‘Run towards things that scare you’
That’s Ruth Handcock OBE’s advice to students starting their careers – and a philosophy she has followed throughout her own.
“Maybe not hugely, but at least a little bit,” she says. “If you look at the next couple of years of your career and there's nothing in there that scares you, then it's time to make a bit of a change or stretch yourself.”
This belief has taken Ruth from studying science and editing a science journal to working in the public sector, spending a year in Sierra Leone before moving into consulting and then financial services.
“I'd love to say I had a master plan but I think I just followed my nose,” she said. “I tended to run towards opportunities that I thought would be interesting and stretch me.”
For those wondering what their own career path should look like, Ruth says there is no need to have everything mapped out from the start. Her willingness to leap into the unknown led her to help launch Tandem Bank, one of the UK’s first new banks in a generation. “I thought gosh what an amazingly audacious thing to try and do. I have to try and be part of it.”
Helping secure the bank’s licence became one of her proudest achievements, particularly because so many said it couldn’t be done. “People thought it wasn't possible. We proved it was.”
Ruth also advises students that they do not need to have all the answers. Early in her career, she was told that being successful at work meant knowing the right answer. Experience taught her otherwise. “Actually in work, you can often appear more established if you're comfortable enough to say, ‘I don't know. Please help me.’”
She says this willing to show vulnerability has made her a better leader. “I think leadership these days is as much about empathy and connection as it is about direction,” she said. “It requires mentoring. It requires support. It requires the humility to be able to say, ‘I don't know.’ It requires listening.”
Supporting others has always been important to Ruth in her career, from helping establish a school in Freetown, Sierra Leone to becoming CEO of Octopus Money, where she helped make financial planning, coaching and advice more accessible, regardless of wealth.
In recognition of her services to financial services and investments, Ruth was awarded an OBE in 2025 and was named Banking and Finance Businesswoman of the Year at The Great British Businesswoman Awards 2025.
As she now picks up her honorary doctorate from Bucks, Ruth says: “I don't think I ever went into my career expecting that I would be seen as a leader that could motivate others,” she said. “To have that recognition is incredibly important and I feel very proud.”
