Bellier Communications longest-standing client, Ric Lewis, CEO and Chairman of Tristan Capital Partners, has been named the UK’s most influential black person on the Powerlist 2019 — the annual list of the 100 most powerful people of African and African Caribbean heritage in Britain. Ric Lewis has retained Bellier as first Curzon Capital Partners and then Tristan’s communications partner for nearly 12 years.
Ric is a respected veteran in the world of international property investment and Tristan, the firm he founded in 2009, has become one of the fastest growing and strongest performing private equity real estate investment managers in Europe. Last year alone, the company increased its total assets under management by over 30% to in excess of €10 billion. Today, Tristan Capital Partners is the largest black majority-owned private company in Britain.
Produced in partnership with J.P. Morgan and sponsored by EY, Linklaters, and the Executive Leadership Council, the Powerlist, now in its 12th year, honours incredible men and women across a wide range of industries including science, technology and the arts.Guests will be celebrated at a black-tie dinner to be held at Plaisterers’ Hall in the City of London.
Steve Hays, Co-Founding Managing Director of Bellier, said: “I want to warmly congratulate Ric on this well-deserved honour, not only for what he has achieved in the business world, but also for the time he dedicates to the community through his personal Black Heart Foundation charity. Back in mid-2007, on the eve of the Global Financial Crisis, Ric Lewis put his faith in a small financial public relations start-up operating from Amsterdam, that had only really got going around a year before. Bellier has since grown to be the only truly pan-European boutique real estate investment PR agency and is also the largest communications firm by client AUM in the Dutch cross-asset institutional investment market – the second biggest private pensions industry in Europe.”
Ric Lewis testimonial on Bellier
Outside of work, Ric is a passionate advocate for removing the barriers to aspiration and achievement for children and young adults, in particular through his own charity the Black Heart Foundation – www.blackheartfoundation.org. Each year, the Foundation provides educational scholarships to young people in need in the UK and abroad.
Ric Lewis, said: “I am privileged to have been voted number one for 2019. Over the course of my career, I have been fortunate enough to accumulate the network and means, which allow me to give back. I hope to use this accolade to continue to advance the charitable causes I feel most passionate about, with the express aim of helping a greater number of children and young adults aspire to and achieve more. I have a deep belief that if kids are provided with inspiration, encouragement and the resources and pastoral care they need, great things can happen for them and for our community. It’s up to all of us to find our own ways to connect the dots and make this happen.”
The Powerlist 2019 Top Ten are:
1. Ric Lewis – Chief Executive and Chairman of Tristan Capital Partners
2. Sharon White –Chief Executive, Ofcom
3. Ismail Ahmed – World Remit Founder
4. Jacky Wright – Corporate Vice President and Interim CIO, Microsoft
5. Sandie Okoro – Senior Vice President and Group General Counsel at the World Bank
6. Ebele Okobi – Public Policy Director, Africa, Facebook
7. Professor Funmi Olonisakin – Vice President and Vice Principal International, King’s College
8. Paulette Rowe – Global Head, Payments and Financial Services Partnerships at Facebook
9. Edward Enninful OBE – Editor-in-Chief, British Vogue
10. Richard Inferenta – KPMG Partner, Head of Challenger Banking
