ART Chief Honored by University of Birmingham

Steve has spent his career supporting small businesses in and around Birmingham.  He worked for Barclays for 29 years before becoming Chief Executive of ART immediately prior to its launch in June 1997.  Since then he has championed access to finance for enterprise and finance for social enterprise throughout the UK and overseas and has informed policy in the UK at a regional and national level. 

ART was a pioneer, being one of the first locally targeted Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) in the UK and the first to be established in the West Midlands.  From modest beginnings, it has grown to be recognised 10 years later as the UK’s leading locally targeted CDFI and Steve has come to be recognised as one of the UK’s foremost practitioners and innovators in the social finance and micro finance sectors. 

As he accepted the honour, Steve said: “The success of ART and my own development would not have been achieved without a team effort and a continual process of learning.  I fully appreciate the support of my family, friends, colleagues and business mentors from the public, private and third sectors in which ART operates.  I hope that many of the students graduating from the University of Birmingham this December will choose to remain in the City and forge careers here – some may even become entrepreneurs and business-owners, one day seeking money from ART.  Whatever they do, I would encourage them to continue to seek advice and support throughout their working lives as there is nothing to be gained from going it alone in life!”