The enterprise education charity Young Enterprise has appointed the deputy chief executive of Fair4All Finance as its new leader.

Sarah Porretta succeeds Sharon Davies who is leaving the charity after 15 years, the past five as chief executive.

Davies announced plans to step down in April, saying she was “planning some time for reflection” after a difficult time of personal loss. Davies will stay on as chief until Porretta takes up the reins in November.

Porretta joined the not-for-profit financial exclusion company Fair4All Finance in September 2023 and was made deputy chief executive five months ago.

Before this, she had been executive director for strategy and insights at the Money and Pensions Service since its launch in 2019.

Porretta also spent seven years at the Lloyds Banking Group, during which she set up the group’s financial inclusion function and designed its customer inclusion strategy across retail banking. 

She founded and led LBG’s Money For Life programme – a financial education programme aimed at vulnerable young people, which worked with eight UK charities.

Porretta has also worked at Cadbury, BAA and Microsoft, where she focused on their responsible business strategies and approaches to their charitable foundations.

Porretta said she was excited to “build on the excellent work Sharon has done to strengthen the charity and demonstrate its impact on social mobility”. 

She said: “Throughout my career I have seen first-hand the transformative power of listening to, collaborating with and investing in young people to set them up for future success. 

“With social mobility, enterprise and financial education firmly on the national agenda for the years ahead, I look forward to working with colleagues and volunteers to ensure that the new strategy reaches and transforms the lives of young people across England and Wales.”

Simon Lewis, chair of Young Enterprise, said: “We conducted a thorough search process and I am confident that we have found the right leader for the next phase of Young Enterprise’s journey. Sarah has the relevant experience and background and shares our passion for addressing the challenges of social mobility. 

“Sharon has been an outstanding chief executive and it has been an absolute pleasure to work with her for the last five years. On behalf of the board, I’d like to thank her for all she has done for the charity over the last 15 years.”