Pam leads on delivery of the NatWest Accelerator across four hubs in England and Wales.
As well as leading a team of Accelerator Managers, Pam collaborates with partners and business ecosystems to embed NatWest’s commitment to Accelerating Regional Growth.
Tell us a little bit about your business…
As one of the UK’s biggest business bank, NatWest’s Accelerator is recognised as a leading entrepreneurial network for businesses in Birmingham and across the UK.
Our free Accelerator provides coaching with our experienced acceleration managers, a programme of thought leadership and events, access to a network of like-minded peers, supported by our ecosystem managers, focused support with access to experts from across your specialism and use of our modern co-working spaces in one of our nationwide hubs.
The Accelerators are central to NatWest’s commitment to accelerating regional growth across the UK as our network of local hubs including Birmingham play an important role in regional business ecosystems. They help connect entrepreneurs with a network which enable their growth but also support established businesses who may be on the lookout for new products or services to support their business goals.
How did you get into the industry?
I have been working for NatWest since 2007. I’m an accidental banker. I studied law and a temporary role came up at NatWest and I didn’t leave.
During my time at NatWest, I have worked in Retail Banking as a Bank Manager and in Commercial Banking as a Director where I led a team of Relationship Managers who provided funding support for businesses.
I have been a part of our Accelerator community since 2018, first as an Entrepreneur Development Manager for businesses involved in our Birmingham hub and then most recently as Regional Director for our Accelerators in the West Midlands, Bristol and Cardiff.
NatWest is a great place to work. It brings out the best in people and encourages you to be yourself. NatWest is innovative and willing to try new things. Look at our Accelerator – we were one of the first to offer this type of support for entrepreneurs on the level we did, and it has been a real success for us.
What are the biggest opportunities and challenges in your industry?
There are so many opportunities for entrepreneurs to scale and grow their businesses, and we are lucky that the business ecosystem in Birmingham and the West Midlands is so supportive of these businesses. And while the support is vital, it’s also critical that entrepreneurs have the right support to scale and grow their businesses at the right time.
How would you describe your leadership style?
I think take a consultive approach to leadership. I want to help people grow in their careers and help them find ways to achieve their goals and develop, but I want to hear from them on what they want before deciding on how to get there.
I’ve done a lot of mentoring through NatWest’s Multicultural Network and through my work as a Justice of the Peace, and I think this approach is reflected in my leadership style.
How do you get the most out of the people who work for you?
I like to work with people’s strengths knowing we are all different and have different skills and abilities. I also think this can be enabling for people as they are able to use their skills effectively and positively.
What are the most crucial elements to your business running smoothly and being successful?
For every business we work with, there will be different answers. Nevertheless, it’s important that business owners stop being in the business and instead focus on the business. By this I mean some entrepreneurs spend all of their time doing the doing for their business particularly when they are staring out, but you need to step away and get a more holistic view to really develop your business. That’s where the NatWest Accelerator can help.
As the biggest bank for start-ups in Great Britain, we’re backing entrepreneurs more than ever before through our Accelerator programme. We often hear from those involved in the Accelerator that the community provided by our network of entrepreneurs is vital to their success. The workshops and coaching sessions are of course vital to business development but the community provides something more which is important to the entrepreneurs themselves.
How has the past 12 months been for you?
It has been a busy 12 months as we have been preparing for the anniversary celebrations and activity. We really want to make the Accelerator famous, make it valuable and make it impactful. We have also had the day to day running the Accelerator and supporting our businesses and helping them succeed and grow. If we weren’t doing this well, we couldn’t do the other stuff.
What will the next 12 months look like for your business?
We are looking to expand our network of business accelerators by partnering with up to 10 UK universities by 2027, supporting an additional 7,500 entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses. Since the NatWest Accelerator opened in 2015, 9,737 entrepreneurs have been supported to start and grow their businesses, raising over £648 million in investment and creating over 12,000 jobs.
In addition to revamp of the Accelerator, we will also have NatWest Pitch – a £1 million competition for entrepreneurs offering small businesses the opportunity to accelerate their growth. Entrepreneurs are invited to pitch their business concept and plans for growth for a chance of winning an individual prize pot of £100,000.
We will also look at additional collaborative opportunities with universities in Birmingham and the Midlands. This includes our work with the University of Warwick which is home to one of Accelerators and will serve as a template for our collaborative hub work with universities across the UK.
What are the highlights of your career so far?
The launch of our Corporate and Institutional talent programme for colleagues from minority backgrounds was a highlight. We looked at the issues faced by some of our colleagues around development knowing some of our people did not have the same opportunities for a variety of reasons and created a programme that has worked and I am really proud of it. We started in the Midlands and it has grown from there.
I was chair of the bank’s Multicultural Network for several years and worked with some amazing colleagues on lots of different projects and programmes that delivered on NatWest’s commitment to our people.
For me it’s about enabling people to meet their aspirations. I want people to succeed and be proud of who they are and what they have accomplished.
What’s the biggest business mistake that you’ve learnt from?
Not spreading myself too thin. Time is finite and I need to make sure I spend my time on on priorities that are impactful and deliver on our strategic goals and aims.
What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve been given?
You don’t need to be an expert in everything – get advice, learn from someone else and use your network to help you.
After a decade getting behind UK businesses, NatWest Accelerator is aiming to help even more to increase their sales, secure funding and improve their leadership skills in 2025. Your business could enjoy practical tools, expert support, and join a helpful community – through our new digital network.
For 10 years, NatWest Accelerator has been helping businesses get going and get growing. To celebrate this milestone, we’re launching NatWest Accelerator Pitch with a total prize pot of £1m to be given out over a series of competitions throughout 2025 and beyond. The prize pot for the first competition is £100k and we want to hear you pitch your success and your plans for growth. To enter visit: https://www.natwestacceleratorpitch.co.uk.
