Stephen Newton: Leading without a safety net

Stephen Newton didn’t have a safety net growing up and that shaped him – he rose to senior positions in three international corporates – started and failed at three businesses – one in SEO, one importing African art and a third an electronic trading company which bombed just as he believed he had cracked the algorithm. When Accenture retrenched him at the height of the global financial crisis, he formed the global consultancy Elixirr - listed on the London stock exchange with more than 700 people working in major markets worldwide. He accepts that people see him as “Marmite” – you either love him or don’t – and he is okay with that.