The Brokerage changed my life

From candidate to Trustee: how The Brokerage changed Mo’s life

"The Brokerage changed my life"

Mohammed Marikar first discovered The Brokerage in 2004, when he was a sixth-form student with little knowledge of the City or the careers it offered. Today, he is a startup investor, AI adviser, university Fellow and Trustee of the charity that helped him get his foot in the door. His journey is a powerful reminder of what can happen when talent meets opportunity.

When Mo first heard about The Brokerage, he knew very little about the world of professional careers in the City. His parents hadn’t been to university, his family had no connections to the City of London, and the companies and career paths that others might have grown up knowing about were largely unfamiliar to him.

A chance opportunity open up new possibilities

He had ambition, but little idea of the opportunities available, let alone how to access them.

A presentation at Camden School for Girls’ sixth form, where Mo was studying Further Mathematics through a local school consortium, introduced him to a different world. The Brokerage was talking about careers he knew very little about. It sounded exciting — and it opened up possibilities he hadn’t previously considered.

More than 20 years later, Mo’s career has taken him from a summer placement at UBS to senior roles in financial services, pioneering work in artificial intelligence and the world of startup investment. He is now a Partner at Neem Capital, an adviser to decentralised AI company FLock.io, a Fellow in Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, and a Trustee of The Brokerage.

His journey reflects the lasting impact of opening doors and why the work The Brokerage does to connect young people with professional opportunities matters.

Making the invisible visible

Growing up, Mo had little insight into the range of careers available in the City. Beyond high-street banks and what he had seen in the media, he had no real understanding of what City firms did or the breadth of roles within them.

As he explains:

“Our family did not have any connections to the City of London, and my parents had not attended university.”

Without those networks, it was difficult to know what he could aspire to, what employers were looking for or how to prepare himself for a career in a professional environment.

This is one of the barriers The Brokerage exists to address. Talent and ambition can be found everywhere, but knowledge of professional careers, access to networks and an understanding of how recruitment works are not equally available to everyone.

For Mo, The Brokerage helped make those opportunities visible. It introduced him to employers and career paths he hadn’t known existed, then helped him understand how to take the next steps.

From knowing the opportunities to being ready for them

The Brokerage’s support went beyond introducing Mo to the City. It helped him prepare to enter it.

Through career presentations, CV preparation, guidance on professional presentation and mock interviews, he gained the practical knowledge and confidence to navigate a recruitment process that might otherwise have felt intimidating.

At the time, The Brokerage also arranged an interview for him with UBS, which was offering summer placements. Mo was successful.

That opportunity gave him a foot in the door — but it was the preparation behind it that helped him make the most of what followed.

Mo remembers a workshop at a leading City law firm where students could ask senior lawyers the questions they might have felt uncomfortable asking elsewhere: how to dress, how to present themselves and what was expected in a professional environment.

The lawyers gave their time generously, offering honest advice and helping demystify a world that had previously felt unfamiliar.

These conversations matter. For a young person without family or professional connections to draw on, practical advice that others may absorb at home can make the difference between feeling like an outsider and knowing how to take part.

“The Brokerage changed my life”

Mo is unequivocal about the difference the charity made to his career.

“I am not exaggerating when I say the Brokerage changed my life.”

He had seen friends and peers from similar backgrounds struggle to get their first opportunity, making dozens or even hundreds of applications without understanding why they were being rejected.

What The Brokerage offered was not special treatment. It was the preparation and access that helped level the playing field.

“The Brokerage did not give me an advantage or special treatment, rather their programmes put me on a level playing field with the children of professional parents who knew how to open doors for them.”

With that first opportunity secured, Mo took advice from mentors and worked hard. He became UBS’s fastest-promoted Associate Director, was later headhunted by the Royal Bank of Canada, and went on to establish what he describes as the industry’s first agentic AI programme in 2016 — years before the current wave of interest in the technology.

His career has continued to evolve. Today, working across startup investment, decentralised AI and academia, Mo is driven by the opportunity to keep learning and to contribute to personal and professional growth.

His story is not simply about landing a first job. It is about what can follow when someone is given the chance to demonstrate their ability, develop their skills and discover where their potential can take them.

From candidate to Trustee

Mo’s relationship with The Brokerage has come full circle. The young person who once relied on the charity to understand professional careers is now a Trustee, helping support the organisation’s work and its mission to open up opportunities for the next generation.

His perspective brings a powerful understanding of why this work matters. He knows what it feels like to have the ambition but not the connections, to be unaware of the possibilities and to need someone to explain how to get there.

He also understands that opening a door is only the beginning. Once young people have access to opportunities, they need the preparation, confidence and guidance to make the most of them.

That is why The Brokerage’s work with employers across the City remains so important: connecting young people with professionals, demystifying recruitment and providing experiences that can help them take their first steps into careers they might never otherwise have considered.

Mo’s journey is a reminder that the impact of this support can last far beyond a single programme or placement. It can shape a career, broaden a person’s horizons and inspire them to give something back.

Advice for the next generation

Mo’s advice to young people considering The Brokerage is simple:

“Do it. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

He also offers a reminder that opportunity is most powerful when it meets preparation:

“Luck is when opportunity meets preparation. There’s a world of opportunity out there, you just need to prepare for it!”

It is a message that reflects his own experience. The Brokerage helped Mo see what was possible and prepared him to pursue it. What he did with that opportunity was down to his own hard work, curiosity and determination.

Now, as he looks to the future, he is continuing to learn and explore new directions in the startup world. He is also thinking about how to guide his own children through a period of rapid change driven by AI — a reminder that every generation faces new questions about the future of work.

Opening doors. Changing futures.

Mo’s story captures the lasting value of The Brokerage’s work over three decades: helping young people access opportunities that might otherwise remain out of reach, and giving them the knowledge and confidence to take the next step.

From a sixth-form presentation in 2004 to a career spanning finance, technology and academia, his journey shows how one opportunity can lead to another — and how the right support can help talent flourish.

Today, Mo is not only a former candidate whose career was shaped by The Brokerage. He is a Trustee helping the charity continue that work for others.

As we celebrate 30 Years. 30 Stories., his story stands as a powerful example of what social mobility looks like in practice: not giving people an unfair advantage, but making sure their background does not prevent them from realising their potential.

Because talent is everywhere. Opportunity should be, too.

You can read Mo's full Q&A with The Brokerage here: PROFILE SECTION:

Name: Mohammed Marikar

Education / Background: Haverstock School (GCSE and sixth form); Imperial College London (Mathematics degree)

Joined The Brokerage: 2004

Programme Highlights: Finding out about all of the employers in the City, the types of roles available, interview and CV preparation, and general “polishing” to make you look employable.

Current Role (NOW): Multiple roles: Partner at startup investment firm (Neem Capital); advisor to decentralised AI company (FLock.io), and Fellow in Electronics & Computer Science at the University of Southampton