities for the university and those who work with them.
For the past five years Andrew has also worked with the charities Mellon Township Trust and Mellon Educate and has recently been appointed to the board of directors. Based in South Africa the charity aims to improve the lives of those living in townships by providing quality housing and education.
Loyal and energetic with a focus on making things happen, Andrew is often described as a ‘whirlwind’ of ideas and opportunities. His ability to locate unusual and specialist opportunities makes him the perfect partner to Adoreum.
close
Partner & Managing Director
Katie joined Adoreum in January 2017. Her key responsibility is the Adoreum Club, which holds the Adoreum database of over 35,000 relationships with key decision makers and aims to move the needle for its members businesses and projects by accelerating serendipity through meaningful connectivity; a program of enigmatic curated events, direct introductions and access to unbiased content and perspectives that keep their business, family and lives on the path that’s right for them and for the planet.
Katie began her career at super-luxury British carmaker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, initially in the production engineering side where she worked in the technical laboratory testing and developing bespoke paint colours for customers with one-off requests. After identifying her ability to build meaningful relationships, she ended up in the sales and marketing office where she was instrumental in the set up and execution of a pioneering future retail strategy to engage with new VVIP Rolls-Royce clients directly – The Private Office. Katie was responsible for marketing and taking The Private Office offering to Europe through hotspot activations including the Porto Cervo Summer Studio in Sardinia and Winter Studio at Badrutt’s Palace in St. Moritz.
Katie was a Founding Partner and recently exited MasterPeace – London’s first dedicated mindful painting experience, featured on Dragon’s Den in 2021. She holds a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol, has a passion for art, trees and disability awareness.
close
Senior Advisor
Dr Sneh Khemka MBChB MRCOphth MFHP (Hon)is a well-known figure in the world of healthcare.
He trained as a cancer surgeon in Edinburgh and London, working in the NHS, and ended up specialising in ocular oncology – which is fortunately very rare indeed.
Having set up and successfully sold a small business called Mediletter, Sneh moved into the world of healthcare business, becoming the global Medical Director & Director of Healthcare Development for the Bupa group.
He was then Chief Operating Officer for Advanced Oncotherapy PLC, which has discovered a completely new way to treat cancer with proton radiotherapy, and is a spin off from CERN (home of the Large Hadron Collider).
Sneh was formerly the International Head of Population Health at Aetna/CVS Health, the US healthcare giant. His unit essentially helped to set up the NHS in other countries, and he has businesses in India, Thailand, South Korea, Qatar and Dubai. He specialised in digital healthcare and data analytics. He also sits on the boards of a range of companies, from start ups to large corporates and is an advisor to 2 UK private equity companies.
Sneh is now the CEO of Simply Health.
In his spare time, he continues clinical practice as a radio doctor, where he has a popular weekly call-in show on London’s LBC 97.3FM. He also works as an expedition medic, supporting people undertaking gruelling challenges around the world.
close
Partner – Sport
Wayne has co-founded several European leisure, sport and travel companies and has over 15 years’ experience in the hotel and leisure sector. Wayne is a specialist in business and partnership development and strategic brand associations. Wayne is an innovative, enthusiastic and experienced commercial professional with proven success in the creation, development and implementation of a wide range of sport, leisure and travel related marketing initiatives.
close
Content Partner
Mark is a global brand and communications consultant with over 25 years’ experience within the luxury spirits, technology, goods, and service sectors.
He has been a client, friend and team member of Adoreum and currently assists on content.
In 2019 he established Mission Critical a weekly briefing service dedicated to delivering essential information to curious but time-constrained subscribers.
Mark has spent most of his career in New York and London and has worked extensively in the UK, Europe, the USA, Russia, the Middle East, China, and SE Asia.
He is a trustee of Combat Stress, the UK’s leading charity for veterans’ mental health, and chairs the Passenger Representative Group at London’s Heathrow Airport as well as being a Non-Executive Director of the Heathrow Community Engagement Board. He is a contributing lecturer and tutor at Grenoble Ecole de Management and is a member of Chatham House.
close
Community Executive
Daisy has joined us for the summer following her graduation In American Studies from The University of Manchester.
A keen traveller she has travelled independently throughout South-East Asia and planned and organised a four month long group expedition through South and Central America.
Passionate about American politics, Daisy has spent plenty of time on both sides of The Atlantic.
Daisy will be spending time supporting the membership team and joining us at Adoreum Club events.
close
Senior Advisor
Dominic is an award winning business leader and entrepreneur who was recognised by the Her Majesty the Queen as a pioneer in entrepreneurship at the age of 18 for his role in the initial boom of micro scooters in the late 90s.
Dominic is a member of the Advisory Council for the Coalition for Global Prosperity and a trustee for Computer Aid International who’s initiatives support the missions of the sustainable development goals (SDGs.) He has previously served as a trustee for the Royal Chartered charity the Landscape Institute.
He further serves on the board of Ghana focussed Ethical Apparel Africa and software provider Accloud Plc. which empowers trade in developing countries.
Dominic is the former Chairman of Hela Clothing and driving force behind the award winning garment manufacturer which has facilities in Ethiopia, Kenya and Sri Lanka. Recognised widely for its sustainable and ethical practices, Hela directly employs almost 15,000 people from local communities and generates in excess of $200m USD in revenues.
Dominic is a notable speaker on business ethics and entrepreneurship and serves as an advisor to governments, think tanks and world leaders.
close
Chief of Staff
Rosalie is an accomplished musician and recording artist.
Having started her career at the age of 4, she has since made regular appearances on national tv and BBC Radio. Rosalie has travelled the world with Elton John, Santana, John Martyn, Roxy Music to name a few, and been awarded ‘record of the year’ on NPR, received 5 star reviews in Billboard and been a writer for EMI, Independentie and Chrysalis Publishing for over twenty years.
For the past five years, Rosalie has also worked with the charity Mellon Educate – A South African based charity aiming to improve the lives of those living in townships by providing quality housing and education.
Rosalie currently looks after the CEO and Partners of Adoreum whilst continuing to manage and write songs for other recording artists and work on her own recording projects.
close
Senior Advisor
Juan joined the hospitality group behind 108 Garage and Southam Street in Notting Hill in 2017 as their COO. Juan has over 15 years of international experience in the world of hospitality, with blue chip organisations as well as start-ups. After studying in Business Administration, Juan ventured into luxury hospitality working for Paul Bocuse’s in Lyon, followed by gaining invaluable experience opening the Four Seasons Hotel in Geneva.
He moved to London to work on Pierre Kofmann’s pop up on the roof of Selfridges, eventually being tempted back to the continent to lead the running of Casina Valadier in Rome.
close
Senior Advisor
Rupert is owner and CEO of D5 Capital, a regulated corporate finance specialist in media, marketing services and technology, based in London. Since inception, D5 Capital has completed fifty M&A and fund-raising transactions for companies in UK, Europe and the Middle East.
Working with Adoreum Partners, D5 Capital manages a HNW/UHNW funding platform for growth companies in EMEA region. D5 Capital has helped to raise over $100m for early stage companies, including Connecteam, Easy Payment Gateway, Graze.com (sold to Carlyle), Investis (sold to Gresham) PlaySight Interactive, Spot.IM, Threads Styling and Walkme.
Prior to founding D5 Capital, he created and led financial communications specialist Focus Communications which he sold to Grey Global Group, now part of WPP plc. During his ownership, Focus Communications managed financial communications/investor relations campaigns on over 100 trade sales, IPO’s and private placings.
In 2011 he wrote “Making Millions Through Creativity” as a guide to vendors of marketing services companies.
close
Senior Advisor
Andy is an experienced digital transformation leader. In the 90s he helped take magazines online and brought search engines to Europe as CEO Ask Jeeves. In the ‘noughties’, as CEO digital, and board director, of Associated newspapers & Northcliffe newspapers, he was a founder inventor of the Daily Mail online platform and transformed classifieds listings to online marketplaces particularly in jobs, property & motors. In the teens, he held senior roles in global corporations. As a VP Microsoft he ran the media business and at Hearst he was Global Chief Revenue Officer. He is the founder and CEO of the Coffy app and advises numerous businesses on marketing and strategy.
For many years he was a board director of the UK Advertising Association, the IAB UK, and the IAB Europe. He is a founder director of the London blockchain foundation and a trustee of Grief Encounter. He also has passion around music, being an advisor investor of Sofarsounds.
He is very active Burning Man participant, passionate about anthropology and is an Arsenal supporter.
close
Senior Advisor
Tia is a multi award-winning entrepreneur. The youngest to ever receive the Royal Institute British Architects honorary fellowship, she is the co-founder of Kansara Hackney Ltd, the first ISO-certified sustainable lifestyle consultancy, and CEO of Replenish Earth Ltd, a cause and a collective action to protect the global commons.
Hailed amongst the Top 100 most influential leaders in Tech by the Financial Times and Inclusive Boards, her clients include Coca Cola, Bloomberg, the European Commission, Forbes, Formula One, MIT, and Siemens.
Aside from being the UCL Bartlett’s Ambassador to the Gulf region and advisor to the Economic Times of India, she’s an economist and future cities thought leader. In 2010, she wrote the brief and appointed the architects Foster+Partners for the Saudi American Bank‘s multi-million dollar headquarters as the first female to judge a LEED platinum building in Riyadh.
Tia did her Ph.D. at University College London, Energy Institute on designing future cities and energy evaluation, she has extensive experience in the Arabian Gulf. During her PhD, she worked alongside MIT and the Urban Planning Council, the Executive Affairs Authority, Department of Municipal Affairs, Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority, Regulation and Supervision Bureau to create the first energy baseline and comprehensive energy evaluation in the Gulf.
In 2000 she was invited to present the International Baccalaureate (IB) to Lord Adonis, Educational Policy Adviser at the UK Prime Minister’s Policy Unit, Cabinet Office. Trained at SOAS in Economics and South Asian Studies, whilst working with Bloomberg, she was employed by the Japanese Ministry of Education to modernise the teaching of the English syllabus for High Schools in Japan. While in Japan, she translated the Sanskrit works of Lord Swaminarayan’s “Shikshapatri” into Japanese.
Her publications in peer-reviewed journals range from sustainable cities to human performancehealth and well being, presenting her findings at conferences internationally through social media. She has been invited to advise on sustainable cities for the government and private sector as well as at conferences around the world. In 2012, Tia was invited to present her views to President Hollande and Ban Ki Moon on the UN initiative: Sustainable Energy for All and has since worked closely with the Abu Dhabi government to deliver manageable energy reductions in the built environment, presenting her findings at the World Future Energy Summit, Abu Dhabi.
As a professional moderator, lecturer and author; she has interviewed world figures and experts, moderating for Forbes, Coca Cola, European Business Angels Network and London Business School, and delivered keynote speeches on the future of cities. She has lectured at New Delhi School of Planning; Musashi Institute of Technology; KEA University; McGill University; University of British Columbia; School of Architecture and Planning; and School of Architecture, to name a few. An executive committee member of London Business School’s Global Energy Summit, and also Co-director of the international CleanTechChallenge. In association with the Club of Rome and the United Nations General Assembly she has advised the Royal family of Bhutan and Past Prime Minister Jigme Thinley and Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay on the creation of an international commission on sustainable, economic growth.
close
Senior Advisor
Del Huse is a seasoned Corporate Financier and Private Equity Investor. A qualified Chartered Accountant, Del spent the majority of his career in corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions, and private equity having initially trained at Arthur Andersen before moving to co-found the M&A team at Kroll (now Alix Partners), later working as a Managing Director in private equity funds at Endless LLP and Oakley Capital Private Equity. Most recently Del has run his own investment and advisory business, Roycian Limited, building on a career advising and investing into businesses in the UK and Europe, with extensive Board-level experience.
Del is also a director of property investment platform Sourcing Investments and a senior adviser in other businesses.
close
Events Manager
Courteney joined Adoreum in May 2022 as Events Manager and is responsible for the Adoreum Club calendar of events. Courteney is an experienced creative senior visual merchandiser and project manager.
Prior to Adoreum, Courteney worked with high luxury brands and commercial retail spaces tackling strategic commercial challenges such as branding, merchandising and market development.
A focused eye for detail with a naturally inquisitive mind, Courteney has worked for the Head Office Creative Presentation at Selfridges, London, and Millington Associates Production Company.
close
Membership Team
Harvey joined the Adoreum Team in March 2022 as an intern working with the membership team, helping to provide a high level of service to members and potential clients also assisting with the running and organising of events.
Having studied fashion and textiles in sixth form Harvey is greatly interested in the fashion industry and is always looking into the inspirations behind the latest trends and designers. The links between fashion, music and film industries are a particular point of interest for Harvey and he would like to venture further into these industries down the line in his career.
Harvey hopes to be able to apply his knowledge of fashion and music to future Adoreum events for members interested and involved in these industries. Whilst also providing the highest level of customer service to members during events and being available to assist any members in any way he can.
close
Senior Advisor
Christopher Kenna is CEO and Founder of Brand Advance (BA), a Startups.co.uk top 100 company 2 years in a row, which connects brands with diverse audiences globally, through Insights, Media and Creative that more authentically engages these communities.
Chris is a member of the WFA Diversity Board, and as a mixed race, out gay father – he is a strong advocate for diversity and representations within media and advertising. He is also on the advisory board for the V&A Museums.
An award winning entrepreneur having received the Innovator of the Year Award at the second annual Ex-Forces in Business Awards and was recently named on EMPower’s 100 Ethnic Minority Executives 2020 and OUTstanding top 100 LGBT Executives.
close
Senior Advisor
Simon is one of the most successful creative entrepreneurs in the UK and is a member of the UK Marketing Hall of Fame.
His career includes launching Sega, being CMO of Sky, running Ginger TV in the 90’s (TFI Friday), and creating the first wave dot com giant Football 365.
He was a founding investor and NED at Graze and Tails.com.
Simon co-founded the brand LOVEFiLM, which was sold to Amazon, and is now Prime Video. For the last decade, he has been the Creative Lead for Amazon and the first and only person to date to be made Chief Creative Officer.
In his career, he has built many brands and been recognised with three Emmy nominations and hundreds of creative awards as well as creating billions of dollars of shareholder value.
close
Membership Team
Jacob Tomkins was Adoreum’s first Sales Director in 2008 and returns to the team in 2023 to develop the integrity and wellbeing of the Adoreum Club membership and community.
Jacob has been a prolific brand strategist, publisher, watch collector, writer and consultant to global brands before turning his focus to conservation and wellbeing.
He has his own English woodland and wellbeing retreats business, focusing on body health, integrity of purpose and vision. He is on hand to contribute to the rich Adoreum experience and insure the longevity of the membership itself.
close
Senior Advisor
Cliff is joint Head of Media & Entertainment at Lewis Silkin, Managing Director of Eleven Advisory, Chair of the Ivors Academy Trust and a Trustee of Help Musicians.
Cliff has over two decades experience in digital strategy and advisory, having practised as an in-house counsel and external adviser to some of the world’s biggest names in digital, mobile, brands, live events and online.
In addition, he also works with some of the more disruptive businesses in the areas of artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptography and social and immersive video.
close
Chariman of the Advisory Board
Phil is the Founder and Chairman of Pilot Group. Pilot Group is a privately-owned group of companies focused on providing customers with leading-edge, innovative technology solutions.
An advocate of creative thinking, Phil is motivated by pioneering concepts and inspired by bold new perspectives on commercial issues. He enjoys working with upbeat, ambitious and talented people, helping to fuel his keen interest and investments in a diverse range of start-up businesses.
Phil’s strong sense of community has led him to undertake a variety of significant responsibilities including Board Directorships and Trustee positions with local and national organisations. He is also on the Chair of Governors at one of the top-ranked schools in Manchester.
close
Partner & CEO of RisingGen
Ben is an entrepreneur and business leader, who recently exited the global marketing services group Keko which he helped lead into the UK, USA, Middle East and Asian markets supporting a portfolio of brands including Porsche, Möet-Chandon, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bennett Winch, Centogene, Triumph Motorcycles and Electrify America. He specialises in business transformation and culture building, complemented by particular strengths in branding & marketing, digital & data strategy, and CRM.
In 2019, with Marcus Watson, he co-founded the Modern Affluent Summit. The Modern Affluent Summit seeks to understand the effects of the largest transfer of wealth in history (c$68tn) to the next generation of modern affluent consumers, facilitating insights into how this multi-generational, diverse and global group of individuals intend to use their financial and cultural capital as agents of change.