Tony Foster joined the Board of Didasko in the spring of 2021 after working for over 30 years in the investment industry. During his career, he managed a range of funds and investment trusts, primarily in multi-asset investments and UK equities. As Chair of the CFA UK Scottish Committee, he helped organise regular industry talks and events, co-hosted by the Library of Mistakes, the University of Edinburgh Business School and other partners. He became Chair of the Board in September 2021.

CEO
David Clarke CFA is CEO of Didasko Education Company, the charity behind the Library of Mistakes, Practical History of Financial Markets courses, Future Asset and Leavers’Money Skills.

After studying philosophy at Trinity College Dublin, he joined the Bloomberg News team in 2000, reporting on Europe’s burgeoning investment management industry. Later posts saw him as editor-at-large for EMEA news sales and editor for bonds and foreign exchange.

After completing his CFA exams he focused on communications for the investment industry, working for a number of well-known investment and wealth management houses. He has also run marketing teams in the wider financial information sector.

A keen supporter of the finance industry and the good that it can do, he has been involved for many years in encouraging the development of Scotland’s investment sector and its international links, particularly with Ireland, and is chairman of the CFA society in Scotland.

He joined Didasko Education in 2022 as its first CEO, overseeing its expanded portfolio of activities in events and media., increased commercial operations and also its plans to develop more libraries around the world.

He is an accomplished musician, and worked in entertainment in his early 20s. He is also a strong supporter of international cooperation and is chairman of the European Movement in Scotland and a board member of European Movement UK.

From a rural, working-class home in Northern Ireland, Mary has lived in Scotland since 1997 and has two children who attend Gaelic-medium state schools.

She is managing director at Juniper Trust, which provides support to business-oriented students from low-income families, a trustee of The Carnegie Trust and a director of The Juniper Companies Ltd, which owns the investment company Juniper Partners. Prior to this, she led the work in Scotland for BBC Children in Need, was vice chair at Social Enterprise Academy Scotland, and was a founding trustee of Changing the Chemistry.

Mary is disabled and believes passionately in the power of diversity and the importance of education. She has a DPhil from the University of Oxford.

Professor Russell Napier is the author of The Solid Ground investment report for institutional investors and co-founder of the investment research portal ERIC- a business he now co-owns with D.C. Thomson. Russell has worked in the investment business for over 30 years and has been advising global institutional investors on asset allocation since 1995. Russell is the author of the book Anatomy of The Bear: Lessons From Wall Street’s Four Great Bottoms (‘a cult classic’ according to the FT) and is the founder and course director of The Practical History of Financial Markets at The Edinburgh Business School.

Russell is Chairman of Mid Wynd International Investment Trust a GBP500m market cap. closed-end investment vehicle listed on the London Stock Exchange. He is a member of the investment advisory committees of three fund management companies, Cerno Capital, Kennox Asset Management and Bay Capital.

In 2014 Russell founded the charitable venture The Library of Mistakes a business and financial history library in Edinburgh that now has branches in India and Switzerland.

Russell has degrees in law from Queen’s University Belfast and Magdalene College Cambridge. He is a Fellow of The CFA Society of the UK and is an Honorary Professor at The University of Stirling and a Visiting Professor at Heriot-Watt University. He is a contributing columnist for The Toronto Star newspaper. His second book – The Asian Financial Crisis 1995-1998: Birth of the Age of Debt – was published in July 2021.

Klyzza Jayme Lidman is an investment analyst at Aubrey Capital Management, covering public equities as a global generalist and is a member of the Sustainability Committee. She joined the Board of Didasko in June 2023. A graduate from the University of Edinburgh Business School, with an MSc in Banking and Risk Management, Klyzza is a Swedish national and has been educated in the Philippines, Sweden, Bahrain, UAE and Saudi Arabia. She is also a member of the CFA UK Scottish Committee and the steering group of Leaver’s Money Skills.

Company Secretary and General Counsel
Jo has a particular interest in making financial education readily accessible to all. She joined Didasko in March 2024 and is an active member of the charity. Jo is a Senior Compliance Officer at Franklin Templeton and is CCO and MLRO of Martin Currie Investment Management.

Prior to joining Franklin Templeton and Martin Currie, Jo was a funds and financial services lawyer, holding a variety of roles both in-house and in private practice in Edinburgh, London and Paris, advising a wide range of funds and financial services businesses on corporate structuring, investment and regulatory matters.

Jo has an MA (Hons) in English Literature and French from the University of St Andrews, and a post graduate diploma in Law. She also holds the CFA UK Investment Management Certificate.

Felix has worked at Baillie Gifford since 2012 and currently works as an investment manager on the company’s multi-asset team. He obtained his B.com degree from the University of Cape Coast and a MSc in investment analysis from the University of Stirling.

Jen is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Martin Currie and joined the business in 2015. Bringing over 20 years’ experience working internationally in financial services and strategy, Jen has deep knowledge of the Martin Currie business and the wider investment landscape from her roles as Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff.

She has also provided oversight and strategic direction to the firm’s Investment and Distribution teams in her role as Chair of these departments’ Executive Committees. As CEO, Jen leads the overall strategy for Martin Currie.

A graduate in Law and French from the Universities of Edinburgh and Paris, Jen began her career as a finance lawyer at Allen & Overy in Paris and went on to spend 11 years with Barclays in corporate finance and global strategy.

Jen is passionate about demystifying and broadening access to the investment industry and leads a culture at Martin Currie founded on inclusion that aspires to attract and grow talent from a wide variety of backgrounds.

A classically trained violinist, Jen is also a mother of two and enjoys trail running, hiking and mountain biking.

Liz is a Didasko board member, representing Artemis Investment Management LLP in its support of Didasko. Liz studied at University College Dublin and Napier University, Edinburgh. After an early career in Retail Banking with NatWest (formerly RBS), Liz moved into Asset Management in 2019, joining Artemis Investment Management in April 2020, where she is the Head of Human Resources.

Alan represents investment management firm Walter Scott on the Didasko Board. Since graduating from University of Edinburgh, Alan has spent close to two decades with Walter Scott building experience investing in listed companies from across the globe.

In his role as Head of Research at Walter Scott, Alan sits on the firm’s Executive and Investment Management Committees. He joined the board of Didasko in 2024 and is a member of the Leaver’s Money Skills steering group.