Gemma Godfrey is a woman who has it all. She’s got fans across the world who hang on her every word across various media platforms for the latest investment advice; great smile, great hair (which has it’s own Twitter account); a husband who is a film producer and a beautiful son, who is a regular star feature in her Instagram posts. Now she also has a FinTech startup called Moo.la, which was (no surprise here) recently named as one of the top ten FinTech companies to watch this year.
Godfrey started out at Goldman Sachs as an intern, worked her way up through the corporate world, working for GAM as a Fund Manager, as Chairman of the Investment Committee at Credo Capital and Head of Investment Strategy for Brooks MacDonald - all the while contributing on Sky Business News, CNBC, the BBC and writing for Huffington Post, The Telegraph and The Times and various other publications. She was also Founder and Editor for The Investment Insight, giving online insight into the how’s, who’s, when’s and why’s of investing for five years. She is Board Advisor to Templars and CLU School of Management.
Godfrey was named among the “savviest” on Wall Street by the Wall Street Journal, the City of London’s “Commentator of the Year”, and most popular Business Influencer on social media in the New York Shorty Awards in 2014.
You can see why she’s popular – just take the topic of her December 2013 TEDxWallStreet talk, entitled How to Kiss. “Today I’m going to teach you to kiss. At work. On TV. In life or death situations. I’m going to show you how. And then when we go our separate ways you’re going to kiss with other people more than you’ve ever done before!”
It was a business talk, of course. Kiss stood for Kiss was Keep It Simple Stupid, by the way.
Gemma Godfrey speaking at TEDxWallStreet, 13 December, 2013: "How To Kiss"
Watch here : Gemma Godfrey - TEDxWallStreet, 13 Dec 2013
Her advice for tomorrow’s leaders? In an article by Marisa Nadolny in her article, Godfrey’s Law of Success: Follow your Passion, the answer is,“Follow your passion, and success will come more naturally… People try to funnel themselves into what they think is an appropriate place,” she explains, “but it’s better to follow what they’re good at. A lot of people will force themselves to do something they think they should do, with little success.”
One of last week's Strong Jones blogs Inspiring Women in Tech Series #1: Lady Judge buys into Tech Startup featured British and American boardroom lioness, Lady Barbara Judge, CBE, who said that she regretted not having studied maths or science at University, as she felt that she had been playing catch-up her whole life. Lucky for Godfrey, her passion was science. “Having a scientific background, you’re used to taking the complicated and complex and presenting it in an accessible way,” says Godfrey. Possibly one of her most valuable skills throughout her career.
Godfrey says it was a “pure love of the subject” that fuelled her interest in physics at a young age. She credits her father with cultivating her scientific curiosity – she holds a degree in Quantum Physics from the University of Leeds.
Selected by the BBC as one of the world’s Top 100 Women, the unstoppable Godfrey was profiled by the Sunday Times on the ascent of women in the boardroom – something that is under the spotlight right now, in the British banking and finance industries.
Jayne-Anne Gadhia, CEO of Virgin Money, was asked by the then Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Harriett Baldwin, to lead a Review focusing on the representation of women in senior managerial roles in the Financial Services industry. When the Review was released in March this year, it showed that in the UK, “New Financial's sample of 200 firms active in UK Financial Services showed an average of 23% female representation on Boards, but only 14% on Executive Committees. Only 50% of women, compared to 70% of men believe they have an equal opportunity to advance regardless of their personal characteristics or circumstances." Pretty appalling stuff.
Courageous women like Gemma Godfrey are pure gold. We couldn’t have a more inspiring person - who literally seems to fizz with energy and passion - to shakeup things, and spur on the aspiring FinTech women out there.
“The big thing that motivates me, is this feeling that you want to have an impact, you want to make a difference,” says Gemma, “I’ve always felt like that, wanting to work in smaller teams and be able to actually shape something. … I’ve realised I’ve spent the last few years waiting for somebody else to do this, and I thought I would join them! But there aren’t really that many people out there who’re doing this. This is a great opportunity to do it myself.” @gcgodfrey
Akoni helps businesses make the most of their cash. Register for free at AkoniHub.com
Save