Jennifer Bernice Campbell is a British entrepreneur. She bought YourCash Europe Ltd from RBS in 2010. She was a "Dragon" on two series of the UK's Dragons' Den. Campbell bought YourCash, an independent automated teller machine provider with operations in the UK, Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland. Before doing this she had previously worked 32 years with the Royal Bank of Scotland Group in various roles, including sales, operational, change, risk and management. In 2016, Campbell sold the business.
Career
Born into a family of bankers, builders and printers, Campbell left school at 16, joining NatWest as a cash-counter and cashpoint filler. She attended night school to study for banking qualifications and on passing her exams, moved to a job in Natwest's head office in London. Following the RBS takeover of NatWest in 2000, Campbell was given a senior role in the operational integration of the two banks.
Banking and YourCash
In 2006 Campbell was appointed Head of Operations at Hanco ATM Systems, a subsidiary of RBS which would eventually become YourCash. Hanco had significantly expanded in a short period of time and was making an annual loss of £7 million. Similar to the role she played in the integration of NatWest and RBS, Campbell was therefore tasked with transforming the business on an operational and cultural level, and in turning it into a profitable business. When the 2007 economic recession caused RBS to initiate the process of selling Hanco, Campbell saw the opportunity to buy the company. The sale was put on hold until 2009, but in mid-2010 Campbell led the first management buyout of Hanco, shortly after renaming the business YourCash. In 2013, Campbell led a successful secondary buy out and the management team acquired 100% of the business through a refinancing agreement. Campbell became YourCash’s primary stakeholder. Under Campbell’s guidance, YourCash continued to grow its ATM fleets in the UK and the Netherlands as well as expanding into Belgium and Ireland. In October 2016 the business was acquired by Euronet Worldwide Inc., a global leader in processing secure electronic financial and payment transactions.
Charity and speaking work
Campbell is involved in charities and projects that support entrepreneurs and disadvantaged young people. This includes working with two charities, Young Enterprise and The Prince's Trust. In 2015, Campbell was invited to join the Guild of Entrepreneurs, which aims to foster the development of founders and new business owners while also bringing the opportunities of entrepreneurship to young people. In 2016, Campbell also appeared at two Management Today Inspiring Women In Business events as a keynote speaker.
''Dragons' Den''
Campbell joined as a dragon on the BBC's reality business programme Dragons' Den in 2017. She built up a reputation of not making an investment in any business on the show, despite eventually investing in hemp skincare producer Carun UK, truck advertising firm Driven Media and also investing in energy switching service Look After My Bills. It was announced that Campbell was leaving the show in 2019.
Personal life
Campbell was born in Hyde, Cheshire and attended Manchester High School for Girls. At 16 she left school and entered a job at Natwest. Campbell is married and lives in rural Suffolk with her husband and Flat-coated Retrievers. She has two grown up sons, one of whom is the founder of London restaurant, Kricket. Campbell’s hobbies include championship dog breeding, showing and judging. This began in her teens, establishing the Ronevorg kennel name when she was 16. She took a hiatus while bringing up her children and pursuing her banking career, but returned to showing in 2004.
Awards and recognitions
Campbell is an award-winning entrepreneur and woman in business, being nominated for and winning several industry awards as well as personal achievement awards. Her first award came at the age of 23 when, having completed her banking qualifications, she was awarded a Chartered Institute of Bankers prize. In 2011 and in 2013, Campbell was recognised as the Ernst & Young Regional Finalist Entrepreneur of the Year award and then winning the silver award for Turnaround Entrepreneur in the Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2013.
In 2014, Campbell was named the winner of the Businesswoman of the Year award from Vitalise, with key credit going to her for her introduction of the free-to-use ATM proposition and European expansion of the YourCash business. The award recognizes the skills and talents of women in industry with the aim of inspiring others to reach their potential. Previous recipients of the award have included Karren Brady and Hilary Devey. Campbell was interviewed by Chris Mann for BBC Cambridgeshire following the award ceremony. The awards chair Judy Groves said: “Jenny is a fantastic business role model and we are certain that women across the UK will be inspired by her journey, having worked her way up from a bank cashier to an entrepreneur of a successful European business.”
