Our Team
John Arney
John Arney is a Co-Founding Partner at Smithfield and is based in London. John has over 30 years of experience acquiring, owning, operating, and financing businesses in the industrial, automotive, energy, business services and digital sectors. He began his career at Price Waterhouse in 1990, before moving to 3i plc as a private equity investor. In 1998 John joined Chase Capital Partners (which became JP Morgan Partners) where he led investments across Europe.
In 2002 John joined European mid-market buy-out specialist Candover Partners and in 2011 he led a management buy-out of the business to form Arle Capital Partners. Following the sale of Arle in 2017, John founded The Smithfield Group alongside Tom Corrin and Julian Ameler. He was a board director of Parques Reunidos and has served on a variety of industrial company boards including Pure Power Technologies, Innovia, Thule Group AB, Vetco International and Aibel, and is a founder and board member of both Guardian, which he chairs, and Pure Lifting Group. John is also Vice Chairman and President at KCGI.
Julian Ameler
Julian Ameler is a Partner at Smithfield and is based in Berlin. Julian has over 13 years of experience in investment banking, corporate finance, and private equity across a wide range of industries. He began his career in investment banking at UBS in Frankfurt and London, advising clients in industrials and other sectors. In 2012, Julian transitioned into Private Equity and joined Arle Capital Partners. After 5 years at Arle, Julian joined John Arney and Tom Corrin in founding The Smithfield Group.
During his time at Arle and Smithfield, Julian has been deeply involved in all aspects of private equity investing including supervision and management of portfolio companies, refinancings, restructurings, strategy, deal-sourcing, fund raising, acquisitions and divestments. Most notably, he played instrumental roles in the successful buyouts of Innovia Group, Pure Power Technologies, Guardian and Pure Lifting Group. Julian has served on a number of company boards incl. Hilding Anders, Pure Power Technologies, Guardian, Pure Lifting Group, Laseraid and Elan.
Julian is also a member of the management team at KCGI as the Head of Business Development.
Investment & Support Team
Jock Paton
Jock Paton is an Investment Manager at Smithfield and based in Northern California, overseeing the firm’s US activities. He has over 10 years of M&A, private equity, and operating experience. Prior to Smithfield Jock spent 4 years in Lazard’s M&A team in London. He began his career at Arle Capital Partners, where he first worked alongside John Arney, Julian Ameler, and Mandy Nicholson.
Jock has broad responsibilities at Smithfield including the sourcing and execution of new deals and management of portfolio companies. He was part of the deal team for the buyout of Pure Lifting Group and has been closely involved in the management of Guardian, including completing a 2-year portfolio secondment to Guardian’s executive leadership team in 2021 and subsequently being appointed to the Board in 2023.
Jock is also a member of the management team of KCGI and is currently pursuing an Executive MBA at the San Francisco campus of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
Kalina Forbes
Kalina Forbes is the Finance Manager at Smithfield and is based in Salisbury. Kalina has 4 years of experience working at accounting firm PKF Francis Clark, where she completed her ICAEW chartership in 2020. Kalina won the international prize for achieving 100%, the highest mark worldwide, in Business Planning: Taxation. Kalina joined the Smithfield team in October 2021 and has a split role across finance and investments.
Mandy Nicholson
Mandy is an Office Manager at Smithfield and is based in Kent. She has over 15 years of experience managing the day-to-day functions in Private equity firms including Candover Partners, Arle Capital Partners and now The Smithfield Group. Prior to working in Private Equity, Mandy worked and gained experience in the following areas: The Charity Sector; Business Intelligence; Local Government; IT Recruitment; Hospitality; and the Oil & Gas Industry.