After completing a post-graduate degree at the LSE, Ryan co-founded his first venture (aged 21) called iGabriel, a founders-only funded venture technology seed capital fund.
In 2002, he founded Realstar Capital LLP in 2002. Since that time, Realstar has acquired or developed over £4B of real estate assets in the healthcare, hospitality and living sectors, including 13,000 hotel rooms under the Holiday Inn brand and 6,000 residential rental apartments under the UNCLE brand (which Ryan founded). In September 2025, the Realstar UK platform (including the UNCLE brand in the UK) was sold to QuadReal, the property arm of BCI.
Outside of work, Ryan is a member of the Leadership Council of Facing History & Ourselves and a member of the Board of Governors at the British Film Institute (BFI).