CEO

With 35 years of experience in financial services, Alex has a proven track record of leadership. He founded and led English Mutual Group from 2001 until its acquisition by Sanlam in 2012. Following this, Alex became CEO of Sanlam Wealth Planning, a restricted advice business employing over 250 people. In addition to his role at Sanlam, Alex held several directorships and served as a board member for the Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA), the industry’s trade body.

Alex is deeply committed to the idea that businesses should be a force for good, placing people and clients at the heart of everything, rather than focusing solely on profits.

Consultant and Adviser

A Partner at Hines Associates since 2003, Hubert brings over 20 years of corporate finance experience. He started his career at Schroders and later joined Citigroup, where he was a key member of the European Insurance Group, managing German client accounts.

Hubert provides expert advice on all Cardan acquisitions and investments, ensuring fair valuation metrics are applied to maintain transparency throughout the transaction process.

Non-executive Director

Gary was one of the founding Directors of SimplyBiz in 2002, having spent the previous 5 years with the Bankhall Group. He is an experienced financial services professional with over 35 years’ experience in the financial services sector.

During his 20 years with SimplyBiz Group, as Group Compliance Director, he was responsible for the oversight of all regulatory services offered by the Group. This was, however, not his sole focus, as he was also instrumental in the creation and launch of a number of the Group’s ancillary services. These include strategic relationships with Intelliflo and SmartSearch, the launch of the Pension Transfer referral panel, as well as the Group’s Mergers and Acquisition service, “Horizon.”

Gary was a key part of the team that took SimplyBiz through its AIM listing in 2018.

Founding Partner

Joakim Strandberg is a founding partner of Söderberg & Partners (S&P) and has been with the firm since its inception in 2004. He has also worked at Carnegie Pension Consulting and before that at SEB Merchant Banking.

Joakim has over 20 years’ experience in the financial industry, working as an advisor and head of S&P’s Institutional Advisory team, and has played an active role in S&P’s expansion across the Nordics and in the UK. Joakim currently leads S&P’s UK ownership team and serves as a board member for a selection of the partner firms.