Managing Director, Cooper Parry Digital | Head of Early Stage, Tech & High Growth |

I lead the CP Digital business, supporting clients with their Digital needs. Responsibilities include all M&A and growth, alongside our Private Equity partners. 

I also lead market activity for CP in the Venture Capital ecosystem (funds & founders).

Our specialist team works with Founders, CFOs and Boards of early stage, scale-up and high growth businesses, navigating challenges spanning accounting, finance, tax, audit, technology, and deal support. 

We are highly active in the scale-up ecosystem and have worked as the accounting partner for leading organisations and communities whilst also building our own community platforms, TechCFO and VentureCEO.

Having started my career at PwC, I went to on to establish and build a successful early stage focussed firm, Acclivity Advisors (which was acquired by Cooper Parry in Jan’23).

Along the way, I wrote the best selling book 'The Finance Playbook for Entrepreneurs', so that entrepreneurs of ALL backgrounds could benefit from the very best teachings.  

My unique experiences and skills have afforded me a number of Board positions across industries within public & private sectors. 

At present, these include:

1. Middlesex County Cricket Club (Board Observer, Chair of Growth Committee)
2. Queen Elizabeth's Global Schools (Chair, International Schools)
3. Labrys (Advisor to the Board)
4. HM Revenue & Customs - ABAB (Board Member)

As well as the above, 

I advise Government on how to innovate for SMEs & entrepreneurs through consultative committees and forums.

All of these roles have shown me the value of sharing what I know beyond my own sector;

And so, I enjoy speaking at universities, schools, accelerators and incubators on a wide variety of relevant entrepreneurship related topics.

Asif Ahmed

Arbuthnot Latham

Providing world class relationship banking for Technology companies and the Inward Investment businesses coming to the UK.

Head of Banking - Technology Sector and Inward Investment

Project Novus

	The Novus concept is to build a bank with a technology-enabled, efficiency-driven operating model aimed at the underserved UK and EU Fintech sectors delivered through multiple distribution channels
	Worked with investment banks, financial service focussed PE funds and corporate financiers to raise £30m of funding required to launch and grow the bank. Delivered multiple face to face and virtual roadshows to the investor community in the UK/ EU, UAE and US
	Directly recruited the senior leadership executive team (COO, CCO, MLRO and Head of Technology)
	Designed a cloud-based, API enabled technology stack which created a highly scalable customer offering
	Built a fully costed financial P&L and Balance Sheet demonstrating the value of a differentiated proposition, delivered a strong return on equity and early profitability
	Developed and presented our initial outline deck to the PRA and the FCA’s New Bank Start-up Unit
	Worked with cutting edge Fintech suppliers to start the technical architecture, developed our Regulatory Business Plan and leveraged our connections with industry payments teams
	Mentor to the Australian Governments ‘Austrade UK Fintech Academy’ in virtual presentations during the pandemic

CEO and Founder

TransUnion

	Working with software and data businesses in the lending team from highly innovative fintech start-ups to FTSE listed enterprises and their C-Suite consumers of our services 
	Heading up the alternative finance companies in the personal and SME verticals 
	Experience with cutting edge credit and operation processes
	Immediately delivered strong revenue for TransUnion and key deals, including 3 flagship deals executed within five months of joining
	Leading and setting up the SME proposition, presented to C-Suite which included the UK CEO and CRO for approval and resulted in a £10m opportunity

Senior Account Director - Lending

Metro Bank (UK)

	Performed a high-level gap analysis, designed and successfully brought to market Metro Banks offering to the professional services sector 
	Leading the initiative with a dedicated team across multiple sectors of the bank (Product, Payments, Operations, Treasury/ AML and customer success teams) to deliver a highly profitable proposition 
	Personally delivered:
o	robust and profitable credit framework for unsecured debt and pricing of the wider relationship components for smaller and larger counterparties;
o	the recruitment of a team of 5 senior bankers which doubled in size each year;
o	a central and regional model that supports the 140 local directors and business managers;
o	a unique service model to support customers’ needs through the Commercial Bank, Private Bank and Asset Finance teams; and
o	regular industry wide presentations and broader market communication, training and quarterly insight briefings

Commercial Director - Head of Professional Services

	Responsibility for recruiting, training, mentoring and developing a team of 20 experienced bankers and support functions across Metro Bank to launch the new international commercial banking offering, working across departments with internal and external teams to serve Fintechs and more complicated, bespoke industry sectors
	Directly engaging with the FCA in respect of key sectors within Metro Bank during challenge and response sessions
	Led the project across multiple internal teams to deliver an enhanced proposition focussing on the bank’s strengths of speed, service and relationship
	Risk management framework of higher risk sectors
	Delivered more than 85% of the commercial banks total annual fee income
	Development of Metro Bank’s FX capability to produce a self-serve deliverable FX customer integrating multiple internal processes and controls
	Assessing the risk/reward for new commercial sectors with MLRO and Head of Compliance as part of the Financial Crime and Anti Money Laundering Steering Groups for Metro Bank
	Developed a customer base, network of introducers and proposition for profitable inbound Fintech corporate customers and Payments Businesses
	Led the banks engagement with Blockchain and Virtual currency Fintechs as we reviewed our architecture and the landscape through my strong connections in that sector
	Developing banking propositions for correspondent banking and virtual account development

Commercial Director - Head of International Corporate, Payments and Fintech

	Opened Metro Bank’s branch in Guildford, at which time was only the second site outside of London
	Recruited a team of 30 staff and launched the store to retail and commercial customers
	Built a professional commercial presence in a new market for Metro Bank
	Fastest store to become profitable in the bank’s history (within 6 months)

Local Director

Barclays Bank

Responsible for the income performance of Clearlybusiness (a wholly owned subsidiary of Barclays Bank) through channel diversification, proposition enhancement and internal communications.  To this end I proved the business case for giving iPads to front line colleagues through multiple pilots demonstrating a significant uplift in pitch quality.  I also grew Limited Company acquisition by 25% by demonstrating inefficiencies in staff allocation relative to customer inflows nationally.

Head of Distribution and Performance

Responsible for acquiring and maintaining relationships with the SME customer base within the West End of London through a team of 40 local business managers.

Area Business Manager

Area Performance Manager

Branch Manager

PepsiCo Australia and New Zealand

Area Sales Manager

Experienced Fintech and Financial Services professional with extensive capability of team leadership, change transformation and market development across various parts of these industries. Assisted clients and companies structure deals, critiquing their business models and assessing their current and future risks through the expertise of broader market trends. Positioned to help companies understand and respond to a rapidly changing ecosystem within the fintech, financial services and banking sector, facing multiple new competing entrants, a host of new models, fluctuating operational and legal structures and an evolving customer base. Directly set up multiple propositions from scratch, successfully taken them to market and rapidly scaling cohesive teams to achieve strong growth in high growth, fast-paced businesses.

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The Battle

Asif Ahmed

Ben Sheeran

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