Meet the Kene Partners Team

Adam Kene

Managing Director

Prior to starting Kene Partners, Adam previously held senior business development and consulting positions at the two largest R&D Tax consultancies in Europe. He currently sits on HMRC’s R&D Incentives and Reliefs Consultative Committee.

Adam has worked with over 200 companies successfully submitting 600+ R&D tax claims.

As a huge Welsh rugby fan, most of his spare time is dedicated to the Dragons.

Tonye Vianana

Head of Finance

Tonye has worked in a variety of key finance positions within Financial Services and other sectors. She recently worked for a fintech start-up (right from infancy all through to its £40m acquisition by private equity), where she was responsible for the delivery of the finance function; mainly accounting, budgeting, tax, treasury, and senior stakeholder management.

Chanh Dip

Head of Business Development

ATT Qualified, Chanh is a long-standing Business Development leader with extensive experience working within the Top 100 in the accountancy industry, providing tax advisory services to SME’s across all sectors nationwide.

Chanh supports clients and introducers in a consultative, knowledge-based sales approach, and is responsible for identifying and delivering successful partnerships in the business.

Joe McGurk

Head of Consulting / Head of Operations

Joe leads the Consulting team and Operations team, having joined Kene Partners from his previous role as a senior manager at the UK’s largest specialist research and development tax credit agency. With over 10 years of tax experience in advising OMB and high net-worth individuals, Joe understands that getting to know clients, their businesses and their accountants are key to a successful, lasting relationship.

R&D tax incentives are still under-utilised but, applied correctly, will encourage and reward innovative companies operating in all sectors. The opportunity to help UK businesses access these valuable cash incentives is what makes Joe so passionate about the job.

Outside of work, Joe likes to spend time with his family at their home in the Cotswolds, watching rugby and seeing friends and family.

Sage Lakhani

Senior R&D Tax Manager

A qualified Chartered Tax Adviser, having started her career with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) London, Sage has previously held positions at two boutique tax consultancies, working with entrepreneurs and growing businesses across a range of sectors.

Specialised in the implementation of technically robust tax solutions, developing and managing the processes/workflow management, she works to ensure consistent quality of delivery, strong client relationships and flawless team management.

Sage enjoys running in all weather, pilates and is a qualified personal trainer.

Andy Royce

R&D Tax Manager

With a background in law, Andy worked in legal insurance for several years, before pursuing a career in tax. His most recent role was tax manager for the UK’s largest specialist research and development tax credit agency. 

In his spare time, Andy enjoys walking the dog and spending time with his one-year-old daughter.

Loren Burgess

HR Coordinator & Hiring Manager

Prior to joining Kene Partners, Loren assisted in building out the people, operations and marketing functions for two medium-sized start-ups. She spins multiple plates, taking great responsibility to ensure the wellbeing, support and development of all staff. Loren is a key driver in the recruitment process, continuing to grow our wonderful and skilled team.

Loren enjoys long-distance road cycling across the often cold and windy Kent hills.

Olly Newman

R&D Senior Technical Consultant

Olly studied at the universities of Warwick and Oxford and has over a decade of technical-writing experience: beginning his career writing instruction manuals for smart phones and devices. Olly has worked in specialist R&D claim preparation for over 5 years (including direct support for businesses of all sizes in their correspondence with HMRC).

At Kene Partners he provides claim support and specialist expertise surrounding the R&D legislation. He also takes a lead role in the team’s ongoing technical training.

Vishnu Pillai

R&D Tax Consultant

Vishnu joined Kene Partners having completed his studies of Materials Science and Engineering MEng at Imperial College London – areas of specific study included: Nanotechnology, Structural Ceramics, and Advanced 3D modelling.

His current role as R&D tax consultant involves working closely with multiple clients and project teams predominantly in manufacturing, engineering, construction and software.

Dr Anjana Raman

R&D Tax Consultant

Anjana joins Kene Partners with extensive R&D experience, graduating with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from University College London in 2018. Subsequently, she worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Birmingham on a project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Specific interests include railway, construction, biomedical, software, and automotive sectors.

Outside of work, Anjana has been learning Spanish for 10 years, enjoys travelling, and keeping fit.

Ben Conry

R&D Tax Consultant

Ben joins us from one of the world’s leading consultancy firms, where he submitted R&D claims for some of the largest companies in the UK. Ben has experience in several industries, ranging from biotechnology and cybersecurity to heavy engineering and defence.

Whilst studying for a degree in Law, Ben managed a number of restaurants and cocktail bars and has a keen interest in the Hospitality and Food and Beverage sectors. Ben is a member of the London City Athletics Club where he trains in 60-200m sprinting.

Fergus Watson

R&D Tax Consultant

Having started out one of the big four accountancy practices, Fergus has extensive experience with R&D tax claims. With a background in tax, he specialises in RDEC claims for large companies.

When not working, Fergus enjoys long walks in the country and exploring different cities.

Max Braham

R&D Tax Associate

Max previously worked as an Account Manager for a national banking facility before joining us at Kene Partners. He earned a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering while at university in Surrey and enjoys getting involved in a wide variety of sports including football, golf, and skiing.

Dr Winnie Leung

R&D Tax Analyst

Winnie joins us with a MSci and PhD in Chemistry from University College London. Since joining Kene Partners, she has been excited to learn about different R&D projects and help businesses to claim eligible tax relief. 

To date, Winnie has worked on multiple interesting projects across different sectors. A few of her favourite projects include Spanish Latte-in-a-can, a custom-built mobility scooter and party staging with a twist. 

Winnie is an adventurer at heart and loves to travel. She also likes to spend her free time exercising, cooking and painting!

Dr Arwyn Evans

R&D Tax Analyst

Arwyn has R&D experience from both academia and industry, having joined Kene Partners from an agri-tech start-up using materials science. Prior to this role, he graduated with a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London, having worked on an industrial project funded by BP-International Centre for Advanced Materials (ICAM). 

During his spare time, he enjoys running or can be found following any form of rugby, football or cricket.  

Mina Yakubova

R&D Tax Analyst

Mina has joined us as an enthusiastic, highly-motivated Political Science and International Relations student. With proven leadership capabilities and no fear in seeking out new challenges, Mina is destined for great things.

She was one of the first international employees at Kene Partners, demonstrating her excellency in technical writing, financial analysis and teamwork. Excited about the R&D tax system and the value it brings to UK businesses through science and technology, Mina believes that such governmental incentives would be great practice in all countries around the world. 

Mina loves doing sports (she has a brown belt in karate), drawing and roller/ice skating in her leisure time. She also has a deep interest in psychology. 

Jack Howley

R&D Tax Analyst

Jack has a background in Chemical Engineering, completing his Master’s degree in 2019. Prior to joining Kene Partners, Jack worked for KPMG as an auditor.  

Since joining us, Jack has worked on a variety of clients, ranging from construction to software, each with exciting and pioneering projects. 

In his spare time, Jack enjoys running and boxing as well as watching sports such as cricket and football. 

Saniya Assembek

R&D Tax Analyst

With a background in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Saniya won 1st place for her design and operational planning of a Soil Treatment Plant, part of the 6th Korea-Kazakhstan International Seminar on Energy and Industrial Cooperation. Joining us with two years’ experience in sales and recruiting as an independent contractor, Saniya was the top recruiter during her employment. 

Saniya has been a keen dancer for over 10 years and played the position of point guard on the women’s basketball team at university. She also enjoys reading and drawing illustrations.

Dan Handforth

Senior Business Development Manager & 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.

Dafna Yaron Hirshberg

UX/UI Designer

Dafna joins us as our first UX Designer. She earned a B.A. in The Multidisciplinary Program in the Arts from Tel Aviv University and has extensive experience and knowledge in design. She previously worked in the charity and corporate sectors.

When she’s not reading books about UX, Dafna enjoys learning languages and watching 80s movies.

Laura Gallagher

Marketing Lead

Laura joins us with over 9 years’ experience working for advertising agencies, media owners and in-house marketing teams, completing her Masters in marketing in 2018. Her most recent role was overseeing the strategic direction and implementation of three recruitment portfolios, including exhibitions attracting over 20,000 visitors per year.

Passionate about sustainability, animal rights and protecting our environment, Laura also volunteers for a local charity on weekends.

Jeff Keyzer

Business Development Manager

Before moving to the UK, Jeff founded and ran a successful insurance business for more than 14 years in Johannesburg, South Africa. We’re excited to have him on the team to help build relationships with key industry partners to drive, discover and enable business innovation across various sectors. 

In his spare time, Jeff is an avid reader and enjoys Olympic lifting and jiu-jitsu.

Josh Kemper

Business Development Manager

Josh’s most recent role was within the consulting sector where he looked after many fortune 500 clients in the UK, Middle East, Africa and Nordics. He worked with them to build both negotiation strategies and negotiation capability, of which he is highly trained in. 

Passionate about sustainability, fitness, the great outdoors and dogs, Josh also loves travelling and trying the local beers!

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 Manager

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.

Philippa Monk

Business Development Analyst

Philippa recently graduated from the University of Oxford, where she studied History. Whilst at University, she worked as an intern for Radiance International, an environmental consultancy currently attempting to create the world’s first and premier Centre for AI, Energy and Climate.

Since graduating during the global pandemic, Philippa spent some time briefly working as a freelance consultant for Radiance, before joining Kene Partners as an analyst in the Business Development team, researching exciting new opportunities in emergent R&D industries.

In her spare time, Philippa enjoys reading, keeping fit and karaoke.

Rachael Moore

Operations Analyst

Rachael recently graduated from The University of Southampton with a degree in Politics and Philosophy. Prior to joining Kene Partners, Rachael gained experience working in a range of different commercial environments including Thomson Reuters and BBC.

In her spare time, she enjoys vegetarian cooking, running and socialising!