Father of four and husband to Katharine (nee Marshall- 1998), Tim says, ‘Ever since I was a teenager I have been fascinated by how the world worked, both politically, economically and spiritually. I left St James to study modern history at Oxford. After this, despite receiving offers to work as an investor, I decided to join a management consultancy to get training in business strategy.’

Tim spent two years working on intense 3-6 month projects in different industries. He then spent 15 years at Goldman Sachs, reaching the level of Managing Director. He was head of TMT Research and lead Telecoms analyst, as well as being responsible for eight further research teams across a variety of industries and a member of the department’s Investment Review Committee. He says, ‘ I learnt how financial markets work, including their ability to be both extremely smart and sometimes remarkably stupid; how industries constantly change, creating new winners and losers at surprising speed; how investors think, and why this changes at different points in a company’s life. I made some big mistakes and learnt a lot from them; over time, I also learned how to help others avoid making those same mistakes and found that surprisingly rewarding.’

Tim now works as the Director of Investor Relations for Vodafone, his primary responsibility is to keep investors informed about the company’s strategy and financial outlook, so that they will continue to support the company. He says, ‘Finance is a fascinating industry, full of extremely smart and motivated people. If you are intellectually curious, determined and willing to work hard it offers a truly privileged opportunity to meet with and learn from some of the most influential people in the global economy. In particular, you will often gain far more exposure to business leaders at a young age than would be possible in a more traditional management role. And you will learn to think at a very broad level about how the world, industries and companies operate.’ 

He adds, ‘While the financial rewards for those who succeed are substantial, relatively few people succeed who don’t intrinsically love what they do. Throughout my career I have felt very grateful for my time at St James. Knowing how to stop inwardly, to allow racing thoughts and emotions to settle (even if just for an instant), has been critical in the fast-paced world of financial markets. Equally, my meditation practice which I learned at St James and still practice every day gives access to a much deeper level of stillness and spiritual experience; for me this is a key foundation of my personal happiness in day to day life, totally independent from whatever successes and failures I am experiencing at work, and a valuable source of extra energy in a physically demanding profession.’