Meet our business development team

Jeff Keyzer

Head of Business Development

Jeff graduated from the University of Johannesburg with a B.Com in Industrial Psychology, Human Movement Science and Business Management, before going on to complete his honours degree in Strategic Management.

Dan Handforth

Sr. Business Development & Performance Manager

Dan has previously held directorships, senior business development, and strategic consulting roles for large corporates across legal, accountancy, wealth management and tax consulting organisations. His current role involves developing our strategic partnership and client network.

He spends much of his free time being the “Dad Taxi” for his three children, and is a keen sailor, being a member of the French Sailing Federation. He is also a former board member of Anti-Slavery International.

Ross Denton

Business Development Manager

Ross graduated from Oxford Brookes University in 2017 with a degree in Business and Marketing Management. Previously working as a Senior Sales Consultant for a golf travel company, he looked after a number of key markets such as Spain, Portugal, France and Italy.

Outside of work, Ross is a big Liverpool fan and enjoys playing golf as much as he can (weather permitting).

Tom Jennings

Business Development Consultant

Tom has experience with all stages of the sales lifecycle, building and developing strong relationships whilst producing positive results for his clients.

Outside of the office, Tom loves to travel and is a keen endurance athlete always looking for his next fitness challenge! He’s climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, ran several marathons and spends most of his weekends cycling up and over hills.

Isabel Shapi

Business Intelligence Associate

Isabel graduated from the University of Leeds in French and Business Management. She has studied in several international cities, including Rome, Paris and London. Thanks to her international upbringing, she’s fluent in three languages and wants to learn more!

During her studies, Isabel was part of the Women In Leadership committee and helped to organise the Annual Empower Conference, focusing on the importance of ESG and digital technologies.

In her free time, Isabel enjoys travelling, listening to a good podcast and doing yoga.

Sofia Curbelo Maunder

Business Development Associate

Sofia grew up in the Canary Islands and speaks three languages; English, Spanish and French. She completed her BA in International Relations in 2018 at the University of East Anglia.

Before joining Kene Partners, Sofia worked at a leading fintech start-up in the insurance industry. As Customer Operations Executive, she became very adept at finding customer pain-points and tackling them.

At Kene Partners, Sofia enjoys being at the forefront of innovation and helping companies get rewarded for their innovative pursuits.

In her spare time, she likes playing football (or any sport!) and trying to keep up with any new hobbies she has discovered that month!

Archie Nicholls

Business Development Associate

Archie grew up in Wiltshire and holds a first in accounting and finance from Manchester Metropolitan University and a Diploma in First-Line Management from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

To date, Archie’s career highlights include working in HR Analytics for a nuclear decommissioning company and managing a service department with a focus on partnerships and client relationships. His previous role was working for a foreign currency risk management specialist, managing the business services desk. His role included referring corporate clients to partner companies that could support with wider business challenges, R&D tax being one of them.

Archie’s passion for R&D tax credits stems from the sheer variety of companies that can utilise the incentive. He has witnessed first-hand how under-recognised the credits are and how the quality of a claim can make a huge difference to the outcome. He looks forward to having a front-row seat to the evolution of R&D tax credits in an ever-innovating UK.

In his spare time, Archie loves to play squash, tennis, hockey and bouldering. His other passions extend to cooking (and eating!), travel, playing drums and music. He hopes to make it to Glastonbury Festival one day!

Josh Short

Client & Commercial Partnerships Lead

Josh grew up in Suffolk and graduated from the University of East Anglia in 2017 with a degree in History.

Before joining Kene Partners, Josh worked as a New Partner Consultant at a leading fintech start-up. His role helping accountants understand the role technology can play in building out new advisory service lines for their clients. In his current role as Account Manager, he loves to get to know all our partners and the innovative projects they are undertaking.

Josh’s perfect weekend consists of a trip away rock climbing and relaxing in his campervan.

Ruari Morris

Business Development Associate

Ruari grew up in Birmingham and achieved a 2:1 in History from Loughborough University. Whilst studying, Ruari worked as technology vendor in the sales team.

After graduating, Ruari joined a top UK IT reseller as an Account Executive, onboarding and managing customers across a range of industries, where he remained for 4 years before joining Kene Partners.

In his spare time, Ruari enjoys watching sports, hacking his way round a golf course, following Arsenal F.C, and eating lots of food.

Gabriele Griggs

Business Development Consultant

Gabriele grew up in London and graduated from university with a 2:1 in BSc Criminology.

Gabriele started her career as a Business Development Representative at an R&D Tax firm where she gained experience in the world of R&D. Thereafter, Gabriele had a successful career in recruitment for 5 years speaking to a plethora of industries and furthering her knowledge. Now, after 6 years, she has returned to the field of R&D at Kene Partners.

In her spare time, Gabriele loves to cook and challenges herself daily trying out new techniques, recipes and baking (she is yet to master baking).

Liam Hanna

Business Development Consultant

Liam has worked in sales for over a decade, covering a variety of industries including: financial products & services, software, food & beverage and automotive. He is passionate about client service and can often be found on-site getting stuck into projects. He has joined Kene Partners in order to help the UK’s innovative community thrive.

Outside of work, Liam enjoy’s spending time on the cricket field and golf course. His extensive knowledge on sports, dog breeds and cooking, makes him the perfect addition to any quiz team.

Andrea Willoughby

Business Development Consultant

Andrea graduated from TU Dublin with a BA Honours Degree in creative digital media. She began her career in PR working for Virgin Media One in Dublin and later at the Edinburgh Fringe, where she represented a roster of 80+ acts to include Michael Che (Saturday Night Live) Omid Djalili and Stewart Lee.

In London, Andrea has worked with a number of organisations from Novus Leisure (corporate hospitality) to Chillisauce (tourism) and City Academy (business training and team building) with clients ranging from Amazon to XIX Entertainment.

Andrea has designed bespoke training programmes for TikTok, GSK, Shark Ninja and FARFETCH and coached a sales team of 45 people to achieve monthly targets in excess of £1m. Her focus is always on client experience and delivering the highest level of service.

In her spare time, Andrea enjoys going to gigs, stand-up shows, festivals and trying anything creative. She also does voice-over work, reviews hotels and has over 100 registered volunteering hours with FoodCycle, a charity focusing on curbing loneliness and food waste in UK communities.

Reema Lal

Business Development Consultant

Reema graduated from the University of Westminster in Accounting and Business Management before discovering a passion for sales.

After working in the fitness industry for the last 10 years, she is now keen to utilise her skills to support clients in the R&D advisory space.

Outside of work, Reema cherishes moments spent with her family and prioritises maintaining a healthy lifestyle. She achieved a black belt in Karate at the age of 16 and enjoys regular yoga sessions.