A day in the life of Ming gao, Group Financial Controller. Ever wondered what a day in the life looks like for a Group Financial Controller? Vortexa Ltd. sat down with Ming to find out! Jessica Irvin VP People & Operations Prior to joining Vortexa, Ming was the Finance Lead at Wayve, an autonomous driving company, where he took his first adventure into the fast-paced world of start-ups. Before that, he worked in group finance at a FTSE 250-sized business and a smaller listed group. He began his career at KPMG, where he trained as an auditor and qualified as an ACA. Fun fact: Ming has an unhealthy amount of mechanical knowledge about the VW Beetle. What does day-to-day life in your role look like? A combination of order and chaos! About half of my time is spent keeping the finance engine running smoothly - working with my team to make sure its processes and controls operate as they should, keeping a close eye on runway and liquidity, and, importantly, making sure everyone gets paid on time! The other half is spent challenging the status quo: looking at how Vortexa Ltd. work, breaking down processes and asking where Vortexa Ltd. can do things better. That might be improving its travel and expenses policy, making the month-end close process more efficient, or finding better ways for systems, processes and controls to work together. No two days are quite the same, and I quite like that. There is a constant balance between keeping things running today and making them work better tomorrow. What would you say is the most interesting aspect of your role? That is a tough question, because there are so many aspects of the role that I find interesting! The role of Group FC brings a wide spectrum of cross-team interactions and opportunities to make an impact. I can be working with the APAC team on its strategic expansion, with the CFO on a new equity offering scheme, or taking the lead on a transfer pricing project that helps define the intra-group framework for the next phase of business growth. What these have in common is that they are all new and challenging in their own way. But if I had to pick what interests me most, it is the opportunity to embrace that uncertainty and work from a blank sheet of paper. Whether that is designing an AI workflow to solve a problem or developing an accounting position for a complex financing deal, I enjoy taking a problem, working through the ambiguity and turning it into something practical that has a tangible impact. What was your path to joining Vortexa? Wayve was my first start-up adventure, and it was both challenging and hugely rewarding. I learnt a great deal about what it takes to build and scale a finance function in a fast-moving business - not just from the things that worked, but also from the mistakes, setbacks and pitfalls along the way. When the opportunity at Vortexa came along, I saw it as a chance for a second round: to take everything I had learnt at Wayve and put it into practice again, with the benefit of hindsight. I was particularly excited by the opportunity to help shape a best-in-class finance team and structure while the business continues to grow and evolve. In a way, the things that didn't go perfectly the first time are some of the most valuable lessons I bring with me now. The experience stays with you - but ultimately, those lessons only really matter if you use them to build something better. What kind of qualities does a person need to have to succeed at Vortexa? I think you need to be curious, comfortable with ambiguity and, importantly, not afraid to take the lead. At Vortexa, things move quickly and there isn't always an established playbook, so you need to be willing to step into the unknown, ask questions, figure things out and make things happen. At the same time, I think intellectual humility is important. Taking the lead doesn't mean having all the answers. It means being willing to say "I don't know", bring the right people into the conversation, learn quickly and then take ownership of the outcome. Ultimately, I think people who thrive at Vortexa are those who see an open question as an opportunity rather than a problem. They are curious enough to explore it, confident enough to take the lead, and adaptable enough to change course when they learn something new. What do you like about the culture? What I like most is how supportive and collaborative people are, particularly the leadership team. There is a strong "let's figure it out" mentality. When something is new or difficult, the instinct is to work together to find a way forward rather than focus on why something can't be done. I also like that people recognise that mistakes are part of the growth journey. There is a genuine effort to create an environment where people feel safe to try, learn and occasionally get things wrong. I think that is important in a business that moves as quickly as Vortexa does - you need people to be willing to take risks and try new things. And there is a real effort to bring people together as a global team too. Earlier this year, colleagues from around the world came together in London to celebrate Vortexa's 10th anniversary. It was a good reminder that, despite working across different countries and functions, there is a real sense of being part of one company. Who do you collaborate with? I collaborate with people across almost every part of the business. I work particularly closely with FP&A on planning, forecasting, runway and modelling the financial impact of major transactions, and with the People team on payroll, compensation, equity and global payroll compliance. I also work closely with Sales, Revenue Operations and Partnerships on billing, reporting, collections and cash-flow planning, while Legal is a key partner on new entities, contracts, tax, financing and international expansion. Beyond that, there is my own finance team and a network of external advisers across different countries and specialist areas. Although I sit within Finance, the role is highly interconnected - the work often starts with a finance question but quickly becomes a cross-functional one. What are the first three things you do on a Monday morning? Make a coffee. Open the curtains and window in my study. Check my calendar and emails to see whether it's going to be one for "order" or "chaos"! What energises you most about working as a Group Financial Controller at Vortexa? It comes down to people - the interactions, connections and the opportunity to work together on something new and challenging. There is something special about having people around you who are willing to make the tough decisions with, plough through the difficulties together, and then celebrate when you get to the other side. Everyone at Vortexa is genuinely likeable and brings energy to the people around them. That makes a big difference. The work can be challenging, and there are always moments of uncertainty, but having the right people alongside you makes those challenges much more enjoyable - and the wins much more rewarding!

UK energy and freight data provider Vortexa has secured $50 million in strategic debt financing from Oxford Finance. The term loan and revolver will strengthen the company's capital base for its next phase of growth. The London-based analytics firm provides data intelligence on global energy markets and freight movements. The financing will support Vortexa's expansion plans as it continues to develop its platform serving the energy and maritime sectors.