Business career
Coller began his financial career in equity research at Fidelity International. [7] He joined the ICI Pension Plan as a sector fund manager before moving into venture and buyout investment roles. [8] During this period, he was an early proponent of investing in secondary positions in private equity funds.
According to Secondaries Investor, at ICI Coller became the first institutional investor in Dayton Carr’s VCFA fund, an early private equity secondar ies vehicle.
In 1990, Coller founded Coller Capital, one of the earliest firms in Europe dedicated to secondary private equity investments. [9] The firm has since expanded internationally and raised multiple large secondaries funds, completing transactions involving portfolios of private equity interests and corporate divestments from companies such as BT, Lucent Bell Labs, and the U K Atomic Energy Authority. [10] [11] In 2021, it closed its eighth core fund, Coller International Partners VIII, with over $9 billion in commitments. In 2022, it raised $1.4 billion for its Coller Credit Opportunities I fund, marking the firm’s entry into credit secondaries. In 2025, the firm raised $6.8 billion for its Coller Credit Opportunities II fund. [12] As of 2025, Coller Capital employed 272 people and operated offices in London, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul and other locations.
Philanthropy
Coller is founder and chairman of the Jeremy Coller Foundation, a UK-based grant-making organisation that supports work in areas including global food system reform, animal welfare, alternative proteins and food tech, and innovation in venture and management education. [13]
Between 2012 and 2024, he was on the advisory council of The Elders, a peace and human rights organisation founded by Nelson Mandela. [14]
Interspecies communication
In 2020, the Jeremy Coller Foundation established the Coller Prize for Interspecies Conversation, a $1 million award intended to advance communication between humans and animals, particularly through the use of artificial intelligence.
In 2025, the Foundation launched the Coller Dolittle Challenge with Tel Aviv University, offering $100,000 annual prizes and a final $10 million equity award (or $500,000 in cash) for achieving two-way interspecies communication. The Challenge draws inspiration from the Turing Test and has recognised a dolphin vocalisations project with its first annual award. [15] [16]
ESG investing and corporate engagement
The Jeremy Coller Foundation funds research and advocacy on the consequences of factory farming for global sustainability. [17] [7]
FAIRR (Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return) Initiative
In 2015, Coller founded the FAIRR Initiative (Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return), a global network of institutional investors focused on ESG risks in intensive animal agriculture. As of 2025, its members represented over $80 trillion in assets.
FAIRR engages with global food companies to influence corporate practices related to antibiotic use, climate resilience, animal welfare, Scope 3 emissions, and sustainability reporting. [18] [19] [20] [21]
In 2022, Coller co-founded the Alternative Proteins Association, a UK-based trade body representing companies involved in plant-based, cultivated, and fermented proteins. The association promotes regulatory reform, industry collaboration and public policy support for alternative proteins, aiming to accelerate the transition to more sustainable food systems. [22]
Research, advocacy and public engagement
The Foundation funds complementary public health research, including epidemiological studies on antimicrobial resistance linked to intensive farming. [7] [23]
In 2025, the Foundation donated £4 million to create the Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience at the London School of Economics. It funds interdisciplinary research into animal minds, emotions, and welfare using approaches from neuroscience, philosophy, law, and behavioural science.
In 2021, The Foundation launched the Coller Animal Law Forum (CALF), which tracks and analyses global farm animal legislation and provides guidance for policymakers and advocates.
In 2023, Coller authored An Ever-Green Revolution, a white paper outlining the unintended consequences of the “Green Revolution” including accelerating intensive animal agriculture and contributing to AMR. [24]
The Foundation is also the principal funder of the Future of Food exhibition at the Science Museum, London. [25] The exhibition covers emerging food technologies and industrial agriculture’s effects on sustainability and health.
Educational initiatives
In 2008, the Foundation donated to London Business School to create the Coller Institute of Private Equity, which conducted industry research and published the Private Equity Findings digest until 2016, when publishing was taken over by Coller Capital. [26]
In 2013, as part of a $50 million donation to Tel Aviv University, the Foundation launched the Coller Institute of Venture – a programme promoting global venture ecosystems through policy research, innovation strategy, and support for university–industry commercialisation. It issued the annual Coller Venture Review. [27]
In 2016, the Foundation’s donation led to Tel Aviv University’s business school being renamed as the Coller School of Management. This funding supported faculty recruitment, increased research capacity, globalisation of the student body, and established the Coller Startup Competition, which awards $100,000 annually to companies innovating in alternative food systems. [28]
In 2025, Coller established the Coller Pensions Institute, a non-profit think tank focused on pension policy research. The Institute examines pension system alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goals, including issues of ageing populations, ESG investing, and pension access in emerging economies. [29]
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