Rob Toker

Consul, Head of Trade and Investment

UK Trade & Investment

Robert Toker is responsible for the operations of UK Trade & Investment, the UK Government’s international business development organisation.

Rob has built his career in the private sector; he brings to the job more than 14 years of technology, marketing, operations and finance experience. Rob has diverse experience and broad capabilities in a number of technology sectors including ICT, Life Sciences, Bio-nanotechnologies, Systems Dynamics and Financial Services.  Rob was a technology entrepreneur; he was the Founding CEO of Evolved Nanomaterial Sciences, Inc (ENS).

Rob led multidisciplinary engineering, operations and business development teams at several Boston area start-ups including D2 Hawkeye, and CareTools. He helped co-ordinate the integration of two large healthcare IT organisations at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital under the Partners Healthcare network Rob holds an M.S. in Engineering Management from Tufts University and a B.A. in Economics from Boston University.

Steve Blakeley

Partner, Corporate & Securities, M&A, and Private Equity Practices

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Steve Blakeley heads the firm’s English law corporate practice in the United Kingdom.    Mr.  Blakeley’s practice encompasses all aspects of corporate and

securities law, with special emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, IPOs and cross-border transactions. He has represented both public and private companies in a wide variety of industries and has assisted companies in listing on the AIM in London.

Mr. Blakeley has represented a broad range of buyers, sellers, issuers and investors in a number of substantial domestic and international transactions. In particular, he acted for a number of acquisitive UK public companies, including Parkfield Group plc, AAH plc and Leigh Interests plc.

Mr. Blakeley has represented both buyers and sellers in a wide variety of merger and acquisition transactions, including asset acquisitions and disposals and share purchases and sales.

Mr. Blakeley’s clients come from a broad range of industry sectors, including engineering, manufacturing, distribution, business services, toxic and hazardous waste treatment and disposal, and information systems and data processing.

Mr. Blakeley has significant management as well as legal experience. He was the managing partner of Wilde Sapte from 1994 to 2000 and the managing partner for strategic initiatives and then deputy chief executive of Denton Wilde Sapte (following the merger between Wilde Sapte and Denton Hall) from 2000 to 2004.

Mr. Blakeley received his B.A. with honors from Oxford University (Trinity College). He acquired training at the College of Law in Chester and London and qualified as a solicitor in 1980.

Sebastian Rice

Partner, Corporate & Securities Practice

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Sebastian Rice focuses on providing English corporate law advice on U.K. and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and private equity transactions.

Prior to joining Akin Gump, Mr. Rice spent four years at Simmons & Simmons, where he acted on a large number of substantial corporate deals. During his time at Simmons, he was seconded to its corporate practice in Milan, where he acted on high-value Italian law mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Rice also worked at 3i Group plc, the private equity and venture capital house, as a legal advisor to the European investment teams.

Mr. Rice received his B.A. in Russian from Exeter University in 1993 and attended the College of Law in London. He was admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales in 1998.

Mr. Rice speaks fluent Russian and Italian.