Whilst at university, Kirk founded DaLEK Software, which developed the Computer-aided design package MicroDraft for Amstrad CPC and PCWcomputers. After graduation from Southampton, he returned to Cambridge, as Director at Innovation for the science and technology consultancy Scientific Generics.
In 1992, Kirk joined Goldman Sachs, initially working in commodities before moving to currencies. He was appointed a managing director in 1998, and became a Partner in 2000. As a partner, Kirk was responsible for heading up the bank's European quantitative technologies group, which tested systematic investment strategies. He oversaw a team of 120 mathematicians, scientists and statisticians.
In 2006, he founded Cantab Capital Partners, a science-driven quantitative investment firm in Cambridge. . The firm says its work resembles a "scientific research organisation" more than a financial firm. Most of the members of the team hold advanced degrees in mathematics, physics, statistics or computer science. The company has links with the University of Cambridge. In 2016, Cantab Capital Partners was acquired by GAM Investments, becoming part of GAM Systematic. At the time of acquisition, Cantab Capital Partners had 56 employees and £4.5bn under management. In February 2020, GAM Systematic won Eurohedge's 'Managed Futures – Under $500m' award for 2019. In 2020, Ewan Kirk was awarded HFM's Lifetime Achievement Award for his founding role in Cantab, contributions to quantitative investment and developing science-led approaches to finance.
Philanthropy
In 2007, Ewan Kirk and his wife Dr. Patricia Turner founded the Turner-Kirk Charitable Trust, which provides funds to STEM, education and conservation causes in the UK and developing world. Since founding, Kirk's charitable trust has disbursed more than £7 million in funding. It is one of the largest private funders of fundamental mathematics research in the UK.
Political activity
In 2016, Kirk was part of the official campaign making the pro-science case for remaining in the European Union during the UK’s referendum on EU membership and donated £10,000 to Scientists for EU. Kirk is a member of the Liberal Democrats Business and Entrepreneurs Network, which is ‘a network of senior business people’ that ‘provides the party with expert advice on business and economic policy’. During the 2019 UK General Election, Kirk was one of 60 business leaders to sign an open letter endorsing the Liberal Democrats and donated £300,000 to the party.
