Scale-up series: Financial planning and raising finance

Steve Conibear, Director, UK Network at British Business Bank

Steve Conibear works as a UK Network Director for South & East of England. Having worked in both the private and public sector in the UK and the EU, Steve has gained a wealth of experience and expertise in small business funding and finance. In his role, Steve represents the Bank in the South, collaborating with a wide network of key stakeholders, identifying imbalances in access to finance that inform our programmes and targeted support in the region to help smaller businesses get funding they need to grow.

Dequan Walker, Chief Financial Officer & Strategic Growth Leader, Marsh International Affinity

Dequan is responsible for the financial management of Marsh’s International Affinity segment, which covers more than 60 countries. In addition to this, he also drives the Affinity growth strategy, which focuses on developing new clients, improving the existing client servicing process, expanding the business’ geographic footprint and ensuring the business works with the best in class ecosystem partners. In addition to his financial background, he also specialises in corporate strategy and management consulting, gaining significant experience while working in the Office of the CEO at Marsh headquarters in New York, with a responsibility for helping develop and execute on the global strategy. He previously worked in the New York banking industry in the Corporate Trust Division for The Bank of New York Mellon, before moving on to Marsh where he has spent the last 14 years.

Paul van der Walt, fractional CFO

Paul van der Walt is ICAEW qualified accountant and experienced fractional CFO with a passion for guiding high-growth start-ups on the journey from Seed to Series B. Known for his expertise in fundraising, financial strategy, and investor relations, Paul has helped numerous seed and venture-backed companies build strong financial foundations and achieve critical growth milestones. Recently, he has focused on supporting Deep Tech start-ups, where his financial insights have been help cutting-edge technology businesses in the areas of Computer Vision, Robotics and Machine Learning.

Currently, Paul supports a variety of start-ups as a fractional CFO, creating financial models, optimizing cash flow, and developing strategic growth plans that enable businesses to scale efficiently. As a panelist in the ICAEW Scale-Up Webinar Series, Paul will share insights on the financial strategies and frameworks essential for scaling start-ups, drawing from his extensive experience in the startup and Deep Tech ecosystems.