Liam started his talk about his time as a John Lyon student, discussing his interests in subjects like History, English and Drama, and his dislike towards Sports, Mathematics and Physics. He highlighted how subjects or activities we initially dislike can sometimes turn out to be areas where we excel.

Liam shared his initial journey in the Royal Marines followed by his time in the British Army, serving from 2011 to 2017 where he learnt how to cope with challenges and at times failures but these were the moments that carved his career choices. With the help of the British Army, Liam then secured a job working as a Fixed Income Investment Specialist at JP Morgan, pointing out the irony that a subject he once disliked became a core strength. He highlighted that one of the biggest culture shocks he experienced going from a warzone to working in Canary Wharf was the lack of immediate community and camaraderie the military had provided. This year, Liam moved from JPMorgan to ImpaxAsset Management, where his role is to help develop its business, and to communicate complex investment strategies to investors. 

Alongside his career, Liam spoke about the importance of hobbies and passion projects. He turned his interest in cooking into Slothy Chef, a successful BBQ business, as well as starting an informal networking dinner series that brings together professionals from different industries.

Liam ended his talk with three key points:
Embrace failure, build perspective and that you don't have to have it worked out.

Having Old Lyonians come back to speak to our students is always a personable experience, with one upper sixth student stating: "It helped to be inspired by someone who was once in our position".