RGS PROFESSIONALS

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

8 MARCH

Celebrating Inspirational Women 2022

We always like to celebrate members of our Reigatian community and International Women’s Day provides the perfect opportunity to give a cheer for the thousands of wonderful Reigatian women.

Among our parents and former students lies a wealth of knowledge and experience that we want to harness, drawing on their collective insights to help inspire and inform the next generation. We are so proud of all the Reigatians who are #inspiringminds. The International Women’s Day theme for 2022 was #BreakTheBias, and we were asked to imagine what it would be like in a world that was gender equal and free of stereotypes and discrimination.

Each of the Reigatians below have shared their career journeys and offered insights and advice on achieving success in their sector. From structural engineers to film producers, business founders to those working in medicine, and women who have carved a passion into a career. You can read all about the talent in our community on our website by scanning the QR code below.

Have you won a professional award or succeeded in fulfilling your career ambitions? Or perhaps you have an unusual or interesting career journey you would like to share? We would love to hear from you! Please email foundation@reigategrammar.org Join our professional group on LinkedIn to connect with hundreds of Reigatians. Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias.

Seeing an opportunity in a growing market after the launch of the internet, Ben Goss (RGS 1981-1986) launched game changing ‘Dynamic Planner’ to the financial market. Here he talks to us about how his time at RGS gave him the confidence to achieve big....

of further education, work and ultimately business, a bit more confident as a result.

Tell us a little more about the success of Dynamic Planner and where the idea came from?

As a successful entrepreneur, what words of wisdom would you give our Reigatians embarking into the professional world?

Which teachers had the biggest impact on you at RGS and why?

I joined the school in the Third Form and Mr Whitely was my form teacher and house master – he taught me Geography and rugby. I ended up studying Geography and playing rugby at university both in the UK and then in the US. One of my sons now plays rugby for Bath and so I guess the love of the game in our family started at RGS! Mr Richley – he gave me confidence I could actually do Maths and I haven’t been afraid of numbers since!

Is there a particular trip/event or story from your time at RGS that sticks in your mind?

The Lower Sixth trip to the Ardèche was amazing fun. I was back there last summer on a French immersion trip canoeing down the river and jumped off the same rocks we did almost 40 years ago. I started relearning French building on my O Level in lockdown. Thank you Mrs Benson!

Who have you remained close to from RGS?

Some of my best and longest standing friends were made at school. There’s a group of us who played rugby together, went to each other’s weddings and are still close even though some live overseas now. A few of us are off to Portugal in April.

What would you say was one thing you took away from your time at RGS? Confidence, probably sometimes misplaced, but on reflection I did a lot at the school not just academically but the friends I made, activities like Duke of Edinburgh, Music, as well as Sport. I entered the world

Dynamic Planner is a FinTech – a financial technology company that financial advisers use to match people with suitable investments. My original exposure to financial services came when a school friend got me a summer job at a fund manager. When the internet came to the UK in the mid-1990’s I was working as a management consultant at PwC. I thought it could be a game changer for people looking for financial advice – making it easy to access and more objective. Today more than 40% of investment advisers in the UK use Dynamic Planner.

What do the next few years hold for you?

In terms of the business we’ve opened up in Europe and I’m really enjoying developing the company on the continent.

I’m also on the advisory board of a charity called Urban Synergy that helps school children in South-East London where I grew up before Reigate, get access to the mentoring they need to fulfil their potential. It’s very fulfilling to help young people access some of the amazing opportunities I’ve had.

Aim high, work hard, go for it and be nice to people along the way. I think there is a misunderstanding about business that it has to be cut throat. Actually business is about people and finding ways to help each other.

If you could go back to any point in history, when would it be?

Great question. It would be fascinating to go back to the industrial revolution and see the impact of new technologies. We’re seeing huge changes now through the digital revolution but the changes then would have been comparatively just as big if not bigger.

Nfts And Cryptocurrencies

28 APRIL

Rgs Professionals Golf Day 26 September

At lunchtime on 28 April, Paul Howard (RGS 1989-1997), Director of BlockFi and Founder of DigitalArtFair, hosted a virtual RGS Professionals event about NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and cryptocurrency.

Based in Hong Kong for almost 20 years, Paul has more than a decade of institutional sales experience in Executive Director roles at both Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, and was named one of Asia’s youngest Managing Directors of a Fortune 500 company.

This insightful session was attended by 83 Reigatians from around the world, who sent in questions both beforehand and during Paul’s presentation.

Paul was eager to stress that he was completely impartial and that his aim was to explain the technology and uses of cryptocurrencies and NFTs, rather than to advocate their adoption.

By using real-world examples, Paul made the premise of cryptocurrency easy to understand. He likened it to the earliest adoption of currency which replaced the barter system, where precious metals were seen to have a perceived value. Or the promissory system of trust that we have today, using the value of your house for example, which is principally not determined by the amount it cost to build, but by the sale prices of similar houses nearby. You have trust in the value of your house or the £10 in your pocket because its value is commonly accepted.

Paul then went on to cover the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies and how NFTs work as part of this; stablecoins and why and how they should be in your investment portfolio; and where we are on the road to cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption.

After addressing some of the questions received, Paul wrapped up the session, leaving everyone much better informed! We thank Paul for sharing his expertise.

On Monday 26 September, 48 golfers braved the wind, rain, hills and heather for the ninth annual RGS Professionals Charity Golf Day at the Royal Ashdown Old Course. Our thanks go to Ralph James and Morr & Co for sponsoring the event and to the generosity of our players, who helped us raise an incredible £11,840. Having caught up with friends, and fuelled by coffee and bacon rolls, teams set off to their various holes for a 10am shotgun start.

The Thunderball Challenge proved popular again, although all but three teams donated their yellow balls to the Sussex countryside! The winning team was Stephen Cahill (parent), Craig Burgess and Richard Leutsche.

The nearest-the-pin competition on the 6th hole went to James Espin, while the longest drive competition on the 12th hole went to Molly Moore. Congratulations to them both.

At the 14th hole, players were invited to take up the Par 3 Challenge – to get their ball onto the green (without bouncing or rolling on or off) in one shot. The gusty conditions, appearance of maintenance staff working in the bunker behind the pin and the odd spurt of water due to air in the irrigation system, made this challenge particularly interesting! Indeed, only 20% of players achieved this and took home a goody bag of wine and beer.

Our particular thanks go to Ashly Kilsby-Dukes from Ralph James for taking some wonderful team photos, and to Mike Jackson from Morr & Co for delivering beer and snacks to players throughout the round.

Back at the clubhouse, players donned some dry clothes ready for a sumptuous three-course dinner.

Congratulations to our team competition winners, James Espin (whose trophy cabinet will be positively bursting after this event!), Tyrone Long, Geraint Watkins (RGS 19891997) and Aaron Simmons (RGS 1989-1997).