Leathersellers’ Alumni

I was born in Congo Brazzaville and my parents moved to the UK when I was 14. I didn’t qualify as a home student when I was trying to go to university and my parents couldn’t afford international fees at UCL, so I applied and was awarded the UCL Access Opportunity Scholarship covering full tuition fees, as I couldn’t get student loans. I still needed to afford maintenance in London, so I applied and received a grant from The Leathersellers’ Foundation.

I’m a Go-to-Market Investment Programs Lead at Amazon Web Services (AWS). I studied Economics and Statistics at UCL.

The Foundation gave me the financial stability I needed to focus entirely on my studies at UCL. Without the worry of how I’d cover living costs in London, I could fully commit to my degree, which laid the foundation for everything that followed from joining Amazon straight out of university to progressing into a senior leadership role at AWS where I now manage a $29M+ investment portfolio across EMEA.

As an international student whose family couldn’t afford UK university fees or living costs, and who wasn’t eligible for student loans, the grant removed the single biggest barrier to my education. Without it, attending UCL and accessing the opportunities that followed would have been significantly harder. It bridged the gap between ambition and access.

Yes, I believe I would have, but the Leathersellers’ support was a great help. It removed financial stress at a critical time and allowed me to focus fully on building the foundation for my career.

Being a mentor! It’s great seeing someone else being supported. I’m currently mentoring a second-year Computer Science student at the University of St Andrews who went on to secure a JP Morgan internship after winning a hackathon. Being able to give back to the community that invested in me is incredibly rewarding.

It means being part of a community that genuinely believes in potential over circumstance. The Leathersellers didn’t just fund my education, they gave me a sense of belonging and proof that someone was willing to invest in my future. Being an alumna now means I have a responsibility and a privilege to pay that forward, which is exactly why I mentor through the network. It’s a full-circle moment every time I see a student I’ve supported take their next step.

To create a life for myself where I can discover more of the world, give back to others, and ultimately achieve financial independence and retire early. Professionally, I want to continue scaling my impact, whether that’s leading global investment strategy at AWS or eventually stepping into a broader commercial leadership role in tech. Long term, I want to use my experience to open doors for others from similar backgrounds, just as the Leathersellers opened one for me.