Meet the Team - Sam Thorpe

A bit about me…

Books are my obsession, I’m a self confessed book addict! I literally can’t enter a bookstore without buying something…it’s a real problem. I have a dedicated library in my house (mainly filled with my books, much to my partner’s annoyance!). I’m a fan of gin and have accumulated an impressive gin collection over the last few years. I love travelling and after finishing university I travelled across America from East to West coast, mainly living out of a tent so it was a treat when I stayed anywhere with a roof and a door!

In April I’m getting married to my fiance, Chris, who also works in cyber security. It was obviously meant to be! I have 2 cats – my fur babies, Harry (boy) and Loki (girl). Having recently bought our first house, I am newly obsessed with DIY, learning new skills and making over our home. There’s always something new to find when Chris comes home from a stint away with the military! Finally, I am a keen home chef; my bookshelves are overflowing with cookbooks and the kitchen can barely contain my aspirations!

What was I doing before Intaso?

I did a degree in Psychology at the University of Northampton which I thoroughly enjoyed and has since proven invaluable to my day to day life, both professionally and personally.

I then moved down to Bristol because I loved the city and I ended up working in a bookstore, which suited me very well! We held lots of book signings with authors so I got to meet some truly incredible people, my personal highlight being David Attenborough.

After my first year in Bristol, I fell into various sales support roles and, after being headhunted, I entered my first role within a recruitment firm at a large corporate and it was there that I met Ryan. After 8 years within the recruitment industry, I traded in Bristol for Chippenham (back to my Wiltshire roots!) and it was there that Ryan and I got back in touch and the rest, as they say, is history.

How did I come to be at Intaso?

Ryan and I kept in touch over the years and I joined Intaso as its Head of Operations in July 2021. When I first joined Intaso, I was the 5th person to join the team and the first person joining in an operational capacity. I was responsible for everything from invoicing and reporting, to making sure we had paper for the printer! A year or so later, our team has more than doubled and I’ve become Director of Operations, able to focus on the bigger picture away from the daily ‘nitty gritty’.

The kind of roles you think you would enjoy / be good at…

I’ve picked up a lot of recruitment knowledge over the years, but I don’t think I would be suited to being a recruitment consultant or working in sales!! I’m not particularly target driven or money-motivated, and my OCD tendencies, love of Excel and level of organisation make me far more suited to an operational / support role. I think I’m exactly where I’m meant to be, short of just living in a library, so I couldn’t be happier with my role at Intaso and supporting my team.