Our Vision
The financial world is moving East. The United Arab Emirates and Dubai in particular, will become the gateway of choice to Middle Eastern finance and will develop into the nexus of financial services for the region. Black Swan Plc is positioned in Dubai at the crossroads of this change.
We take our name from the Black Swan Theory. A Black Swan event is one that changes the world as we know it forever. It was once assumed that all swans were white. Once the first black one had been discovered in Australia, all previous research on swans was rendered useless, showing working assumptions were redundant. Black Swan Plc seeks to utilise Black Swan events in the global marketplace to optimise opportunity.
As the financial world shifts East, Black Swan Plc has strategically positioned itself in the heart of the Middle East to embrace these global changes by establishing core operations in Dubai.
Black Swan Plc seeks to embrace the shifting financial world to the East, as it is positioned to capitalise on the UAE becoming the gateway of choice for Middle East finances. Black Swan Plc has access to local funds and investments.
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.
- George Bernard Shaw
Richard Poulden
MA, MBA, Barrister-at-law
After obtaining a Law degree from Oxford University, Mr. Poulden qualified as a Barrister, which led him into merchant banking at Samuel Montagu & Co Limited, where he received the old city generalist financial training and was selected as the sole candidate to attend a course at London Business School.
Following an MBA at the London Business School and an exchange program with Harvard Business School, he joined the international management consultancy firm, Arthur D Little, working in their European strategy practice. He was also co-founder of their Financial Industries Group.
As Executive Chairman of JMI Seed Capital, he turned an initially failing fund into one of the leading seed capital funds in the UK. He served in the UK Leadership Team of Electronic Data Systems developing new financial structures for the sale of EDS’ services. He has founded or co-founded successful companies in healthcare, retail and natural resources and in all these sectors has executed successful strategies for growth by acquisition.
Mr Poulden built Sirius Minerals from a market capitalisation of under £2m, which via a series of acquisitions became the only potash resource company quoted in London. Sirius now has a market capitalisation in excess of £200m with a share price increase of 800%.
Mr. Poulden is also Chairman of Wishbone Gold Plc, Chairman of Black Swan Plc and Chairman of PCG Entertainment Plc.