I have always been drawn to growth. I love the opportunities that growth creates, as well as the chance to have a positive impact on so many people, not just your customers, but your employees. When Keir Starmer asked me to become his government’s investment minister, it was his clear focus on growth that made this opportunity so compelling.
Growth within business is exhilarating and rewarding, but it isn’t without its challenges. When you are growing fast, you reach the hurdles along your journey faster. I’ve been a CEO since 2016 for a global company overseeing major growth and expansion. During that time, I’ve taken a company public on the London Stock Exchange. I’ve faced down short-seller attacks. I’ve brokered deals with leading US private equity firms.
Yes, I’ve faced up to a lot. But I’ve never let anyone hold me back and I’ve met tough challenges head on. And I know working in government will be challenging. It might even be the most challenging job I’ll ever have. It requires strong people skills, strategic thinking, good communication, a clear direction of travel. Skills that I’ve learned in my time in the business world.
Bringing this experience into government will, I hope, bolster our links with business – large and small – and drive investment for the benefit of working people across the country. It will mean more money in UK businesses, confidence for startups, and pounds in people’s pockets.
So, when the prime minister asked me, it was an easy yes. His mission-driven approach to government is the right one – something I’ve seen a lot of in my time in business. Also right is his focus on investment and full-throated backing of UK plc. Without it, we risk lagging behind international partners, losing the global race for the industries of the future, and crucially, losing out on growth.
I’m proud to be joining a government which puts a modern approach at its core. Take the new Office for Investment – a scaled-up, more coherent, joint No 10-HMT-DBT investment agency. This is a real sea-change in the UK’s efforts to compete for high-quality investment.
By securing investment and turbocharging growth, we can drive opportunity, get money back into people’s pockets and deliver the change we promised.
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