Episode Nine: Sam Smith - Group CEO of FinnCap Group

I really loved hearing Sam’s story and what really came across was her drive and her focus to keep doing really good work, be kind and deliver excellent service to her clients. These are the things that have got her to where she is today.

I was intrigued to hear that like many of my ‘finance pals’, she really enjoyed economics at school?! Like many of my guests, the subject she enjoyed at school, she decided to carry on at university. Sam was always pragmatic about her next step and made sure she was future proofing herself with the skills she was learning. She made the decision between accounting and primary school teacher as she wanted a skill that could take her anywhere and be adaptable depending on what life threw at her, especially wanting to make sure she was financially independent and she could support herself. As a now single mum, this has never been more important.

After university, Sam joined KPMG to get her accountancy qualifications but it was here she decided she didn’t like big corporates that were inflexible and didn’t want to listen or change. On the day her contract ended, she handed in her notice and became the bane of her recruiter’s life struggling to find a role that she really felt passionate about. On a bit of a whim, he put her forward to a small company called JM Finn. She loved it and really got on with the owner, John. He shared his ambition for the firm, he was a strong supporter of women in the industry and she joined him 24 years ago. Over the last 24 years Sam has headed up a new division supporting businesses through the selling process, making sure empathy is at the heart of the deals. She really learned this lesson when she went through the process herself in 2007, it made her even more empathetic.

Sam tells us about how she became the CEO and knowing what she knew now, would she have applied for the role? She had gone from being one of the team to being the boss and tells us how lonely it felt at times. This made Sam thrive and find her network of other CEOs both men and women to advise her through her new role. I also found it interesting how she managed being one of the first female CEOs in a stock broking firm, at first she found herself emulating the male style but realised it wasn’t working for her and found the courage to be more herself.

Now after 24 years at finnCap Group, Sam is stepping down as Group CEO and will become an advisor from September. I was keen to hear what is next and it sounds like Sam has got lots of ideas and wants to pay it forward by working with women and supporting entrepreneurship, especially in schools. Exciting times ahead!

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