Jeremy Coller

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Jeremy Coller
Born (1958-05-17) 17 May 1958 (age 67)
London, England
EducationManchester University
University of Sussex
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounder, CIO and Managing Partner, Coller Capital

Jeremy Coller (born 17 May 1958) is a British businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder, chief investment officer and managing partner of Coller Capital.[1]

Coller chairs the Jeremy Coller Foundation and is a deputy chair of Tel Aviv University, where he is on the advisory board of the Coller School of Management.

Coller is known for his philanthropic work in animal welfare and for founding the FAIRR Initiative, an investor network addressing ESG risks in food and agriculture. In 2025, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated Coller’s wealth at £613 million.[2][3]

Early life

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Coller was born in London on 17 May 1958.

He attended Carmel College and holds a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Sussex and a BSc in management sciences from Manchester University. He took the Diplome Cours de Civilisation at the Sorbonne in Paris.[4]

After building a career in private equity, Coller was awarded an honorary fellowship by London Business School in 2011 and in 2013, received an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University.[5][6]

Business career

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Coller began his financial career in equity research at Fidelity International.[7] He joined the ICI Pension Plan as a sector fund manager before moving into venture and buyout investment roles.[8] During this period, he was an early proponent of investing in secondary positions in private equity funds.

According to Secondaries Investor, at ICI Coller became the first institutional investor in Dayton Carr’s VCFA fund, an early private equity secondaries vehicle.

In 1990, Coller founded Coller Capital, one of the earliest firms in Europe dedicated to secondary private equity investments.[9] The firm has since expanded internationally and raised multiple large secondaries funds, completing transactions involving portfolios of private equity interests and corporate divestments from companies such as BT, Lucent Bell Labs, and the UK Atomic Energy Authority.[10][11] In 2021, it closed its eighth core fund, Coller International Partners VIII, with over $9 billion in commitments. In 2022, it raised $1.4 billion for its Coller Credit Opportunities I fund, marking the firm’s entry into credit secondaries. In 2025, the firm raised $6.8 billion for its Coller Credit Opportunities II fund.[12] As of 2025, Coller Capital employed 272 people and operated offices in London, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul and other locations.

Philanthropy

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Coller is founder and chairman of the Jeremy Coller Foundation, a UK-based grant-making organisation that supports work in areas including global food system reform, animal welfare, alternative proteins and food tech, and innovation in venture and management education.[13]

Between 2012 and 2024, he was on the advisory council of The Elders, a peace and human rights organisation founded by Nelson Mandela.[14]

Interspecies communication

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In 2020, the Jeremy Coller Foundation established the Coller Prize for Interspecies Conversation, a $1 million award intended to advance communication between humans and animals, particularly through the use of artificial intelligence.

In 2025, the Foundation launched the Coller Dolittle Challenge with Tel Aviv University, offering $100,000 annual prizes and a final $10 million equity award (or $500,000 in cash) for achieving two-way interspecies communication. The Challenge draws inspiration from the Turing Test and has recognised a dolphin vocalisations project with its first annual award.[15][16]

ESG investing and corporate engagement

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The Jeremy Coller Foundation funds research and advocacy on the consequences of factory farming for global sustainability.[17][7]

FAIRR (Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return) Initiative

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Main article: FAIRR

In 2015, Coller founded the FAIRR Initiative (Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return), a global network of institutional investors focused on ESG risks in intensive animal agriculture. As of 2025, its members represented over $80 trillion in assets.

FAIRR engages with global food companies to influence corporate practices related to antibiotic use, climate resilience, animal welfare, Scope 3 emissions, and sustainability reporting.[18][19][20][21]

In 2022, Coller co-founded the Alternative Proteins Association, a UK-based trade body representing companies involved in plant-based, cultivated, and fermented proteins. The association promotes regulatory reform, industry collaboration and public policy support for alternative proteins, aiming to accelerate the transition to more sustainable food systems.[22]

Research, advocacy and public engagement

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The Foundation funds complementary public health research, including epidemiological studies on antimicrobial resistance linked to intensive farming.[7][23]

In 2025, the Foundation donated £4 million to create the Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience at the London School of Economics. It funds interdisciplinary research into animal minds, emotions, and welfare using approaches from neuroscience, philosophy, law, and behavioural science.

In 2021, The Foundation launched the Coller Animal Law Forum (CALF), which tracks and analyses global farm animal legislation and provides guidance for policymakers and advocates.

In 2023, Coller authored An Ever-Green Revolution, a white paper outlining the unintended consequences of the “Green Revolution” including accelerating intensive animal agriculture and contributing to AMR.[24]

The Foundation is also the principal funder of the Future of Food exhibition at the Science Museum, London.[25] The exhibition covers emerging food technologies and industrial agriculture’s effects on sustainability and health.

Educational initiatives

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In 2008, the Foundation donated to London Business School to create the Coller Institute of Private Equity, which conducted industry research and published the Private Equity Findings digest until 2016, when publishing was taken over by Coller Capital.[26]

In 2013, as part of a $50 million donation to Tel Aviv University, the Foundation launched the Coller Institute of Venture – a programme promoting global venture ecosystems through policy research, innovation strategy, and support for university–industry commercialisation. It issued the annual Coller Venture Review.[27]

In 2016, the Foundation’s donation led to Tel Aviv University’s business school being renamed as the Coller School of Management. This funding supported faculty recruitment, increased research capacity, globalisation of the student body, and established the Coller Startup Competition, which awards $100,000 annually to companies innovating in alternative food systems.[28]

Global pension reform

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In 2025, Coller established the Coller Pensions Institute, a non-profit think tank focused on pension policy research. The Institute examines pension system alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goals, including issues of ageing populations, ESG investing, and pension access in emerging economies.[29]

Honours and awards

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Coller has won numerous awards for his contribution to the private equity and venture capital industries. These include:

  • Coller was named Financial News 'Europe's 50 Most Influential People' list in 2018 and 2020.[30][31]

Coller received an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University in 2013.[32] In 2011, he received an honorary fellowship from London Business School.[5] In 2008, he received an Outstanding Alumnus Award from the University of Manchester.[33]

Publications

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Coller's book Splendidly Unreasonable Inventors: The Lives, Loves, and Deaths of 30 Pioneers Who Changed the World was published in 2008.[34]

References

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  1. ^ "Jeremy Coller - Chief Investment Officer & Managing Partner". Coller Capital. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  2. ^ Times, The Sunday (12 May 2019). "Rich List 2019: profiles 351-399=, featuring the Queen, Elton John and David Beckham". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  3. ^ Seymour, Andrew (19 May 2025). "Nisbets founder rises up the Rich List". Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  4. ^ "The 'leech on a leech's back'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Jeremy Coller". Sustainability. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  6. ^ "2013 TAU Honorary Degrees Awarded | Tel Aviv University". English.tau.ac.il. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  7. ^ a b c "Private equity executive fights antibiotic risks in farming | Financial Times". www.ft.com. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  8. ^ "Jeremy Coller". Euromoney. 31 March 2003. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  9. ^ Taylor, James (3 January 2013). "Coller raises biggest ever secondaries fund". Private Equity International. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  10. ^ Staff, P. E. I. (16 January 2013). "Coller has secondaries mega fund in sights". Infrastructure Investor. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  11. ^ "Europe's 50 Most Influential in Private Equity 2019". www.penews.com. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  12. ^ James, Rod (8 July 2025). "Exclusive | Coller Raises $6.8 Billion for Credit Secondary Deals". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Jeremy Coller Foundation". Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  14. ^ "Jeremy Coller AC profile". The Elders. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  15. ^ "Coller Prize for Interspecies Conversations, Hall of Fame & Young Leaders Circle". Coller Foundation. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  16. ^ Davis, Nicola (15 May 2025). "Dolphin whistle decoders win $100,000 interspecies communication prize". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  17. ^ "RI Interview: Jeremy Coller, the private equity titan backing ESG to end animal factory farming". Responsible Investor. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Private equity executive fights antibiotic risks in farming". www.ft.com. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  19. ^ "About FAIRR". FAIRR. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  20. ^ "Climate Change Is Already Costing Meat and Dairy Producers a Lot". Bloomberg.com. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  21. ^ "BBFAW | Business Benchmark - A benchmark on farm animal welfare". www.bbfaw.com. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  22. ^ "Tear up draft opinion that restricts plant-based dairy labels, Alliance says". ProVeg International. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  23. ^ "Alliance to save our antibiotics". www.saveourantibiotics.org. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  24. ^ Coller, Jeremy (29 June 2023). "An Ever Green Revolution" (PDF).
  25. ^ "Major exhibition on the future of food to open at the science museum in july". Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  26. ^ "Private equity gets a lifeline for research". Financial Times. 13 October 2008. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  27. ^ "Tel Aviv University nabs $50m donation - Globes". en.globes.co.il (in Hebrew). 18 May 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  28. ^ "Tel Aviv University Leadership". Tel Aviv University. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  29. ^ Phillips, Maha Khan (28 April 2025). "Viewpoint: Building pension systems will help achieve UN SDGs". Impact Investor. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  30. ^ Editorial, P. E. N. "Europe's 50 Most Influential People in Private Equity". www.penews.com. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  31. ^ "Private equity's top dealmakers, fundraisers and advisers in Europe". www.fnlondon.com. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  32. ^ "2013 TAU Honorary Degrees Awarded". Tel Aviv University. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  33. ^ "Outstanding Alumni". Your Manchester Online - The University of Manchester. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  34. ^ Jeremy Coller. "Splendidly Unreasonable Inventors: The Lives, Loves, and Deaths of 30 Pioneers Who Changed theWorld by Jeremy Coller — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 23 July 2016.