Nigel Oakes
Nigel John Oakes (born July 1962) is a British businessman, and the founder and CEO of Behavioural Dynamics Institute and SCL Group (formerly Strategic Communication Laboratories), the parent company of Cambridge Analytica.
Nigel Oakes | |
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Born | Nigel John Oakes July 1962 (age 57–58) |
Nationality | British |
Education | Eton |
Occupation | Businessman |
Title | Founder and CEO of SCL Group |
Parent(s) | Major John Waddington Oakes |
Early life
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Nigel Oakes was born in July 1962, the son of Major John Waddington Oakes, who was High Sheriff of Warwickshire in 1996, and lived at Whichford House in Whichford, Warwickshire.[1][2][3][4] He was educated at Eton.[5] He claims on the SCL website to have studied psychology at University College London (UCL), but a university spokesman says they have no record of this, and Alexander Nix (a director of SCL) says Oakes attended UCL "in a private capacity."[6][7]
Career
Oakes ran a mobile disco, before working in advertising for Saatchi & Saatchi.[6][8]
In 1992, Oakes talked to a trade journal about his work: "We use the same techniques as Aristotle and Hitler ... We appeal to people on an emotional level to get them to agree on a functional level."[9]
In 2000, his company Behavioural Dynamics was based in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he worked as an image consultant to President Abdurrahman Wahid, who was facing financial misconduct allegations.[5][9]
In 2005, Oakes co-founded the London-based SCL Group (formerly Strategic Communication Laboratories), along with his younger brother Alexander Oakes and Alexander Nix.[10] [11]
In 2013, fellow Old Etonian Alexander Nix, a director of SCL for 14 years, started Cambridge Analytica with a view to targeting the American market.[7]
Personal life
Oakes was the second "serious boyfriend" of Lady Helen Windsor, and "appalled the Queen" after she smuggled him into her parents' grace-and-favour home, York House, St James's Palace.[6][5][12][13]
References
- Watt, Holly; Osborne, Hilary (21 March 2018). "Tory donors among investors in Cambridge Analytica parent firm". the Guardian. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
- "About Us - Whichford House". www.whichfordhouse.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- "High Sheriff of Warwickshire - 20th Century - Technology Trends". www.primidi.com. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- "Nigel John OAKES - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- "Old Etonian smoothie fails to buff Indonesian leader's image". independent.co.uk. 6 August 2000. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- Doward, Jamie (4 March 2017). "Did Cambridge Analytica influence the Brexit vote and the US election?". the Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- "Trump's Data Gurus Leave a Long Trail of Subterfuge and Dubious Dealing". 23 March 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2018 – via www.bloomberg.com.
- Irani, Delshad (29 March 2017). "Why is ex-adman Nigel Oakes being hailed as the '007' of big data?". Retrieved 21 March 2018 – via The Economic Times.
- "A Data Team Tied To Trump's Campaign Has A Pretty Unusual Past". buzzfeed.com. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- Brown, David (21 March 2018). "SCL Group's founders were connected to royalty, the rich and powerful". Retrieved 21 March 2018 – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- "correction".
- "why so wild about harry?". scotsman.com. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- "The Londoner: The naked truth of Mary Beard at college". standard.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2018.