Richard Koch is a successful entrepreneur, investor, and writer. From 1976 to 1989, he worked continuously as a strategy consultant, advising the chief executives and boards of many blue chip US and European corporations. Since 1989, he has focused mainly on private equity. He was behind the rescue of Filofax in the early 1990s and its remarkable revival, serving as a non-executive director until 1997. He financed the startup of Belgo, an acclaimed quoted restaurant group operating in the US and UK, as well as Zoffany Hotels. He is also one of four equal investors who are rejuvenating Plymouth Gin, a distiller dating back to 1793 and now the fastest growing premium gin in the world. He advises Advent Limited, a prominent private equity house in the UK, and is a director of Advent Venture Capital Trust and of Brait SA, a merchant banking and private equity group based in Luxembourg and South Africa. He is also a shareholder and director of Gemini South Africa.