Biography
Dr Keith Arundale
BSc(Physics), ARCS, MSc(Applied Optics), DIC, PgCert(Research Methodology in Business and Management), PhD (Management), FCA, FCIM, CMktr, FIoD, FInstP, FRSA
Keith Arundale is a visiting university lecturer, academic researcher, author, executive trainer, independent advisor and non-executive director, specialising in private equity & venture capital.
Keith is a chartered accountant (FCA) and a chartered marketer (FCIM) by profession. Prior to pursuing a portfolio career Keith was with PricewaterhouseCoopers from 1977 to 2005 where most recently he led the European venture capital programme for the Global Technology Industry Group (GTIG) of PwC. He prepared the annual PwC “Money for Growth” European private equity and venture capital report on technology industry investments and reported on the European Private Equity & Venture Capital Association’s (www.evca.eu) (now Invest Europe) and the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association’s (www.bvca.co.uk) annual surveys of private equity activity conducted by PwC.
At PwC Keith was also responsible for the development of marketing strategy for the Global Technology Industry Group in Europe and its business development programmes for both multi-national technology companies and for fast-growth, venture-backed technology companies. Previously at PwC, Keith directed the firm’s proposals function in continental Europe, helping to win many major audit and advisory assignments. Keith was with PwC in London for most of his career with the firm, also spending some three years in the Pittsburgh, USA office and two years in the Windsor, UK office. His posting to Pittsburgh as an auditor with Price Waterhouse, where he was involved in cold-calling on potential clients (a practice forbidden in the UK at the time), writing articles for the local business press and helping to open a new office in the university area of this emerging high tech city, opened the door to his future marketing and business development career with the firm. More importantly it introduced him to his future wife, Kathy.
Keith is the initiator and author of the BVCA’s “Guide to Private Equity” which takes business people and their advisers through the various stages of raising private equity and venture capital (www.bvca.co.uk). His book “Raising Venture Capital Finance in Europe” was published by Kogan Page in 2007 and his new book “Venture Capital Performance: A comparative study of investment practices in Europe and the USA” is to be published by Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group) in December 2019. Keith is a frequent media spokesperson on venture capital trends and issues.
Keith is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the ICMA Centre, Henley Business School, University of Reading where he has developed and teaches the module on Private Equity & Venture Capital for the MSc in Corporate Finance and MSc in Entrepreneurship and Finance, and the module on Private Equity & Venture Capital for the BSc in Finance and Investment Banking and for other undergraduate degrees in accounting, finance and management at Henley Business School. The BSc PE &VC module is one of the few undergraduate courses in this area in the UK (https://www.icmacentre.ac.uk/people/dr-keith-arundale). Keith is a member of the Examination Panel for the ICAEW/CISI Diploma in Corporate Finance. He is also a Director of Henley Business Angels Limited whose members mentor and invest in early stage, high growth businesses founded by entrepreneurs from, or affiliated to, Henley Business School and the University of Reading (www.henleybusinessangels.com).
Keith was honoured to be appointed in January 2020 as a Visiting Professor at the Business Research Institute and China Centre, University of Chester for a period of three years. He is collaborating with Chinese colleagues from Chester on researching the investment practices of Chinese venture capital firms.
Keith was awarded his PhD by the University of Glasgow in November 2018 where he was a doctoral researcher at the Adam Smith Business School (www.gla.ac.uk/schools/business) investigating the performance of venture capital funds in Europe and the USA, under the supervision of Professor Colin Mason. Keith was awarded an Adam Smith Business School prize for PhD excellence on the basis of the excellence of his PhD thesis and the significance of its contribution to his field of study. Previously Keith studied at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, University of Strathclyde Business School where he was awarded the Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert) in Research Methodology in Business and Management by the University of Strathclyde in 2010.
From 2010 to 2014 Keith taught the MSc module on Auditing & Control as a Visiting Fellow at the Faculty of Business and Law, Kingston University, London (www.business.kingston.ac.uk).
In 2007 and 2008 Keith lectured in the School of Engineering and Materials Science at Queen Mary, University of London (www.materials.qmul.ac.uk), responsible for the MSc module on “Financing and Risk Management of Technology-Based Projects”. Keith has also given guest lectures on private equity and venture capital at London Business School, Cass Business School, City University and at the University of California at Berkeley.
Keith is a Specialist Consultant to Right Management (a Manpower Company) on private equity and venture capital (http://www.right.com) and a trainer in private equity & venture capital with MBL Seminars (www.mblseminars.co.uk). He has also run executive education courses on private equity & venture capital at the ICMA Centre, Henley Business School (www.icmacentre.co.uk) and has run training courses for Private Equity International in Hong Kong and London (www.privateequityinternational.com).
A graduate of Imperial College London (www.ic.ac.uk), Keith holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Physics and an MSc degree in Applied Optics, together with the Associateship of the Royal College of Science (ARCS) and Diploma of Imperial College (DIC). Prior to joining PwC he undertook research into psychophysiological optics at the Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. His paper “An investigation into the variation of human contrast sensitivity with age and ocular pathology” British Journal of Ophthalmology (1978) 62(4) has been cited many times and was one of the first papers to be published in this area. Whilst at the Institute Keith enquired as to the training programme for astronauts with NASA. Imagine his intrigue when the application form invited him to confirm that he was “willing to travel”! He decided to stay firmly on the ground and seek a training contract with Price Waterhouse.
Keith is a Past President of the Royal College of Science Association (RCSA), which was founded by HG Wells in 1909 (www.rcsa.org.uk), and was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (FInstP) in 2009. Keith was President of the English Tech Tour in 2007 (www.techtour.com) A video summarising the highlights of the tour is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhomBNFr5G8 Keith is a member of Tech London Advocates: https://www.techlondonadvocates.org.uk
Keith was made a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) (www.cim.co.uk) in 1996 and, in 1998, was amongst the first marketers to receive individual chartered status. Keith served on the Board of Trustees of the CIM from 2013 to 2016 and he was a member of CIM’s Audit and Risk Committee from 2011 to 2017. Keith was the Master of the Worshipful Company of Marketors in the City of London in 2007, after joining the Company as a Freeman and then Liveryman in 1997/8, and he also served as a Trustee of its Charitable Trust for several years. He was the initial representative for the Marketors on the Financial Services Group of Livery Companies (www.livery-fsg.org.uk). Keith is also a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (www.wccaew.org.uk), a member of the 007 Past Masters’ Association (with all the connotations of James Bond!), a member of Coleman Street Ward Club and a Freeman of the City of London. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors (FIoD) ( https://www.iod.com ) and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (FRSA) (www.theRSA.org).
Keith served as a Non-Executive Director of Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust from 2008 to 2016 (www.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk ), where he was also Chairman of the Audit Committee and Senior Independent Director during this period, and was the Deputy Chairman of the Trust from 2014 to 2016. He also chaired the Electronic Care Records Project Board at the Trust and he served as a Mental Health Act Manager. Keith served as a Non-Executive Director of West London Healthcare NHS Trust from 1991-1998 and was also Chairman of its Audit Committee and Consultants’ Discretionary Points Committee.
Keith is Treasurer and Past Chairman of Ealing 41 Club and past Chairman of Ealing Round Table. He is also a member of Windsor and Eton 41 Club.
Keith is married to Kathy who is a critical care and A&E nurse and who originates from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA. Keith and Kathy live in Windsor, Berkshire, UK.
Keith’s interests include the City of London, travel, animals (Keith and Kathy currently have two cats: a Tuxedo cat and a Maine Coon), music (Keith plays keyboards), running marriage preparation courses with his wife Kathy, and visiting lighthouses – Keith is a member of the Association of Lighthouse Keepers (www.alk.org.uk).
Published books and papers
Books and book chapters
Arundale K and Mason C (2020) Private Equity & Venture Capital – riding the COVID-19 crisis. In: Billio M and Varotto S (eds) Lessons for Business, the Finance Industry and Policy Makers: 193-204. Venezia Edizioni Ca’Foscari-Digital Publishing.
Arundale K (2020) Venture Capital. In: Bitoni A, Harris P, Fleisher CS and Binderkrantz, AK (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs. Palgrave Macmillan
Arundale K (2019) Venture Capital Performance – A comparative study of investment practices in Europe and the USA. Routledge
Arundale K (2018) Exploring the difference in performance between UK/European venture capital funds and US venture capital funds. Doctoral dissertation, University of Glasgow (glathesis:2018-30827)
Arundale K (2010) A Guide to Private Equity. British Venture Capital Association
Arundale K (2007) Raising Venture Capital Finance in Europe. Kogan Page
Arundale K (2004) Developing Winning Business Plans. In: Tang K, Vohora A and Freeman R (eds) How to build and invest in successful university spinouts”. Euromoney Books
Recent academic papers and articles
Arundale K and Mason C (2025) Business angel groups as collective action: an examination of the due diligence process. Int Entrep Manag J 21, 39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-024-01052-7
Arundale K and Mason C (2022) How angel investors approach due diligence: a case study of Henley Business Angels. ISBE Conference, York (best paper finalist)
Arundale K and Zhao Y (2021) An investigation into the investment practices of venture capital firms in China: a comparison with Europe and USA. ISBE Conference, Cardiff
Arundale K (2020) Syndication and cross-border collaboration by venture capital firms in Europe and the USA: a comparative study. Venture Capital 22.4: 355-376
Arundale K (2019) Investing across frontiers: A study of venture capital investment approval practices in Europe and US. ISBE Conference, Newcastle (nominated for the Best Research & Knowledge Exchange paper)
Arundale K (2019) The transatlantic venture capital divide. CISI Review, Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment: October
Arundale K (2018) Collaboration by venture capital firms: Issues with cross-border syndication in Europe and US. ISBE Conference, Birmingham (nominated for the Best Paper award in the Entrepreneurial Finance track)
Arundale K (2018) Learning from the competition. Corporate Financier, ICAEW: November
Arundale K (2017) Mind the gap. BVCA Journal, Summer: 26-29. British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association
Arundale K (2017) Investigating the characteristics of top performing venture capital funds in Europe and USA. ISBE Conference, Belfast
Arundale K (2016) Non-practitioner views on the reasons for the difference in performance between European and US venture capital funds. ISBE Conference, Paris
Arundale K (2015) Differences in investment practices between European and US venture capital funds: a frequency analysis. ISBE Conference, Glasgow
Arundale K (2014) Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Finance & Management Faculty special report on Growing your business, ICAEW: September
Arundale K (2013) Separating fact from fiction. BVCA Journal, Autumn. British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association
