Amrita Choudhary from Narratives of Numbers welcomes Derek Watson, CEO and partner at ScalePoint Advisors, to the show. ScalePoint Advisors provides fractional CFO and capital market support to early stage FinTech startups in need of strategic partnership and thought leadership. They work on a fractional basis, helping startups move forward without the need for a full-time CFO or head of capital markets, preventing org chart issues and other misshapen problems that can arise from early senior hires.
Derek started at PwC as an audit trainee, then moved to Russia for a two-year secondment that turned into six years, three with PwC and three as a CFO for Willis. His transition from audit manager to CFO was not as satisfying as he had hoped, leading him to pursue an MBA. This decision opened up new career paths for him, leading to a job offer at Amazon in their retail leadership development program, which was exactly the transition he was looking for.
Overall, Derek’s career journey from audit manager to CFO to pursuing an MBA and landing a role at Amazon’s retail leadership development program showcases the importance of taking chances and making strategic career moves to achieve desired career growth and opportunities.
