MBA Guest Speaker: Graham Axford
MBA students were joined by Graham Axford, founder of and advisor to Corporate Finance Partners Limited, a regulated specialist corporate finance advisory firm.
Specialising in restructuring and turning around the fortunes of large companies, Graham’s extensive professional experience includes positions as Managing Director of Corporate Finance at James Capel & Co. (now HSBC Investment Bank) and Head of UK Corporate Finance at Credit Lyonnais Laing. While at James Capel & Co., Graham floated the first zero coupon bonds in the UK, raised the original funding for BSkyB and created the first stepped interest bonds.
Graham is also a Non-Executive Director of Easterbrook Farm Trust, which helps those with moderate to severe learning disabilities in a safe and supportive rural environment.
Students were given an opportunity to take part in a lively discussion surrounding the topic “There is no such thing as a merger". Graham explained that “the best companies are privately owned, not beholden to stakeholders and the pressures of financial PR”.
He addressed the issue that many UK businesses have adopted a money and statistics driven approach which in turn, leads business owners to seek a profitable exit as opposed to growth and development in the long term.
Advising current MBA students he said: "Don't think you've won your spurs just yet, you haven't even started".