Lexi Bowes-Lyons, a cousin of princes William and Harry, has been named head of impact at a new AI-powered family office consultancy founded by a former KPMG head of client relations and a veteran of one of the world’s largest emerging markets private equity platforms, Citi Venture Capital International.
The firm, named Cynren, provides family offices with international advisory services, such as complex risk consulting, compliance advice and philanthropic strategy. In a press release, Cynren emphasised its AI capabilities and promised to provide faster and more-informed insights to its clients, while bypassing the bureaucracy of larger, more traditional firms.
Bowes-Lyon will head up a division of the business that aims to help UHNW clients build impact investment strategies. The firm says its AI technology will enable clients to connect with charities and foundations that align with their values, and find suitable co-investors.
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‘At Cynren, we focus on mobilizing collaborative capital through bringing together the entire capital stack while aligning risk and measurable outcomes,’ Bowes-Lyon said. ‘This ensures that impact-driven initiatives are disciplined and credible, and ultimately built for long-term resilience and enduring impact.’
Bowes-Lyon has experience of working in philanthropic strategy, having served as an adviser to the international conservation non-profit Space for Giants, which protects elephants and other African wildlife. Prior to this, she connected Asian wildlife charity Elephant Family with corporate sponsors and worked in the art world during spells at Christie’s and with art dealer Ivor Braka.
Bowes-Lyon’s work for Space for Giants became the subject of controversy in 2023 when the Sunday Times revealed that she had played a role in organising a Kenyan safari for Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in 2021, while the Putin-linked billionaire was subject to US sanctions.
The CEO of charity Space for Giants, Dr Max Graham, told the Sunday Times that ‘no Space for Giants entity, Lexi Bowes-Lyon nor myself have ever knowingly or deliberately breached sanctions’. Despite this, the non-profit was subject to FBI and Department of Justice investigation concerning sanctions in the months following the trip.
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A distant cousin of Prince William and Prince Harry, Bowes-Lyon has royal connections. She shares a surname with the late Queen Mother and her father, David Bowes-Lyon, is the third cousin of King Charles III through their common ancestor, the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne.
Aside from the Queen Mother, other members of the Bowes-Lyon family have married into royalty. Anne Bowes-Lyon, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, married Prince George of Denmark, a great-grandson of King Christian IX.
