Meet the Team - Stephen Barnett

Join us as we delve into Stephen Barnett's journey as Director of Corporate Finance at AmplifyME. From his background in investment banking in London and New York to founding his own technology company, and now spearheading our innovative corporate finance suite of simulations, leading to our groundbreaking partnership with UBS.

Apr 17 / Rachel Aspinall

In this edition of "Meet the Team," we get to know Stephen Barnett, AmplifyME’s Director of Corporate Finance, who spearheaded our suite of Corporate Finance simulations, including the flagship Mergers & Acquisitions simulation, now a key part of our groundbreaking partnership with UBS.

Stephen has a diverse background, beginning as an Investment Banker in both London and New York. He then transitioned to become the founder and CEO of Util, a disruptive financial technology company that utilised machine learning to gauge the impact of every listed company on the most critical social and environmental issues of our time.

Additionally, he has trained as a teacher, teaching Business and Economics, at the prestigious Charter House School in the UK.

All these experiences culminated in his current role at AmplifyME, where he initially joined as the Head of Schools and now serves as the Director of Corporate Finance.

I studied a non-finance degree at university and, frankly, had no idea what different roles in the finance entailed. What was the actual, on-the-desk, difference between a role as a Sales Trader, versus working in M&A? Both seemed exciting and fast paced, so I closed my eyes and pointed to Investment Banking, which is where I started my career.

If I had access to AmplifyME’s practical simulations and workshops, covering all areas of finance, I would have been much better informed about the early part of my career in finance.

So, when the opportunity arose to build a range of simulations, covering all areas of Corporate and Investment Banking, I jumped at the opportunity.

If I had access to AmplifyME’s practical simulations and workshops, covering all areas of finance, I would have been much better informed about the early part of my career in finance.

So, when the opportunity arose to build a range of simulations, covering all areas of Corporate and Investment Banking, I jumped at the opportunity.

The Investment Banking simulations provide students with an important practical learning opportunity, a graded assessment of their performance and potential, and a comparable on-the-desk experience which will inform how they choose to navigate their first role in finance.

For universities, our IBD simulations complement corporate finance and accounting modules, bringing to life lecture theatre learning and ensuring that students are more employable.

For financial institutions, we provide immersive and engaging attraction, spring week, internship programmes and graduate training which help boost student offer uptake and retention, whilst also providing detailed assessment analytics in support of high quality, diverse campus recruitment programmes.

For universities, our IBD simulations complement corporate finance and accounting modules, bringing to life lecture theatre learning and ensuring that students are more employable.

We teamed up with UBS at the beginning of the year to help deliver our Investment Banking pathway to thousands of students and graduates across the world. Working in the US, EMEA and APAC, we deliver our initial M&A simulation, for free, to students from a wide range of universities and backgrounds.

Candidates who ace the first round are invited to our Investment Banking Academy – an immersive ‘assessment centre’ experience, where we can identify the very highest potential students for UBS’s global internship programmes.

This partnership puts UBS at the forefront of innovations in campus recruitment, helping to spread the net wider, increasing the diversity of applications and candidates for their right first role in finance.

Where do I start!

Firstly, financial education must be introduced early on, at primary school if possible. The longer we go without teaching young people about finance, the more intimidating it becomes – lots of adults bury their head in the sand because they don’t have the confidence or understanding to make sound financial decisions. Secondly, maths needs to be taught, in part, with personal finance in mind (e.g. compounding!).

Thirdly, finance must be made relevant (and fun) for young people – I am a massive fan of getting young people to invest and follow a single stock. Innovations in cash-cards for young people are also very positive.

And finally, zooming out a little, I see knowledge of finance, banking and wider economic system as having a bit of a superpower – if everyone knew a little more about how the system worked, we would understand better how to navigate recessions, savings, mortgages, careers, pensions, and everything else in between.

Where do I start!

Firstly, financial education must be introduced early on, at primary school if possible. The longer we go without teaching young people about finance, the more intimidating it becomes – lots of adults bury their head in the sand because they don’t have the confidence or understanding to make sound financial decisions.Secondly, maths needs to be taught, in part, with personal finance in mind (e.g. compounding!).