College of benefactors 2013-14

Ayudar Foundation

Represented by Mr Gerry Brown and Mrs Clemencia Posada-Brown

Saturday 18 January 2014 11:45am

We are delighted to welcome Mr Gerry Brown and Mrs Clemencia Posada-Brown, as trustees of the Ayudar Foundation, into the University of Exeter’s College of Benefactors.

Since 2011, the Ayudar Foundation has donated more than £630,000 to the University of Exeter Business School to establish the Ayudar Colombia Fund. The Fund provides scholarships for Colombian citizens to study on our exclusive One Planet MBA programme and has catalysed a growing relationship between the University and Colombia. Six Colombian students have now completed the MBA.

The Ayudar Colombia Fund was born out of Gerry and Clemencia’s desire to support the development of managerial talent in Colombia, and particularly managerial talent that will make a major contribution to business development alongside positive social and environmental impact.

Mr Gerry Brown was born and educated in the UK, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Economic History from Exeter in 1966. Following his graduation from Exeter, Gerry taught at an Essex Grammar School. He is currently Director of Novaquest Capital Management a Private Equity firm focussed on Life Sciences and is also Chairman of NFT Distribution Holdings. This follows his time as a Senior Independent Director of Keller plc, a global construction services company, as well as holding previous Directorships as Chairman of Biocompatibles plc and as Senior Independent Director at Forth Ports plc.

During his career Gerry joined the global distribution and logistics firm, NFC, latterly Exel Logistics and now DHL, where he worked for 25 years, becoming Chief Operating Officer. After stepping down from Exel, Gerry served as a Director of the Transport Development Group before joining Tibbett and Britten as Managing Director, European Operations. He is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Logistics and has held senior board-level positions with a number of publically, privately and equity-owned companies in both the UK and USA, including as Independent Director of Quintiles Transitional Corp. Quintiles is the global pharmaceutical outsourcing company founded by his friend and fellow member of the University’s College of Benefactors, Dr Dennis Gillings (BSc Mathematics 1966, PhD Mathematics 1972, Hon LLD 2011).

In 2012 Gerry was invited to chair the newly formed University Campaign Planning Board and, subsequently, to sit on the Alumni Network Group (ANG) as the link between the ANG and the Campaign Planning Board. In 2013 Gerry was invited to join the Council of the University.

Mrs Clemencia Posada-Brown was born in Colombia and moved to the UK in 1977, where she studied English, gaining her first qualification in 1980. She met Gerry whilst working in the Visas Department at the American Embassy in London. She later took up a new post in the Physics department at Reading University. Here her passion for further study emerged and she later left the role to continue her studies, with the aim of going to university to read Psychology. Due to family commitments Clemencia put her studies on hold, but now hopes to complete an Open University course in Psychology. Clemencia is a keen horticulturist, and has gained qualifications in Garden Design.

Through the Ayudar Foundation, Gerry and Clemencia support a number of charities in the UK, South America and Africa.