Jeff Barratt (1962-1967)

Jeff Barratt (surname Courtney-Lewis while at Scots) is recognised as a Great Scot for his outstanding finance and banking achievements and all-round character.

Jeff’s successful professional career was set on course by a high achieving time at Scots. He was Dux of the Intermediate School and he excelled at sports; being a member of the College’s 1st teams in soccer, cricket, rugby, and athletics, winning the Watt Cup for Athletics and setting the College Intermediate shotput record in 1967.

Jeff graduated with an LLB from Sydney University in 1973. Afterwards, he joined Stephen Jaques, one of the largest law firms in Sydney, and commenced his Masters in Law.

In 1975, Jeff was awarded the Frehill Hollingdale and Page Prize for Public Companies, after which he returned to England to visit his father and to play cricket for the Middlesex County Cricket Club. He continued playing club cricket until recently, having captained Hampstead Cricket Club, and was Chairman of the Blackheath Cricket Club in Surrey.

From 1977 until 2017, Jeff had a successful career with Norton Rose Fulbright, a global law firm in London, becoming a partner in 1979 and holding a number of management positions. He also spent three years in the Middle East setting up the Norton Rose office in Bahrain; whilst there, he captained a Bahrain XI in several international matches. Later, he spent two and a half years in Hong Kong, where he set up the Norton Rose project finance group for the S. E. Asian Region.

Jeff is recognised internationally as a leader in his specialised fields of Project Finance and Banking. He has written numerous legal articles and publications and has been a visiting professor at the London Metropolitan University since 2013.

Since 1987, Jeff has been a Member of Lloyd’s and he currently sits on the Lloyd’s Council (Main Board), having been elected to that post in 2016, and is also a Director of the Association of Lloyd’s Members. He has been actively involved in promoting the City’s interests and has chaired the City UK Infrastructure and Energy Executive Board from 2013 until 2017. Jeff was a Non-Executive Director of the International Project Finance Association from 2011 until 2018; he sat on the London Council of the Confederation of British Industry from 2011 until 2018, and currently sits on its International Advisory Group. He was Chairman of the Cook Society in 2015 and 2016, and Deputy Chairman in 2017 and 2018. He is a Freeman of the City of London.

Jeff actively supports many children’s charities including the Dyspraxia Foundation, Snow-Camp, Wooden Spoon, and the Change Foundation (formerly Cricket for Change). He has been involved in a University scholarship programme between Sydney and the UK, and as a qualified coach and mentor with the City & Guilds of London Institute, he continues to mentor and coach a number of senior executives.

Jeff is married to Sharon and they have two children, Justin and Maeve.