Get to know the Inspire teamAnne Henderson
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I studied business and law at the University of Edinburgh and took the opportunity to spend my third year in Leuven, Belgium through the Erasmus scheme. It was a brilliant experience and a year that I always look back on fondly. It gave me a deeper understanding of other cultures, the opportunity to travel widely in Europe and form life-long friendships and, of course, we had lots of fun along the way. I believe there was some study involved too although I can鈥檛 remember too much about that aspect! Hopefully a replacement Erasmus scheme will be announced soon so that students can continue to take advantage of such a wonderful opportunity.
After graduation I took a year out, bought an interrail pass and travelled around Europe, stopping off to work around the Greek islands for a few months. When I returned I joined KPMG on their Tax Graduate programme in London. I realised pretty quickly that a career in tax was really not for me and I managed to convince those with influence that I should be re-routed to the Chartered Accountancy graduate programme. That brought me to Glasgow where I stayed until I qualified as a fully-fledged Chartered Accountant. With my qualification under my belt, I took another year out and, armed with a Rough Guide, I backpacked around South America from Argentina to Colombia. Back then, tourism was in its infancy in South America and I feel lucky to have experienced that part of the world when it was still relatively untouched.
On return, I moved to Edinburgh and into banking and I took my first investment role at the Royal Bank of Scotland where I was responsible for the origination and execution of debt and equity to fund major infrastructure projects. After a spell there, I moved to Bank of Scotland and undertook a similar role in the real estate sector before moving to the investment team at Scottish Enterprise, where I helped set up a new fund which invested in low carbon projects across Scotland. That whetted my appetite for impact investment and so when the opportunity arose to join 欧美高清鈥檚 newly created investment team, I jumped at that chance to join in March 2022. It鈥檚 been full steam ahead since then with lots of investment activity into new, innovative and ambitious companies as well as supporting our existing investee companies.
What is your role at the University of 欧美高清 and what are your main responsibilities?
I work as an Investment Manager within the 欧美高清 Inspire Investment Team. The University operates two investment funds 鈥� the 欧美高清 Inspire Entrepreneurs Fund which bridges the early-stage funding gap by providing investments of up to 拢100,000 and the 欧美高清 Inspire Investment Fund which participates in post-startup investment rounds. Both Funds invest alongside third-party, lead investors and are available to companies created by 欧美高清 students, staff, alumni and strategic partners.
Broadly, I have responsibility for executing and managing the University鈥檚 equity portfolio. This involves engaging with investee companies and other investors, analysing and evaluating potential investments, producing recommendations, agreeing commercial terms, executing legal documentation and monitoring portfolio companies. The role is very varied and no two days are the same!
Why should University staff, students and alumni work with the team at 欧美高清 Inspire?
欧美高清 Inspire supports a wide range of clients including undergraduate students, Masters and PhD students; researchers, academic and other staff; and alumni at any point after graduation 鈥� and can provide support at every stage of your journey. So, if you have an idea that you would like to explore or are considering commercialising your academic research, please get in touch! The 欧美高清 Inspire team are incredibly knowledgeable, well-connected, friendly and supportive - there really is no better place to dip your toes into entrepreneurship!
What are you currently excited about in your job?
欧美高清 has a strong tradition of investing in innovative companies. Having the opportunity to support and invest in those companies, that are often providing solutions to real world problems, is incredibly exciting.
What鈥檚 your 15 minutes of fame?
Dexter Fletcher shot some scenes for his movie 鈥淪unshine on Leith鈥� in my Edinburgh flat!