“Know the person before you plan the race.”
While studying economics and financial management at university, I discovered rowing and dedicated myself to it completely, eventually earning my place coaching at international level.
Coaching at that level taught me two things I carry into every client relationship: that a good strategy outperforms instinct, and that understanding the individual in front of you matters more than any textbook technique. You can have the most capable crew on the water, but if the race plan isn’t built around their specific strengths and circumstances – and if you haven’t taken the time to really understand what drives each of them – you won’t get the best from them. The same is true in financial planning.
Around my coaching career, I built a landscaping business, building upon skills learned from a young age working with my father – managing a team, winning clients, and learning what it really means to be self-employed. Running a business is a different challenge entirely, and that experience gave me a genuine understanding of the pressures that come with working for yourself. It’s something I draw on regularly when working with clients in that position.
I joined Mattioli Woods through the Financial Adviser Academy, and I bring the same focus and commitment to every client relationship that I applied throughout running my own business and coaching at an elite level.
One moment sums up why I do this. A client came to me after a difficult divorce that had left him financially shaken. Although he’d been saving money throughout his working life, he was convinced he’d never be able to retire. During our meeting, it was apparent that he could afford to retire at that moment if he chose to. Sometimes people just need someone to show them what they’ve already built.
I often find that many people focus on individual investments when the more important question is whether the overall strategy is right for them. A coach doesn’t obsess over one stroke – they look at the whole race plan. I take the same approach: understand where you are, where you want to get to, and build a tax-efficient plan to connect those two points. The sooner we start, the more room there is to adjust if life changes direction.
People often share things with me they wouldn’t discuss with their closest friends. That comes with the territory when you’re working alongside someone with their financial life – and it’s a privilege I take seriously. I’m genuinely interested in the person in front of me, make space for the conversations that matter, and keep a clear focus on what we’re working towards together. Just as every rower needs a coach who understands them as much as the race, every client deserves an adviser who takes the time to do the same.
Away from work, I’m a season ticket holder at Leicester Tigers and I’m happiest outdoors – whether that’s hiking, mountaineering or playing tennis. I’m engaged, with plans to start a family once married. I believe life is full, and that’s exactly why working with clients to help them make the most of theirs means so much to me.
