“When life rolls its dice, go with its flow and make the most of it.”
I didn’t plan to end up in financial services. At 18, I had my sights set on the Foreign Office. My brother-in-law worked there and arranged for me to meet his colleagues the night before my two-day interview – on a department boat trip down the Thames. It turned into a very long night. By the morning, the early examinations were beyond me, and that particular door was firmly closed.
But here’s the thing: it opened another one.
With a geography degree from the University of Reading and no clear plan, I fell into an industry that was actively looking for graduates. Insurance companies were recruiting like they were going out of fashion, and I joined Sun Alliance as part of their graduate programme in 1975. I quickly realised that what I really loved wasn’t products or paperwork – it was people. I came to immensely value the one-to-one and team relationships that have inexorably deepened over time.
After building my career in pension consultancy, I co-founded Mattioli Woods with Ian Mattioli in 1991. Just the two of us, working from a garage. I’d always had this quiet feeling that I wanted to control my own wheel, rather than be a small part of someone else’s. We went from projecting 12 advisers in five years and thinking that was scary, to building a business with over 200 advisers.
I became Executive Chairman when Mattioli Woods listed on AIM in 2005, stepping down from that role in 2016 – which gave me more energy for what I have always loved; working directly with long-standing clients on the financial strategies that matter most to them. Whether that’s complex pension planning, Inheritance Tax (IHT) mitigation, or investment solutions, I bring over 50 years of experience to every conversation. I continue to support the business in an informal non-executive capacity.
In 2017, Ian and I were jointly awarded MBEs in the New Year Honours – something neither of us saw coming, and both of us remain immensely proud of.
Outside of client work, I hold two non-executive roles which developed from my interest in supporting young entrepreneurs: one is a unique recycling business dealing with a major waste problem, and one focused on the impact of trace chemical exposures on human health. I helped to establish the University of Leicester’s Centre for Environmental Health and Sustainability, which last year won a Government mandate to lead research with their Health and Safety Executive (HSE). It’s work I care deeply about.
That night on the Thames didn’t end my story – it started the right one.
