Entrepreneur, NED and Former Chief Executive, finnCap Group Plc

Sam is an entrepreneur and champions entrepreneurship in the UK and beyond, especially underrepresented founders. She was the first female chief executive of a City stockbroking firm. She joined JMFinn in 1998 to build a corporate finance division, led a buyout of that division in 2007 to become finnCap and IPO'd finnCap in 2018, acquiring Cavendish at the same time. She built the business (now renamed Cavendish Financial) into a £50m+ revenue business over 24 years and a leading UK growth companies Investment Bank. Over those 24 years she advised many different growth businesses around scaling and is a best selling author of The Secret Sauce – Superscale your business and empower your talent with empathetic leadership.

The real driver of finnCap's high growth with limited capital, was its inclusive culture and high staff ownership and Sam is a passionate speaker and advocate on Inclusive Culture and how business can be a force for good.

Sam stepped down as CEO in Sep 2022 and now sits on 5 boards as a Non Executive Director, in a variety of sectors, where culture is a key driver, including a listed plc, a PE backed acquisition company in professional services, a listed tech VCT, a services and software business and a global commodies trading business. Solid State Plc, Sumer Group Ltd, Triple Point VCT, 55 Redefined Ltd and Griffin Markets Ltd.

She is also strategic adviser to Excelerator Partners, a business focussed on value creation for scale up companies focussed on talent and fractional C suite for fast growth businesses alongside a best in class and diverse bank of NEDS and Chairs.

Sam actively champions Superscaling for underrepresented founders and has sat on the Government’s Taskforce for Women-Led High Growth Businesses, supporting the next generation of female growth businesses, the advisory board of Everywoman, which champions the advancement of women in business, and works with the ScaleUp Institute especially on their female led scale up work. She is a Patron of the Entrepreneurs Network. Sam is also passionate about empowering young people and helping them develop essential life skills, especially applid learning and entrepreneurship. She is spearheading a campaign for entrepreneurship to be integrated into the school curriculum and work to help create a fairer foundation for young people, irrespective of their background. Sam is also on the advisory board for the University of Bristol.

Sam qualified as a Chartered Accountant at KPMG.

Why do you support the work of The Entrepreneurs Network?

The Entrepreneurs Network plays a key role in driving conversations around entrepreneurship, connecting businesses, policymakers and entrepreneurs. It’s incredibly important for issues around entrepreneurship to be championed given how much growth, employment and ideas comes from this area. The high-quality research produced by The Entrepreneurs Network helps set the agenda for these conversations and makes a difference.

What research should more people read (either our research or other organisations)?

I strongly believe that enterprise education could be transformative for Britain’s young people and in boosting economic prosperity. For this reason, I would encourage everyone to read The Entrepreneurs Network’s report on Enterprise Education, which clearly sets out the case for integrating entrepreneurship into the school curriculum.

Why is the UK an attractive place to grow a business?

The UK is widely considered as one of best places in the world to start a business but ranks less highly when it comes to scaling a business. Progress has been made over the past few years, but our efforts must be redoubled if we’re to fulfil the Government’s growth agenda and unlock future prosperity. There is an amazing funding ecosystem and a focus on sectors, which are highly important in sustaining business advantage.