Mostyn

What was your background prior to joining OC&C?

I grew up in a small town in rural Hampshire. My father worked for the county council as an architect and my mother looked after my sister and I, having trained as a primary school teacher. My sister and I went to the local state primary school and, at 11, I went to the local state secondary school but swiftly lost interest. By coincidence, at the time when I was disengaging from school, there was an open day for a private school near my father’s work, so he popped in and they encouraged him to put me forward for a place. Given my background I was years behind the prep school children but landed a scholarship as one a handful of state school scholarships they had for local children. My parents could not afford the dramatically reduced scholarship fees, so my mother went back to work and they got help from grandparents to fund the fees. As left-leaning, council employees my parents were ethically strongly against the private sector but took the opportunity for my sake.

How has your background impacted your career trajectory, choices or progression?

Realising my opportunities were opened up by the sacrifices my parents made, I have worked hard and tried to maximise every opportunity that has presented itself, working harder than most of my friends who were more ‘born into’ the system than I ever was. I still feel very fortunate and grateful for the opportunities that I have had. Given my parent’s tangible / real-world jobs, I also had a desire to do something involving real people and clients so I was draw to consulting over things like banking, investments etc

''As someone who has gone from one type of upbringing and transitioned into a very different private school life I have seen both sides of the fence. I genuinely think it does not matter remotely what your background is – in fact the diversity probably helps. Don’t try to ‘hide’ your personality or where you are from – it’s an intrinsic and important part of your personality, so you should be proud of it. The more of yourself you bring to work the more authentic it is, and the more clients and colleagues can get to know you''.