Its surreal to me to be in such company on such a list, let alone number 2. I cannot tell you how proud and honoured I am.
The last few years have been amazing, culminating with some incredible milestones in the last 12 months. The Forterro transaction for €1bn and the fact that I get to continue to lead this great organisation. Raising the bar and level of community investment work we have done through Forbes Family Group, and of course becoming a Partner at Corten Capital. I’m very proud of the things I’ve been able to do, be part of and shape with the help of many others. These successes have brought me many things, but the most valuable of all has been the confidence to be my authentic self. I am a British Man, born to West Indian immigrant parents, of African heritage. I am proud of all these elements of my being.
During these recent years I’ve truly discovered my purpose and it fills me with great energy and motivation. My purpose is to make sure, to the best of my ability, that I never miss or pass an opportunity to support another person. Particularly those with similar heritage and background to me, who are still finding their way on their journey.
I am here, but for the support and help of many many others, and as a result now have an amazing platform on which to pay it forward. I mustn’t waste that platform by leveraging it in a purely self-serving way. I believe I have been given this platform to put it to its maximum use, to create opportunities and lower the ladder for others. This recognition is a reminder that I must not only continue to do that, but I must get better at it and must encourage others to do the same.
The world is still a cold and difficult place for many marginalised groups, including Black people. We continue to be more likely to be socially and economically disadvantaged and consequently, less likely to achieve our academic potential and therefore less likely to achieve our professional ambitions. I don’t for one minute believe that I can change all of that on my own, but if a guy like me, from this now, very privileged and influential position isn’t doing all he can to try to bend these things into our favour, then who should?
Thank you to everyone who has supported me. My wife Danielle, who has been immense for 24 years. Dave T and Zak, Paul S my business partner and right hand, Paul G and the Arma crew, Chris, Elona, Tim who has been a constant compass, the PG Team for backing me (even though it was the right thing to do)! Thank you also to my day ones, who have continued to be apathetic about any status or accolade I receive and have kept me constantly grounded. Cousin V, Champ, Fif, Rage, Aisha and the rest of the gang. I will continue to rise and promise to bring as many people up with me as I can.
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Partner – St James’s Place Wealth Manager
Charlie provides bespoke wealth management solutions aiming to achieve his clients’ individual goals. Clients benefit from his 20 years’ experience in the city assisting professionals & business owners through their careers and beyond. Building a relationship of trust is the foundation of his approach. His relationship with each client starts with listening, establishing values to be adhered to and from which he can build a bespoke strategy.
Outside of work, Charlie keeps fit going to the gym , playing golf and competing in Triathlon events. He relaxes by watching any live sport but will never miss an English International Rugby match.
Alexandre is a Principal in the Corten Capital investment team. Prior to joining Corten, Alexandre was a Vice President in the Technology, Financial and Business Services vertical at Bain Capital, one of the world’s largest private equity firms. During his time at Bain Capital, Alexandre focused on buyout investments across Europe, spanning multiple sectors including B2B software, business services, industrials and consumer retail. He also played a key role supporting several portfolio companies across growth, turnaround and M&A strategies as well as leading on various financing and capital markets transactions. Prior to this, Alexandre was a consultant with The Boston Consulting Group in London where he worked on a number of private equity due diligence projects as well transformation projects for companies in TMT and retail. Before that, he worked as a credit hybrids trader within J.P. Morgan’s Global Markets division.
David McQueen is passionate about developing leaders. A family man first, he is the husband of one, father of two and friend of many. He has founded and cofounded a number of businesses including Q Squared, Black Founders Hub and Evermoor and sits as a Non Exec on the advisory board of many companies offering support on leadership and financial competence.
In his work as an Executive Coach, Facilitator, Board Advisor and International Speaker, he has worked with corporates and non profit organisations worldwide to develop their senior leaders and managers. His clients include Facebook, Google, Shopify, Lloyds, HSBC, Mercedes Benz, Sky, BMW, Uber, Fidelity Investments, EY Foundation and Barnardo’s.
David is also an Angel Investor, Mentor, Host of the BRAVE Leader podcast, a three times TEDx speaker and is currently writing his first book on leadership and never works on a Saturday!
Timothy Armoo was the founder of Fanbytes, a company he started in university at 21 helping brands like Nike, Samsung, and Deliveroo engage with Gen Z through influencers. In 5 years, Timo grew the company to an award-winning team of 70 people leading campaigns like the Government’s messaging on covid in 2020. In May 2022, Timo Fanbytes was acquired by global digital agency Brainlabs in an 8-figure acquisition. His expertise in brand building and social media has seen him win many accolades including being Forbes 30u30 cover star, the social media person of the year by The Drum and most influential people in media by Evening Standard.