Employee #1 to chief of staff: evolution of a partnership

CSA

6 min read

Illuminate Financial's founder, Mark Beeston, and chief of staff, Rachel Townend, reveal the foundations of their partnership and the evolution of Illuminate.

It started with a Facebook post and a 7am meeting, after which Rachel Townend became employee number one of Mark Beeston’s fledgling venture capital business. Ten years later, Illuminate Financial operates out of London, New York, and Singapore; employs 22 people, including five partners (one of whom is Rachel, now the chief of staff); has $500 million in assets under management; and works with major industry partners including JP Morgan, Bank of New York Mellon, and S&P. The CSA sat down with Rachel and Mark to discover what makes their partnership at the centre of the business work.

Was Rachel really recruited via Facebook? And how has your working relationship developed since then?

Rachel: Yes, I was really recruited via Facebook in 2014. Mark had set up the business and he posted something along the lines of, ‘CEO and Founder of Illuminate Financial Management, now hiring…’. A friend of mine saw it and connected us. We met for a 7am coffee interview because Mark was already too busy to meet at any other time. I joined as his EA because I liked the idea of working in an entrepreneurial environment. When you're there from the beginning, you end up doing a lot of the setup work, and when you don’t have a big team, you have to fill in the gaps. So the role evolved into something broader, where I was still looking after Mark but also starting to handle more of the business side of things as Business Manager. Then, about two and a half years ago, I became chief of staff. That change happened I think because the balance between supporting Mark and focusing on the gaps in the business had shifted. I was spending more time on the business itself. Mark suggested the chief of staff title, which was a huge blessing because of the network it brought and the flexibility of the role. Mark: Rachel has been a core part of the business’s DNA from day one and grew alongside the business. In the early days, she was very much looking after my whole agenda, both professional and personal. And then as my agenda became the business’s agenda, and the business grew, her role evolved. The inflection point came when we were going through a big transition. One of my early partners had decided he wanted to launch a technology business, so we had agreed that he was going to leave. And Rachel, as she always does, sat me down and said, ‘Look, when he goes, we’re going to lose a lot of what he cares about’. Then she followed it up with: ‘How are we going to address that gap?’ So, for me, that was really the genesis of the idea of a chief of staff role. Rachel: I like to plan things and have them well thought out before I present them. I had already spoken to 2 leadership professionals in my external network for advice but when Mark and I first discussed the idea I asked for a day to consider how the role should be structured and what was needed. Mark being Mark, though, put the phone down and in great excitement rattled off his own list, which he sent to me. It was almost identical to the list I had started. That was the defining moment for me: I knew that we could make it work.

What were the challenges of transitioning into the new role?

Rachel: When you’re an EA, you and your principal are really in each other’s pockets. The communication back and forth is constant, and the access to information is much more immediate. You’re essentially a unit. But as chief of staff I’ve had a much more independent role: filling gaps, running projects, and owning things. It was a strange shift. I suddenly realised I had a lot less information and visibility than I did before. Mark: I think one of the hardest parts of that transition for Rachel was that the thing that made her an amazing EA—being incredibly organised, with lists for everything, and checking things off—became much more difficult when she moved into the world of chaos that a Chief of Staff mandate represents. In the EA role, you book a flight, you book a car, you fill a room, and you know those items are done. But in the chief of staff world, like the CEO world, the projects are much harder to tick off. There’s always a never-ending list of things to do, and people keep pulling you back into the business, so you often feel you aren’t giving enough to the other important items on your list. Rachel: Yes, I agree. One of the biggest learning curves is realising that you can have a really busy week where you’ve helped and empowered a lot of people and moved things forward, but you have nothing tangible to show for it in terms of clear output. In my previous role, there were so many instances where I could say, ‘I worked really hard, here’s the outcome, and the person is happy’. It was very straightforward. Now, in this new role, the projects are longer, there’s a lot more work involved, and then things don’t go as planned or they pivot in another direction.

How did other people view the creation of this new role at such a senior level?

Rachel: I remember sitting at breakfast early on, and one of our investors said, ‘That’s quite a brave move, putting a chief of staff into such a small team’. He wasn’t being critical—he was just pointing out that with a small headcount, every person really matters, and here we were choosing a non-investment role. He had concerns about me being seen as an outsider, potentially because the role isn't directly tied to deals or transactions. And honestly, that’s a valid concern. The value of the role can often be hidden because a lot of the work is behind the scenes. The partners see it, but I can't talk about a lot of what I do because it’s sensitive. So, the visibility of the value I add is difficult for the wider firm to understand. In contrast, when you're in a deal-making role, it’s very obvious what you're doing. So, you have to understand internally where you're adding value and have a strong management team around you to recognise it, because you’re probably not going to get that kind of recognition from the wider team. In fact, you’re likely to face more conflict and hardship because you’re often the one who’s expected to handle all the problems and challenges. You end up being the first line of defence.

What do you think makes your principal/chief of staff partnership work so well?

Mark: From day one, Rachel has behaved and acted like an owner of the business -- and that’s why she’s a partner, by the way. We don’t always agree and in fact we can have some pretty frustrating conversations, not helped by the fact that I’m most often in a different location. But at the end of the day, I trust Rachel implicitly. And the reason I trust her so much is because she’s earned it by behaving like an owner throughout. Rachel: The reason I think it works so well for me is that I can be very open and also a challenger to the other partners because we’ve worked together for so long. Having visibility into the journey of the last 10 years makes a huge difference. And particularly since we’re working in different locations, as Mark said, you really have to know each other incredibly well. One of the partners always says, ‘Assume positive intent’. So, when you’re having difficult conversations, you know that you all have the same goal. You all want the same thing, but you just might approach it in different ways. And when that happens, I’m often the one saying, ‘OK, let’s stop and reframe this’. Or, ‘Let’s try doing this a different way’. I think potentially I have more influence because of the journey we’ve all been on together. If another chief of staff came in, it would probably be more transactional and task-focused. I think all the softer skill stuff—like the background connections, the ongoing one-on-one conversations with the partners, and the kind of mentoring, if you want to call it that—plays a big part in why things work. A lot of the time, I’m the one having those informal conversations, bouncing ideas around, or saying things like, ‘Actually, I don’t think we did that the right way’. That kind of exchange, plus the visibility I have in terms of noticing where things might be falling through the cracks, is something another chief of staff wouldn’t necessarily have from day one. It would take time to develop that.

Some people suggest that chief of staff is a two- or three-year only-role. Do you think that’s the case for you?

Mark: I’ve heard that, and I think it’s insane. To me, the chief of staff is a fundamental linchpin of how to run an organisation. In my mind, it’s a career track, and one that’s evolving -- though it might be different in larger organisations. Rachel: If you’re in a growing and evolving organisation, the role is constantly changing. For me, that’s enough. I don’t need to be striving for a head of department role or something else elsewhere. I might not care passionately about capital markets, but I care about Illuminate. And I will protect Illuminate—our culture, our reputation, what we do—for as long as necessary.

Mark Beeston

Founder & Managing Partner, Illuminate Financial Management

Mark Beeston is a 30 year+ veteran of financial markets and is Managing Partner and Founder of Illuminate Financial Management, a venture capital firm focussed on financial services technology which currently lists nine strategic partner LP’s across its four funds representing some of the largest global names in banking, finance and markets infrastructure.

Mark launched Illuminate Financial in 2014 following a long career in fixed income derivative trading and management at Deustche Bank, building market infrastructure as a member from the Exco at Creditex (now ICE) and running the Post Trade division (now Osttra) at ICAP where he was an Exco member.

When not focused on financial technology Mark can usually be found in some way indulging his passion for all things automotive.

Rachel Townend

Chief of Staff, Illuminate Financial Management

Rachel Townend assumed the role of Chief of Staff at Illuminate Financial Management in January 2022, overseeing Illuminate’s strategic objectives in relation to People, Process and Operations. After 15 years in the financial sector in London, Rachel brings a wealth of experience and expertise to her leadership role.

Rachel embarked on her journey with Illuminate from inception, as an Executive Assistant and Business Manager to the Founder. Prior to this position, Rachel spent five years at Satya Capital LLP, a boutique private equity firm exclusively focused on investments in Africa. Rachel had prior roles at Marshall Wace Asset Management, Longshot Ltd and Invesco.

Rachel graduated from Nottingham University with a BA in Geography, Business and the Environment.

Rachel was awarded Partner in November 2022.

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