Ruth Handcock, CEO of Octopus Money, has been awarded an OBE for services to financial services and investments in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2025.
Ruth became CEO of Octopus Money in 2023, leading the brand’s mission to transform lives by bringing tailored financial planning, coaching and advice to millions of people across the UK, regardless of how much they earn or are able to invest.
Prior to joining Octopus Money, Ruth spent five years at Octopus Investments, part of the wider Octopus Group, where she also served as CEO. Her earlier career includes being a founding employee at Tandem Bank, a UK challenger bank, where she played a key role in securing its banking licence. She currently sits on the Octopus Group board and serves as an independent Non-Executive Director of Aldermore Bank.
Ruth’s commitment to democratising access to help partly stems from her time living in Sierra Leone, where she worked within the Ministry of Trade and closely alongside ministers and charity patron Tony Blair. During that year, she founded Supporting West Africa Through Schooling, a charity that now funds a primary school in Freetown, providing vital education to children who would otherwise miss out.
The same passion for helping people get access to proper advice and personalised support has continued in her role at Octopus Money, where she is helping to change the conversation around money from one of fear and complexity to one of empowerment and confidence. Octopus Money is now available to over 200,000 UK employees and aspires to support the 92% of the UK who are unable to access money help.
Ruth Handcock, CEO of Octopus Money, says: “I’m absolutely delighted to receive this honour. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have spent my career doing things that I care so deeply about and helping others where I can along the way. I’d like to thank all of the brilliant colleagues, mentors, friends and family who I’ve had the privilege of learning from throughout my career.”
ENDS
About Octopus Money
At Octopus Money, we’re building the future of financial advice – helping more people get the support they need to plan for the life they want.
We’re a new kind of advice business – combining the best of humanity, smart technology and investment expertise. We work with some of the UK’s leading employers to give over 200,000 employees access to 1-to-1, personalised help through the workplace.
We also partner with financial service brands to license our award-winning methodology, training and technology. Our platform enables them to offer holistic, regulated financial planning to more customers, at a lower cost than ever before.
Part of the Octopus Group and a certified B Corp, Octopus Money is committed to doing the right thing for customers, advisers and the future we all share.
