Sam Mitchell is Chief Executive Officer at the online estate agent, Strike, and graduated from Lancaster in 2000 with a BA in Marketing.

During his time at the university he was elected to be President of Grizedale College - a role that he believes helped to give him the experience of leading a team. He states:

“I loved leading the JCR team as a student. Working closely with other students on the committee helped me understand the importance of team spirit and collaboration. The collegiate system was incredibly formative and it helped shape my views on many things, especially leadership and team-building.”

After graduation Sam was elected once again, this time to serve as General Secretary of LUSU (Lancaster University Students' Union). Upon completion of his term, he and fellow Lancaster alumni travelled the world exploring Thailand, Bali, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.

He later joined Foxtons as a Sales Director and having moved up to Director of Property Management where he managed 16,000 live tenancies and £300m in rent collections, he decided to move on again in 2008.

After senior roles at Your Move and a period as CEO at Sotheby’s International Realty, Sam had three years as Head of Lettings at Rightmove. Having gained experience in both traditional estate agencies and modern online companies, he was well placed to take his current position as CEO of Strike.

Sam says he will always look back fondly on his time at Lancaster: “One of my happiest memories was the day I was elected to be a LUSU Sabbatical Officer. I still have the copy of Scan from when our election was announced on the front page. Another really proud moment was being invited by the university to have lunch with Princess Alexandra when I graduated. It was such an honour.”