Richard Fidler (Economics & Management, 1998)

Richard read Economics & Management at Hertford and now advises disruptive technology companies. He is an independent member of the college’s endowment investment committee and has been supporting Hertford for a number of years.

Hertford has been transformational for me. I learnt so much from Roger van Noorden and Dr Steve New, who were my tutors for Economics and Management respectively. Much of what I do now can be traced back to them.

I run my own company, which advises disruptive technology companies on strategy, fundraising and M&A. We work with founders and CEOs of medium sized businesses helping them to position their story with investors and take their companies to the next level, as well as sometimes working for the investors looking to deploy funds. Our clients are based in the ‘golden triangle’ of Oxford, Cambridge and London.

Thanks to the quality of the teaching at Hertford, I was lucky enough to get a good degree [Richard got a top first] and that also opened the door to me to start lecturing at London Business School on Advanced Corporate Finance programmes, which I’ve been doing for the last decade.

So much of who I am today results from my Hertford experience: my friends, my client work, my investment committee role, my LBS teaching. I look back at my days as a student with fond memories. I built so many friendships, and benefited so much from college activities including music and sport. I still feel very involved in college life, and am excited by all the initiatives and energy emanating from Will Hutton and the wider team.

Hertford to me is like a big family and I would encourage people to give back in whatever way they can to help future generations of students receive the same step-up in life that I, and so many of my generation, have received.