Meet The Founders
Sam Smith
When I was 23, I left a large organisation to start a new corporate finance division within a bigger company. Most people thought I was mad. That division grew to be big enough to buyout when it reached £3m turnover so we went it alone and I become CEO of finnCap (now Cavendish Financial). Over the next 10 years the business reached £50m+ revenue, driven by a different, more inclusive culture and became a serious player in the Investment banking space for small and mid size companies. I listed the business on the LSE in 2018.
Since I stepped back as CEO, after 24 years, in 2022, I have been spending more time on things that matter to me and started working with the brilliant founder and now Chair or AMS, Rosaleen Blair on something that we think is so important. SuperScale and fairness. My greatest passion has always been entrepreneurship and most significantly championing the underrepresented founder where I have seen first hand how the system does not always work for these groups. Having been through the challenges in a very male dominated industry I wanted to help others break the £50m revenue mark and have the confidence to SuperScale.
We need more founders from underrepresented groups across the board starting, scaling and superscaling their businesses so we can have better representation in key positions of power and influence. Size matters. Scale matters. Having a significant voice matters. That is much easier when you have built something of scale.
When encouraging others to want to think big and superscale it become apparent very quickly there is no real data on who has done it and who is close to doing it so we can help them to achieve it. As a result it is hard to celebrate it, to share stories, to build a community and create role models to encourage the next generation.
Starting a business is hard. Scaling a business is hard. SuperScaling is the next stage of the growth journey that requires a growth mindset, vision and ambition. Each stage has different challenges, but It all starts with ambition....
Rosaleen and I want to encourage an ambitious growth mindset and help entrepreneurs break through each stage of the scaling journey, by learning from those that have actually done it.
We want more female Superscalers.
Time to unleash The SuperScalers
Rosaleen Blair
Rosaleen is a passionate entrepreneur and business leader. She is the Founder and Chair of AMS, a pioneer in the global workforce solutions industry. She created the company in 1996 with the ambition of transforming the way that blue-chip multinationals attract, engage and retain top talent. She served as CEO for 23 years, leading the business through significant geographic and revenue growth, four private equity relationships and a global economic crisis. In 2019, she moved up to the role of Chair of AMS.
Rosaleen is Deputy Chair of Kainos Group plc and is also involved in a number of not-for-profit initiatives, notably as Chair of the London Irish Centre and as a Board member of Endeavor Ireland. In her spare time she supports a number of other charities, including serving as Patron of the Women Supporting Women initiative of the Prince’s Trust.
Rosaleen is a serial entrepreneur, investing in and advising numerous companies. This includes her roles as an adviser to private equity companies She is a coach and mentor to several entrepreneurs. She has a long standing involvement with the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Rosaleen is recognised as an industry leader and entrepreneur, winning numerous awards including the Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year (2007) and the EY London Entrepreneur of the Year (2006). She was awarded a CBE for services to business and recruitment in the New Year’s Honours in 2017.
