Simon Rogerson

Chief Executive and co-founder, Octopus Group

2016

So many parts of modern life don’t work as well as they should. And when it comes to our health, our wealth and our future – the things that really matter to us – this can have an enormous impact. Octopus is changing that, by building companies with one purpose – the relentless pursuit of ‘better’. This means we’re developing innovative investment and savings products that can help look after their wealth. We’re supporting entrepreneurs and high growth small businesses. We’re helping to build healthcare facilities fit for future generations. We’re helping property developers transform the UK’s skyline. And we’re generating renewable energy and supplying it to thousands of happy customers. Across each business, we’re winning the trust of those who rely on us. Because that’s what matters most.

Executive Chairman

2019

Chief Executive and co-founder

2000 - 2019

The opportunity to build a financial services company that puts the customer at the heart of the business is exactly why we launched Octopus. Today, Octopus Investments is one of the UK’s fastest growing investment companies. We offer a straight-talking approach to investments, exceptional customer service and a range of products that do what they say they will. There’s a simple test every investment company should apply – only create investment products that you’d be happy to invest your own and your family’s money in. We focus on areas of the market that are inefficient and where we believe hard work pays off for our customers. Our areas of investment expertise include tax-efficient investments, ventures, smaller companies; and multi manager investments. We have dominant or high-growth positions in all of these markets, and invest in some of the UK’s most dynamic smaller companies, providing a wide range of funding options for exceptional businesses.

Head of Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology (Global Equity Team)

1997 - 2000

I joined Mercury’s graduate recruitment programme straight after finishing university. When you join, you go through a rigorous training programme. After that it was exams, the Investment Management Certificate after six weeks, and the Chartered Financial Analyst exams over the following three years. I started in the US Equity team, where I researched companies like Disney and Time Warner, and then I moved onto the UK Alpha team, focused on analysing smaller companies. I moved to the Global Equity Team, and ultimately became head of Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology research. A steep learning curve for a French graduate, but fun nonetheless.