Before we meet Israel, let’s start by having a quick look at what a Sherpa is, and why Tenzing appoint one to help our business.
According to the Tenzing website “Like the guidance Tenzing Norgay gave Sir Edmund Hilary as he summited Everest, your dedicated Sherpa will support you as you climb and overcome your own Everest.”
In practice it means that companies in the Tenzing portfolio, like activpayroll, benefit from the support and guidance of top business talent to help grow our business and drive key projects.
With Anna Jackson moving from her role as Sherpa to our new Chief Commercial Officer, we thought it was time to introduce her replacement, Israel Sotonwa.
Welcome to activpayroll Israel. Let’s kick things off with you giving us a bit of background on your career to date and how you ended up as a Sherpa?
After graduating as a Biomedical Scientist, I spent 7 years working various Investment Banking Operations roles. During this period, I developed a keen interest in Tech and how successful companies grow which resulted in me deciding to pursue a career path where I could support entrepreneurs.
From this point I explored the Tech ecosystem, engaged in advisory work for startups and was fortunate enough to secure a place as a Venture Capital Fellow on the Included VC programme, which is backed by some of Europe’s leading VC firms. This was where I found out about the Sherpa programme and decided to apply. The rest, as they say, is history!
Impressive track record! Do you have specific projects that you’ll be working on while you’re with us as our Sherpa?
I do indeed, the three main areas I am focusing on are the Brand refresh, market growth and any potential acquisition integration.
And outside of work, what motivates you?
I‘m committed to helping my local community so I’m a governor in my local primary school and I’ve been involved with my local rugby club for over 10 years where I’m currently on the committee.
And finally, a little bird tells me you are a bit of a Power Rangers fan, so if you could be one of the Power Rangers which one would you be?
The green power ranger, the only “villain” that was able to defeat all the power rangers by himself 😊
