The Partners

David Webster was appointed chairman of Makinson Cowell in October 2004. In April 2003, he was appointed deputy chairman and senior independent director of InterContinental Hotels Group plc and became non-executive chairman of InterContinental Hotels Group plc on 1 January 2004. He was chairman of Safeway plc from 1997 until March 2004 when he relinquished this position on completion of the sale of Safeway. Formerly, he was a non-executive director of Reed Elsevier PLC.

Bob Cowell is a founding partner of Makinson Cowell. He joined Hoare Govett (now part of ABN Amro) in 1972, where he was an insurance analyst. After three years with Hanson Trust in the late 1970s, he returned to Hoare Govett as head of research and later became managing director of the UK equities business. Bob holds a chemistry doctorate from Oxford University.

Marian MacBryde is a founding partner and the finance director of Makinson Cowell. She is also a member of the UK Accounting Standards Board's Urgent Issues Task Force. Between 1981 and 1989 she was an investment analyst at Hoare Govett, specialising in the unlisted securities market. She qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young.

Howard Coates, partner, joined Makinson Cowell in 1992 after 19 years with BZW, latterly as chief executive of its global equities division. During his time with BZW, Howard was also head of research, corporate broking advisor to a number of leading UK companies and, for many years, a top-rated chemicals and pharmaceuticals analyst. He holds a chemistry doctorate from Oxford University.

Bill Jenks, partner, joined Makinson Cowell at the time of the formation of its New York office in 2001. Prior to that Bill had worked closely with Makinson Cowell assisting with US investor relations activities. He has over 20 years' experience of advising US, European, Latin American and Asian corporations. Bill’s corporate experience includes international mergers, acquisitions and strategic planning. He has an MBA Finance degree from New York University.

Arthur Drysdale, partner, joined Makinson Cowell in 2003, having spent 20 years with Cazenove, becoming a partner in 1990 and subsequently a managing director, corporate finance. Prior to becoming a partner, he was an analyst specialising in the industrials sector. He holds an MA in history from St Andrews University.

Richard Churchman, partner, joined Makinson Cowell in 1991 from Hoare Govett where he was an analyst covering small companies and the construction industry. Prior to that he spent eight years with Coopers & Lybrand in Canada and London working in both audit and corporate finance. He is a chartered accountant and has a business degree from Wilfrid Laurier University, Kitchener, Ontario.

Andrew Jones, partner, joined Makinson Cowell in 1995 and is our head of research. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and holds a CFA charter. He is also an alternate member of the UK Accounting Standards Board's Urgent Issues Task Force and sits on the ICAEW’s Research Advisory Board and the EFRAG/ASB Tax Accounting Panel. Previously he worked at Deloitte & Touche, where he specialised in corporate finance and corporate recovery. He has a natural sciences degree from Cambridge University.

Nick White, partner, joined Makinson Cowell in February 1998 after three years in project finance, spent developing the commercial and financial structures of new power generation projects. A chartered engineer, Nick previously worked in electronic engineering, including a number of years at GEC-Marconi. He has an MBA from INSEAD and an engineering degree from the University of Bristol.

Alasdair Wight, partner, joined Makinson Cowell in 1997. He has a land economy degree from Cambridge University and is a chartered accountant, having qualified with KPMG in Glasgow. Prior to training as an accountant he was a community worker in a hostel for the homeless in Northampton.

Joanna Darlington, partner, joined Makinson Cowell in 2005. She was head of research at BNP Paribas and sat on the European Equities management board and the Corporate Finance commitment committee. Previously, she was head of research at BNP Equities which she joined having been head of Pan-European research at ABN AMRO. Joanna speaks French and Dutch and has a history degree from Cambridge University.

Nigel Pears, partner, joined Makinson Cowell at the start of 2006 after taking the Executive MBA Programme at Ashridge. Prior to that he spent 20 years at UBS, predominantly in institutional equity sales, following earlier experience of insurance sector research and corporate finance. He has an economics degree from Cambridge University.

Peter Kirkow, partner, joined Makinson Cowell’s Continental European team in September 2001, following previous advisory and investment banking positions in London. Peter started his early professional career in academia, specialising in East European transition economies. He holds an MSocSc and PhD in Russian and East European Studies from the University of Birmingham, following earlier studies at Berlin (West) and Moscow State University.

John Forbes, partner, joined Makinson Cowell from Deloitte & Touche in 1997, where he specialised in the investigation of fraud and white-collar crime. A chartered accountant, he has a degree in engineering from Cambridge University.

Arnaud Salla, partner, joined Makinson Cowell in 2011 and is based in Paris. Previously he founded Quadrant Finance and prior to that was Executive Director, France, at Citigate Dewe Rogerson after specialising in investor relations at Publicis Group. Arnaud has a degree in Economics and Finance from Institut d’Etudes Politiques and a masters degree in European business.