OD11 digital HR - Flipbook - Page 45
ROBERT GRAY
Robert Gray Medal
recipient Blaine
Tomlinson with
former rugby referee
Nigel Owens at the
annual UK Branch
black-tie dinner,
September 2023.
THE QUIET PHILANTHROPIST
Blaine Tomlinson (1968G) spent
10 happy years at Bishops, excelling
intellectually, culturally and on
the sports fields. After earning
a degree in economics and an MBA,
he entered the world of currency
trading and investment management.
A paper he co-edited, “Hedge Funds
Demystified”, is considered to be
a definitive handbook for hedgefund managers, financial institutions
and treasury departments. In 1991,
he established his own company,
Financial Risk Management, which
has achieved global success.
Blaine’s desire to give back has
resulted in a range of philanthropic
work. He is one of the founding
investors of One To One Africa,
established in South Africa in 2001
to focus primarily on paediatric
HIV/Aids care. He is co-founder of
Absolute Return for Kids, a charity
that operates locally and globally
so that all children, irrespective
of background, have access to an
education and real health choices;
co-founder of the Principals
Academy Trust, an education
academy in Cape Town that supports
retired school principals in heading
up education institutions; and cofounder of Zimele, a non-profit that
helps disadvantaged Capetonians
who have suffered amputations.
Another project of his, Edulution
Zambia, reaches 50,000 learners and
creates local job opportunities in that
country. And in Verbier, Switzerland,
where he lives, he supports disabled
children and young adults in acquiring
adaptive sports equipment so they
can enjoy mountain activities.
Blaine has been dedicated to
the betterment of the lives of others
for more than 40 years. His integrity,
courage, sympathy for and protection
of the disadvantaged, kindliness,
selflessness and stewardship shine
through in how he approaches
life and interacts with people
and communities.
Both biographies adapted from
formal Robert Gray medallist citations.
THE OLD DIOCESAN | 43
