When I was growing up, the family lore was that we were descended from John Comyn III, Lord of Badenoch, also known as the Red Comyn. The Comyn dynasty originated in the border town of Comines, which today is split along the River Lys between France and Wallonia, Belgium, and reached England in 1066 alongside William the Conqueror.
Within two generations, the Comyns had established themselves as administrators, power-brokers and claimants to the throne in Scotland. The Red Comyn served as Guardian of Scotland and planned and executed the Battle of Roslin in the Wars of Independence at the start of the 14th Century. Unfortunately, following what I am choosing to describe as a bit of mild skullduggery and betrayal in pursuit of his claim to the Scottish throne, he had an argument with Robert the Bruce at Greyfriars Church in Dumfries in 1306 and was murdered on the steps of the high altar.
As anyone who has seen the lesser fêted and eponymously titled 2019 sequel to Braveheart will know, Robert the Bruce then seized the throne and led the Scots to victory at Bannockburn eight years later, thus securing Scottish independence. The family story was therefore that we had narrowly missed out on royal descent, although given our claim appeared to rest solely on the similarity between my mother’s maiden name and the name Comyn, it always seemed to me that the actor Alan Cumming, and possibly the footballer Jason Cummings, had an equal claim to sit on the Stone of Destiny.
The reason I am telling this apocryphal Scots tale of missed opportunity is that, in launching my company, I wanted a name that conveyed my origins between Francophone Europe and Scotland, my interest in politics, history and deal-making, my aptitude for crisis-management and communications, and my love of a good story. So begins Comyn Group: strategic advisory for investors and executive leadership operating across politics, sport, digital media, and technology, drawing on twelve years’ experience in the European Parliament, at Google and representing Tata Group across Europe, and then six years in elite football with clubs such as Chelsea Football Club and Newcastle United.
We exist because this experience tells us that capital deployment in sports, tech, and media can’t be separated from political scrutiny and public narrative. We bring deep, front-line expertise in European policy and regulatory dynamics, an elite track record in digital storytelling and audience conversion, and proven crisis leadership through high-scrutiny ownership transitions, brand-building and corporate repositioning. We help investors understand the true commercial value of their assets, and build the narratives that protect and grow them.
If you would like to work together, or just want to know more, reach me on simon@comyngroup.com and we’ll get the conversation started.
