Ray Sheath: Partnership Services Project Worker
Ray has had a long 45 year career – in fact 3 careers embracing the commercial Information and Communications Technologies sector, the charity sector and the emerging social enterprise/social business sector. He ran his own PC Systems business for 6 years and then as chief executive he led venture capital investee companies in IT ranging in size from £3 million $100 million sales and finally managed 2 start up Dot Coms. In the nineties he was in executive and non-executive board roles of several high profile voluntary and political organisations including The Scott Bader Commonwealth, The Scarman Trust, UnLtd, and Charter 88. The Scott Bader Commonwealth was formed in 1951 and is one of the largest social businesses in the world (£140 million turnover today). On the board for 3 years in an executive capacity he helped establish The Adventure Capital Fund being the first social venture capital fund in the UK providing equity and loan capital to social businesses and managing the social and financial return on investment.
Ray is interested in the way the various sectors seem to be moving towards one another i.e. commercial businesses with their CSR strategies, social enterprises soliciting equity type investments and the charity sector becoming more business like.
He has joined BCP to help deliver the Lifelines service – a unique 6 partner Treasury funded "Invest to Save" service aimed at developing the potential of older people in Brighton to age healthily and remain socially and economically active (in which of course he has vested interest) and catalysing organisations to support that movement.
