I apply my 25 years of experience at the business coalface to my work as an equity research analyst – covering the financial services sector (mostly asset & wealth managers, fintechs, and bank/non-bank lenders) – and a writer – specialising in feature articles on financial markets, financial services, fintech, and sustainable investing.
An engineer by qualification, I joined McKinsey after business school and cut my teeth during the DotCom boom and bust. I gained strategy, operations and corporate finance experience across a range of sectors and developed deep analytical skills. A fascinating time for a first exposure to M&A and valuation!
I left McKinsey to pursue an entrepreneurial career path. I co-founded and for 7 years was Managing Director of a successful construction insurance underwriting agency, raising capital at the start-up stage of this venture, leading it through a merger and later negotiating an exit transaction to a large insurance and financial services group.
During this time I co-founded a second underwriting agency in the construction guarantee field. I developed the business plan, raised start-up capital, recruited the management team and served as a non-executive director for 6 years before the business was acquired.
I later took on a role as a Senior Dealmaker for a multi-national insurance group, sourcing and evaluating strategic investments, pitching investment proposals to the group board and managing the equity transactions. I also took on a number of non-executive roles in investee companies.
I am an active stock market investor and trader; and an angel investor, with first hand experience of the start-up and funding scene.