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Jeremy Coller
Born (1958-05-17) 17 May 1958 (age 67)
London, England
EducationManchester University
University of Sussex
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounder, CIO and Managing Partner, Coller Capital

Jeremy Coller (born 17 May 1958) is a British businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder, chief investment officer and managing partner of Coller Capital.[1]

Coller chairs the Jeremy Coller Foundation and is a deputy chair of Tel Aviv University, where he is on the advisory board of the Coller School of Management.

Coller is known for his philanthropic work in animal welfare and for founding the FAIRR Initiative, an investor network addressing ESG risks in food and agriculture. In 2019, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated Coller’s wealth at £320 million.[2]

Early life

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Coller was born in London on 17 May 1958.

He attended Carmel College and holds a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Sussex and a BSc in management sciences from Manchester University. He took the Diplome Cours de Civilisation at the Sorbonne in Paris.[3]

After building a career in private equity, Coller was awarded an honorary fellowship by London Business School in 2011 and in 2013, received an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University.[4][5]

Business career

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Coller's early career was spent as head of equity research at Fidelity International.[6] He then joined ICI Pension Plan as a sector fund manager, before becoming a venture and buyout manager.[7] In this role, Coller pioneered the purchase of secondary positions in private equity and became the first investor in VCFA.

In 1990, he started the first European private equity secondaries fund.[8] Since then, Coller Capital has become a globally recognised leader in the private equity secondaries market and Coller is recognised for leading the industrialisation of private equity secondaries.[9] His notable acquisitions include technology incubators formerly owned by BT, Lucent Bell Labs and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.[10]

Philanthropy

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Coller is founder and chairman of the Jeremy Coller Foundation, a UK-based grant-making organisation that supports work in areas including global food system reform, animal welfare, alternative proteins and food tech, and innovation in venture and management education.[11]

Between 2012 and 2024, he was on the advisory council of The Elders, a peace and human rights organisation founded by Nelson Mandela.[12]

Interspecies communication

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In 2020, the Jeremy Coller Foundation established the Coller Prize for Interspecies Conversation, a $1 million award intended to advance communication between humans and animals, particularly through the use of artificial intelligence.

In 2025, the Foundation launched the Coller Dolittle Challenge with Tel Aviv University, offering $100,000 annual prizes and a final $10 million equity award (or $500,000 in cash) for achieving two-way interspecies communication. The Challenge draws inspiration from the Turing Test and has recognised a dolphin vocalisations project with its first annual award.[13][14]

Factory farming

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The Jeremy Coller Foundation looks at the consequences of factory farming for global sustainability.[15][6]

FAIRR (Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return) Initiative

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Main article: FAIRR

In 2015, Coller founded the FAIRR Initiative (Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return), a global network of institutional investors focused on ESG risks in intensive animal agriculture. As of 2025, its members represented over $80 trillion in assets.

FAIRR engages with global food companies to influence corporate practices related to antibiotic use, climate resilience, animal welfare, Scope 3 emissions, and sustainability reporting.[16][17][18]

In 2022, Coller co-founded the Alternative Proteins Association, a UK-based trade body representing companies involved in plant-based, cultivated, and fermented proteins. The association promotes regulatory reform, industry collaboration and public policy support for alternative proteins, aiming to accelerate the transition to more sustainable food systems.[19]

Human health

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The Foundation is supporting activities to address the human health consequences of factory farming, with a focus on antibiotic resistance.[6]

The Foundation coordinates epidemiological research with governments and the public and private sectors to provide an evidential basis for the link between antibiotic misuse on factory farms and antibiotic resistance in humans, to project future resistance patterns, and to contribute to a global public health action plan. In parallel, the Foundation works with the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics[20] and other NGOs to promote legislation for the appropriate use of antibiotics in farm animals.

Animal welfare

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As part of this programme, the Foundation supports the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW),[21] a tool for investors to assess corporate animal welfare policies and performance and to integrate this into their investment decision making and engagement.

Venture and management education

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Coller Institute of Private Equity at London Business School

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The Coller Institute of Private Equity at London Business School (2008–2016) sprang from a significant donation to London Business School by the Jeremy Coller Foundation in 2008.[22]

Coller Institute of Venture at Tel Aviv University

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The Coller Institute of Venture was established at Tel Aviv University in 2013, with the goal to advance the venture ecosystem globally.[23] The Institute pursues three objectives:

  • To identify the conditions that will lead to compelling venture capital returns for long-term capital providers (e.g., pension plans, charitable foundations, and sovereign wealth funds)
  • To investigate and communicate best practice in 'technology translation' – the creation of new businesses from IP owned by governments, universities and corporates
  • To promote innovation in venture policy-making and planning, encouraging governments to adopt best practices in legal frameworks, fiscal incentives, behavioural economics, and other areas of public policy.

The Institute produces the Coller Venture Review (previously known as Venture Findings) – a publication aimed at deepening understanding of innovation and the venture ecosystem.

Coller School of Management, at Tel Aviv University

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The Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University was established in 2016, following a major donation from the Jeremy Coller Foundation.[24] The donation renamed, and boosted the capacities of, Israel's leading business school.

The School hosts the Coller Startup Competition, a $100,000 prize awarded annually to startups focused on food, specifically on replacing animals in the human food supply chain.[25] The 2019 winner was Solutum Ltd, which develops water-soluble plastic-like bags.[26]

Honours and awards

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Coller has won numerous awards for his contribution to the private equity and venture capital industries. These include:

  • Coller was named Financial News 'Europe's 50 Most Influential People' list in 2018 and 2020.[27][28]

Coller received an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University in 2013.[29] In 2011, he received an honorary fellowship from London Business School.[4] In 2008, he received an Outstanding Alumnus Award from the University of Manchester.[30]

Publications

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Coller's book Splendidly Unreasonable Inventors: The Lives, Loves, and Deaths of 30 Pioneers Who Changed the World was published in 2008.[31]

References

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  1. ^ "Jeremy Coller - Chief Investment Officer & Managing Partner". Coller Capital. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  2. ^ Times, The Sunday (12 May 2019). "Rich List 2019: profiles 351-399=, featuring the Queen, Elton John and David Beckham". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  3. ^ "The 'leech on a leech's back'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Jeremy Coller". Sustainability. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  5. ^ "2013 TAU Honorary Degrees Awarded | Tel Aviv University". English.tau.ac.il. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "Private equity executive fights antibiotic risks in farming | Financial Times". www.ft.com. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  7. ^ "Jeremy Coller". Euromoney. 31 March 2003. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  8. ^ Taylor, James (3 January 2013). "Coller raises biggest ever secondaries fund". Private Equity International. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  9. ^ "Europe's 50 Most Influential in Private Equity 2019". www.penews.com. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  10. ^ Staff, P. E. I. (16 January 2013). "Coller has secondaries mega fund in sights". Infrastructure Investor. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  11. ^ "Jeremy Coller Foundation". Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  12. ^ "Jeremy Coller AC profile". The Elders. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  13. ^ "Coller Prize for Interspecies Conversations, Hall of Fame & Young Leaders Circle". Coller Foundation. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  14. ^ Davis, Nicola (15 May 2025). "Dolphin whistle decoders win $100,000 interspecies communication prize". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  15. ^ "RI Interview: Jeremy Coller, the private equity titan backing ESG to end animal factory farming". Responsible Investor. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Private equity executive fights antibiotic risks in farming". www.ft.com. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  17. ^ "About FAIRR". FAIRR. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  18. ^ "Climate Change Is Already Costing Meat and Dairy Producers a Lot". Bloomberg.com. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  19. ^ "Tear up draft opinion that restricts plant-based dairy labels, Alliance says". ProVeg International. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  20. ^ "Alliance to save our antibiotics". www.saveourantibiotics.org. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  21. ^ "BBFAW | Business Benchmark - A benchmark on farm animal welfare". www.bbfaw.com. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  22. ^ "Private equity gets a lifeline for research". Financial Times. 13 October 2008. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  23. ^ "Tel Aviv University nabs $50m donation - Globes". en.globes.co.il (in Hebrew). 18 May 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  24. ^ "Tel Aviv University Leadership". Tel Aviv University. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  25. ^ "Tel Aviv University Competition Offers $100K Investment For FoodTech Startups". Vegeconomist. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  26. ^ Pick, Adi (21 July 2019). "From Edible Shot Glasses to Biodegradable Plastics: Eight Companies Reducing Plastic Waste". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  27. ^ Editorial, P. E. N. "Europe's 50 Most Influential People in Private Equity". www.penews.com. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  28. ^ "Private equity's top dealmakers, fundraisers and advisers in Europe". www.fnlondon.com. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  29. ^ "2013 TAU Honorary Degrees Awarded". Tel Aviv University. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  30. ^ "Outstanding Alumni". Your Manchester Online - The University of Manchester. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  31. ^ Jeremy Coller. "Splendidly Unreasonable Inventors: The Lives, Loves, and Deaths of 30 Pioneers Who Changed theWorld by Jeremy Coller — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
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