ALEXANDER DUCKWORTH

Alexander Duckworth, Partner of POP Capital, has creatively marketed well-known brands ranging from Microsoft and Coca-Cola to Ralph Lauren and Harry Winston. After attending Parsons School of Design in New York City, Alexander left the US to join Hakuhodo in Japan as an Art Director. He returned to the U.S. to continue work on Coca-Cola at McCann Erickson New York. While at McCann, Alexander worked on his first luxury brand as the Art Director for Tiffany & Co. Upon leaving McCann, he joined SS&K where he worked on emerging and growing brands like TiVo and the then-new DVD format, as well as established brands like Ralph Lauren and Chubb. 

In 2002, Alexander started Point One Percent to focus his strategic and creative talents on a niche market - the wealthiest .1% of the population. Alexander has won, and continues to win, numerous awards for his work. He is often quoted in the media as an expert on the luxury market and has taught several classes. Alexander is a member of the Gerson Lehrman Retail Council, sits on the development committee at the YMCA of Greater NYC and is a board member of the Busoona Institute based in Uganda. He and his family live in New York City and in Litchfield, CT.

ELIJAH DUCKWORTH-SCHACHTER

Elijah Duckworth-Schachter is a Partner of POP Capital. Elijah has spent his career in the investment and strategy consulting industries. His primary focus has been in the private equity arena concentrating on retail and consumer products companies.  Elijah is a Director at Point One Percent working with a variety of luxury goods companies in their strategy and capital needs.  Previously his experience includes many years in the Private Equity and Mergers and Acquisitions Practice at Mercer Management Consulting, now Oliver Wyman. Additionally, he’s worked at a mezzanine debt fund, sourcing and structuring lower middle market buyouts, and as a financial analyst in the Investment Banking Division of Lehman Brothers.

Elijah is active in the investment management industry, acting as a Board Member of the Family Office Association, and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events. Elijah is a graduate of Columbia College, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Columbia Business School, where he was a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honors society.

He is active philanthropically as a mentor in the Columbia Business School Private Equity Fellows Program, secretary of the Kent School Alumni Council, member of the Peconic Land Trust’s Philanthropy Council and a board member of the Vanderbilt Cemetery Association.

RAY SIMPSON

Ray Simpson is a Partner of POP Capital. Ray has over 20 years of experience in the diamond and luxury goods industry. In 2003, Ray joined Aber Diamond Corporation), then a junior diamond mining company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, to head their strategic expansion into retailing. This initiative resulted in the purchase of the iconic jeweller Harry Winston in 2004 with Ray assuming the role of Chief Operating Officer.  In 2007, Aber dual-listed on the New York Stock Exchange re-naming the whole mining and retail company Harry Winston Diamond Corporation.

In 2011 Ray developed Diamond Asset Advisors (AG) in partnership with alternative asset managers in Zurich. The company is a specialized investment advisory and management company that combines an extensive skillset and network in the diamond and jewelry industry with a broad expertise in alternative investment operations, and it has developed diamond based alternative investment structures for institutional and other qualified investors.

Ray started his career with diamond giant De Beers in London where he held a variety of positions over a 14 year period, and as Head of Business Development, was instrumental in establishing a retail joint venture between De Beers and leading luxury group LVMH Moet Hennessey in 2000. Ray joined LVMH as Director of Operations for the new venture overseeing the development of the company’s production, logistics and information systems.

Ray has a Sloan Fellowship Masters degree from London Business School and a B.Sc. in Mathematics from Bristol University.