Who? Toni Thorne

The buzz: Thorne is an accomplished Caribbean woman who, for starters, has been awarded: Women of the Future UK, nominated by the University of Cambridge, these awards are under the patronage of Cherie, Lady Blair barrister, writer, wife of former UK PM Tony Blair, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, and highlight the future leaders of the UK.

An award-winning entrepreneur, who has been a consultant to both public and private sector Caribbean entities… was the first Caribbean person to sit on the Global Youth Leader’s European Summit.

As a Cambridge Trust Scholar and Chevening Scholar, whilst at Cambridge Judge Business School, she was one of two Cambridge MBA students listed on the prestigious Poets and Quants “Brightest and Best Global MBAs” list.

The more…Thorne was the recipient of the Junior Chamber International, a global non-profit organisation for young people aged 18 to 40 “Top Outstanding Young Person of the World” from the Caribbean and a World Economic Forum Global Shaper.

The Toni Thorne Show was her television show (
Flow TV,
CBU and terrestrial stations) and her weekly Barbados-based radio show
Women’s Wednesdays focused on gender issues.

She’s passionate about… investing in female founders and sharing their stories. For the year, she’s written personal cheques to seven female founders across Europe and the US. Their businesses range from consumer to financial services.

“My modest following on social media is majority Caribbean. I am hoping to share the journeys of female founders to inspire Caribbean women to start a side hustle or the business they have been longing to commence. No planning of summits from my end for the foreseeable future but I am keen to connect with Caribbean women to assess how we can tap into the Great Wealth Transfer. By 2030, 60 per cent of the wealth in the UK alone will be held by women. In the United States, women are projected to control $34 trillion in investable assets by 2023. Globally, over the next two decades it will be $124 trillion. What are we Caribbean women going to be doing to benefit from this? I want to be a part of this paradigm shift in the region.”

On what makes financial sense … “In today’s world having an emergency fund, a line of sight on the status of our pension (if we have one and what age we want to retire as starting points), not being affected by lifestyle inflation and enjoying life whilst not living above our means, form the best foundation for anyone looking to start investing. We must ensure certain aspects are sorted before actively investing. Once we have these pillars, understanding that we are investing for the long term and it’s a win for the tortoise rather than the hare, is the best approach. Anyone who is looking at building wealth must invest. On that note, our region has fallen victim to lots of pyramid scheme exploiters. Therefore, in our pursuit of wealth, we must be vigilant about what offerings are legitimate.”

Her financial credits are solid … At Cambridge, she worked with a top tier London based Venture Capital firm, a global investment manager and an international law firm. Before graduating, she was offered a job at JP Morgan in London where she worked for more than three years. Whilst at JP, she won awards from
Financial Times, Black Women in Asset Management 40 Under 40 and co-hosted JP Morgan Asset Management’s first financial literacy
YouTube series. As a vice-president, her daily role was leading the marketing strategy for all JP funds to wealth managers across the UK.

Today, she is a gender-lens angel investor, writing personal cheques to female founders -building the next game-changing companies across Europe, Middle East and Africa. Thorne is very passionate about female founders and narrowing the disparities re access to funding by female founders.

She remains in the investment management industry, embarking on a role with investor communities on behalf of the British government.

On what’s next… “Up next for me is leveraging the knowledge I gained whilst at JP Morgan; connections across Europe and the US, and the experience I am gaining in my current investor communities role with the innovation arm of the British government to share all I can with Caribbean citizens. Very often, I have been in rooms with hundreds of investors and wealth managers, and they all looked, sounded and in many facets thought the same. This is not to disparage them at all! I’ve met some lovely people, but I often wondered, “Gosh, my Caribbean people are never able to access these nuggets and opportunities!” I am currently working on my next business.

From her insight into a myriad of success stories, which ones have moved her... “This is a tough one, but if I had to choose two, I would go with investors and entrepreneurs Mellody Hobson of Ariel Investments and Emma Grede of Good American. Both came from humble beginnings and now manage extremely successful global businesses. They sit on boards, are whip-smart and have reputations of acting with integrity, being genuine and leading with heart. Huge fan of both and examples we can all follow.

Award-winning entrepreneur Toni Thorne Shane Leacock

Emma Grede, CEO and co-founder of Good American.

In a recent posted on Thorne’s Instagram page, the entrepreneur shares quips about how some fashion choices predict an economic recession. IG/@tonithorne

Mellody-Hobson, Co-CEO and president of Ariel Investments.

Award-winning entrepreneur Toni Thorne Shane Leacock

Thorne’s Instagram following.

2020 Chevening Scholarship Winner: Toni Thorne from Barbados.

The Toni Thorne TV show.