Jan 21, 2025

Octopus Investments hires co-heads of retail investments Editorial Staff 3 min read Octopus Investments  has appointed Alison Radley and Kristy Barr as co-heads of retail investments, responsible for creating, owning and delivering Octopus Investments’ retail business strategy. Barr joined Octopus as distribution director in September 2021, bringing extensive experience in sales and client management within the asset management industry. Kristy will continue to lead the Customer & Sales team with a focus on providing clients with exceptional customer service. Alison Radley also joined Octopus in 2021, following a ten-year career in the banking industry. She was most recently Chief of Staff, responsible for a number of key business functions such as Strategy, Transformation, Marketing and Communications, acting as a strategic advisor and as a deputy to the CEO on key business decisions and initiatives Both will report into Simon Rogerson, CEO and Co-Founder of Octopus Group and will have a key focus on driving growth into the retail business and further improving customer service and outcomes. This coincides with Erin Platts beginning her new role, having been announced as CEO of Octopus Ventures last year. Octopus Ventures has backed around 200 businesses, largely through Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs). Some of its notable successes include backing Zoopla, Secret Escapes, Depop, Swiftkey and Graze, while the current portfolio includes the likes of HURR, Orbex, ManyPets and Skin+Me. Under this new leadership, the venture, retail and fund management arms of the business will work closer than ever before to deliver for its clients. These three appointments also increase the percentage of women on the Executive Committee’s Board to 45%, as Octopus continues to push for gender balance across the business. Simon Rogerson saidd: “Both Kristy and Ali are exceptional leaders who live and breathe our values, so it made perfect sense for them to take the reins of our retail business. Octopus Investments turns 25 this year and our retail business is how it all started. "As we look ahead to the next 25 years, we don’t want to get complacent. We only want to keep improving on what we’ve built to better serve our clients, and I’m incredibly confident that this new leadership will help fulfil that.” Kristy Barr said: “We’re proud of what our retail business has achieved to date, but we know we can do more. We want to reaffirm our market leading position in tax efficient investment and make a real difference for financial advisers and most importantly, to the investors that entrust us with their money.” Ali Radley said: “Kristy and I are focused squarely on growth and are excited for both the opportunities and challenges that this may bring. Our aim is to deliver exceptional products and services for financial advisers and their clients as they navigate the complexities of financial planning.” Share this article