{{Infobox person

| name = Ivan Massow

| birth_name = Ivan Field

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1967|09|11|df=y}}

| birth_place = [[Brighton]], [[England]], UK

| Nationality = {{British}}

| occupation = [[Entrepreneur]], [[activist]]

| Years active = 1990 - present}}

'''Ivan Julian Massow''' (born 11 September 1967) is a British financial services entrepreneur.<ref>http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/22c552a2-84a2-11e1-b6f5-00144feab49a.html </ref><ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/sep/02/fall-and-rise-ivan-massow

</ref><ref>http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/ivan-massow-i-love-being-gay-but-how-i-wish-id-been-born-heterosexual-447623.html</ref>

==Business career==

In 1990, Massow started Massow Financial Services Ltd which later merged with Rainbow Finance. Other business include [http://www.halosnhorns.co.uk/ Halos and Horns], [http://www.MassowsAngels.com Massows Angels], [http://www.payMeMy.Com/mission Pay Me My Commission] and the [http://www.jaketm.com Jake Network]. He produced the film ''Banksy's Coming For Dinner'' starring [[Joan Collins]].<ref>[http://www.banksyscomingfordinner.com Banksy's Coming for Dinner]</ref>

Despite massive publicity, Massow Financial Services was not financially successful, recording a £700,000 loss in 1998-99 and £465,777 the following year,<ref name=tel/> and in 2000 it was merged with another prominent gay IFA firm, ''Rainbow Finance'' of Oxford, run by Louis Letourneau, with expectations that turnover would rise from £2M per annum to over £3M, but the merged firm went out of business within one year. Massow's salary was £245,768 in 2000 and £387,000 in 1999.<ref name=tel>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1358626/One-time-political-golden-boy-saves-his-ailing-firm.html One-time political golden boy saves his ailing firm.] Daily Telegraph, 6 October 2001.</ref> Massow bought the business back from the Receiver with Letourneau claiming that the merger had happened after Massow had endured two years of heavy loses and that he had been made a scapegoat for Massow's failures.<ref name=Guardian02 >{{cite news|title=Rainbow warrior in stormy waters|last=Collinson|first=Patrick|date=12 January 2002|newspaper=The Guardian|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian_jobs_and_money/story/0,,631101,00.html}}</ref>

Between 2003 and 2004 Massow was Director of another financial adviser firm, this time a tied agent of the Zurich Advice Network (previously [[Allied Dunbar]]), but that too ended in acrimony after predictable problems arose in underwriting for insurance the gay clients in which Massow specialised. Massow accepted £330,000 in order to become an agent for the firm in a move that was seen as an about-turn at the time as he had previously campaigned against what he saw as Allied Dunbar's anti-gay underwriting practices. A long legal case followed which, ultimately, Massow lost.<ref name=guard>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/sep/02/fall-and-rise-ivan-massow The fall and rise of Ivan Massow.] The Guardian, 2 September 2011.</ref>

==Politics==

In the 1990s Massow's flatmates were for a time current Conservative Secretary of State for Education, [[Michael Gove]] and MP and former head of Conservative policy [[Nicholas Boles]], a situation Massow described as "Tory Friends".<ref name=Teeman2009>{{cite news|title=Ivan Massow: the never-ending Tory|last=Teeman|first=Tim|date=16 June 2009|newspaper=The Times|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6506425.ece}}</ref>

However, Massow, along with many espousing "[[compassionate conservatism]]", was frustrated by the Party's apparent reluctance to alter its stance on gay rights issues and discrimination in general. In 2000, following [[John Bercow]] MP's resignation from the front bench and the defection of [[Shaun Woodward]] MP to Labour, Massow too left the Conservative Party to join the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]],<ref name=BBC20000801 >{{cite news|title=Tory adviser defects to Labour|date=2 August 2000|newspaper=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/862683.stm}}</ref> where he was welcomed by [[Mo Mowlam]].<ref name=BBC20000802 >{{cite news|title=Ivan Massow: Gay abandon|date=2 August 2000|newspaper=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/862806.stm}}</ref> There was a large amount of press interest in Massow's defection, despite him having never held elected office or even stood for Parliament. By 2004, Massow had left the Labour Party and unsuccessfully attempted to stand as Mayor of London with his own movement "Change London".<ref name=SE1>{{cite news|title=Ivan Massow joins race to be Mayor of London|date=20 April 2004|newspaper=LondonSE1|url=http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/944}}</ref>

==Contemporary Art==

In 1999, Massow became Chairman of the [[Institute of Contemporary Arts]] in London. In January 2002, he wrote an article in ''[[New Statesman]]'' magazine attacking the predominance of [[conceptual art]] in the art world. He described modern concept art as "pretentious, self-indulgent, craftless tat" and "the product of over-indulged, middle-class [...], bloated egos who patronise real people with fake understanding". He called the ICA a "pillar of the shock establishment". He attacked [[Tracey Emin]] saying she "couldn't think her way out of a paper bag".<ref name=NewStatesman>{{cite news|title=Why I hate our official art|last=Massow|first=Ivan|date=21 January 2002|newspaper=New Statesman|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/node/142019}}</ref>

In February 2002, Massow was fired as Chairman of the ICA with one board member describing him as "a little bit of a pillock" and speculation that Massow had deliberately been as provocative as possible in order to engineer his own sacking.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2002/feb/05/arts.highereducation ICA fires chairman over 'tat' art jibe.] The Guradian, 5 February 2002.</ref> He has described the art world as "bitchy and superficial", although he claims to actually like much conceptual art and claims he spoke out in order to redress the imbalance between the promotion of conceptual and more traditional art in the British art scene.<ref name=Guardian2002 >{{cite news|title=ICA fires chairman over 'tat' art jibe|last=Gibbons|first=Fiachra|date=5 February 2002|newspaper=The Guardian|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2002/feb/05/arts.highereducation}}</ref>

==Media==

Massow was the subject of ''Mind of a Millionaire'', a 2003 BBC documentary about entrepreneurship. In November 2005, he was the winning mentor on Channel 4's ''Make Me a Million''.<ref name=SundayTimes>{{cite news|title=Massow cleans up on reality TV|last=Max|first=James|date=23 November 2005|newspaper=The Times|url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article592828.ece}}</ref>

==Charity==

Massow founded the April Bombing Appeal for victims of the April 1999 [[David Copeland#Bombings|nail-bombings in Soho, Brixton and Brick Lane]] in London, raising funds to provide wheelchair access in homes and financial support for people unable to work as a result of their injuries.<ref>{{cite news|title=Appeal for the Victims of the Three London Bombs|last=OutRage! London|year=1999|url=http://rosecottage.me.uk/OutRage-archives/bombvigil.htm}}</ref>

Massow Financial Services was the first mainstream business to sponsor London's [[Pride London|Gay Pride]] in 1990 which it continued to do in subsequent years.<ref name=Lacey>{{cite news|title=Ivan Massow; Mr Pink goes to work|last=Lacey|first=Hester|date=23 November 1997|newspaper=The Independent|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/interview-ivan-massow-mr-pink-goes-to-work-1295685.html}}</ref>

Massow recently set up ''Compare for Good'', a charity fundraising price comparison website in partnership with [[Oxfam]].<ref>[http://www.compareforgood.com Compare for Good]</ref>

==References==

{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==

*[http://www.PaymeMy.com PayMeMy.com/mission] founded by Massow in 2011, rebating trail commissions to IFA clients.

*[http://www.banksyscomingfordinner.com Banksy's Coming for Dinner], Massow's film, which premiered at [[Marbella International Film Festival]] 2009.

*[http://www.jaketm.com Jake], the online LGBT professional social network of which Massow is CEO.

*[http://www.ivanmassow.com], Ivan Massow's personal website.

{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->

| NAME = Massow, Ivan

| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =

| SHORT DESCRIPTION =

| DATE OF BIRTH = 11 September 1967

| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Brighton]], [[England]], UK

| DATE OF DEATH =

| PLACE OF DEATH =

}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Massow, Ivan}}

[[Category:1967 births]]

[[Category:Living people]]

[[Category:Gay politicians]]

[[Category:LGBT businesspeople]]

[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) politicians]]

[[Category:People from Brighton]]

[[Category:LGBT politicians from England]]