The Crew

Guy was a great friend of David's father, Richard.  They raced their Salcombe Yawl together over many years and enjoyed numerous other adventures. In 2018, Richard passed away from cancer after a long and challenging fight. Guy and David stayed in touch and, following a chance telephone call, Guy shared his idea to row across the Atlantic. David jumped at the opportunity and a plan was quickly hatched! This included a trip to La Gomera (an island near Tenerife) in December 2019, where the annual race begins. Meetings with organisers, safety officers and participating crews quickly led to a decision to proceed and 'The Entrepreneur Ship' was duly registered to compete in the 2021 race.

A natural and driven enthusiast

Guy Rigby

As the older of The Entrepreneur Ship’s two crew members, Guy has enjoyed an unusually varied career.

Having played in a band and run a mobile discotheque in his teens, he became interested in how people ran their businesses. This led him to skipping university and qualifying as a Chartered Accountant at the age of 22. Since then, he has been a director and part owner of a number of different companies, including businesses in the IT, property, defence, manufacturing and retail sectors. In terms of roles, he has been the senior partner of two accountancy firms, a founder, a finance director, a sales and marketing director, a non-executive director and, probably above all, an entrepreneurial professional adviser.

Guy’s latest role saw him join Smith & Williamson in 2008, where he founded the firm’s Entrepreneurial Services Group. This activity has helped Smith & Williamson become a destination for entrepreneurs seeking commercial, accountancy, tax, financial planning and investment advice. Having led the Group and taken on over five hundred new clients over ten years, he moved to the role of Chair in 2018.

In addition to his Smith & Williamson role, Guy runs his own complementary consultancy, The Entrepreneurs’ Adviser.

In 2016, Guy was listed as one of the top 50 movers and shakers in the financial world by Economia magazine. His book, From Vision to Exit – The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Building and Selling a Business, received significant critical acclaim. In addition, he has often written and provided comment for the press, has been interviewed on Bloomberg TV and on radio and has been regularly quoted in, for example, the FT, The Times and The Telegraph, as well as multiple entrepreneurial publications.

Guy’s time at Smith & Williamson has strengthened his passion for helping entrepreneurs. He believes that these ambitious, risk-taking and visionary individuals are the key to solving many of our global challenges.

Guy is married with three children and five grandchildren. In his spare time, he enjoys jogging, sailing and skiing. He is also a member of Marlow Rowing Club, where he tries to keep fit on the Thames by sculling in quads, doubles and single sculls. Guy will be 68 when the race starts in December 2021.

Part of David’s DNA is extreme sports.

David Murray

David has spent the last 30 years working in the direct mail and data software industry. When direct mail was in its infancy, David was at its centre, advising some of the UK’s leading charities, financial, telecommunication and other ‘blue chip’ companies on how to market or fundraise through digital, print and direct mail. In 2004, David joined the board of the Software Bureau and helped grow it from a start-up company to the leading data software business in the postal mailing and data cleaning sector. He sold his stake in 2014 and, more recently, he has been working with the My Life Digital Group as the Sales Director for Wood for Trees, the UK’s leading charity insight and analysis agency, working with over 70 UK charities.

David is a strong supporter of entrepreneurship and has invested in several start-ups around the charity tech, retail and re-use sector, including The Charity Fleetcare and Gone for Good.

Part of David’s DNA is extreme sports. David has completed 6 Ironman events (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride followed by a marathon) and in 2016 was in the top 5% in his age group in the world. David has also run several ultra-marathons and completed the Mallorca 312 bike race, which involves cycling 190 miles around the hilliest part of Mallorca.

He also completed the John O’Groats to Land’s End in less than 9 days as a duo, but probably the hardest challenge was fundraising for David’s first marathon when he raised over £4,000 for Breast Cancer and Prostate Cancer. David is married and has two sons. He will be 56 when the race starts in 2021.

Record breakers

The Oldest Pair to Row the Atlantic

Guy and David are planning to row the Atlantic as a pair which, as mentioned above, is far more challenging than as a four. According to the Ocean Rowing Society, the combined age of the oldest pair to successfully row across the Atlantic from East to West is currently 123. On the basis that this remains unchallenged before 2021 (as well as achieving a successful crossing!), Guy & David will break this record with a combined age of 124!