What’s your career highlight to date?
Navigating the Covid-19 Pandemic as Head of Finance for an independent agency for the first time.
Having previously spent my career in a large network agency, I moved to an independent owner managed agency. The goal was always to bring about a transformational change, but when the pandemic set in, all eyes turned to the company’s financial function.
Taking an agency on that maturity journey is always a challenge, but with the added pressure that the pandemic brought, the constantly changing financial support framework and people wondering if we would still be afloat in three months’ time, this was one of the most testing times of my career.
For me, I will always be proud of the work that my team and I delivered in accelerating that journey to provide solid financial clarity to the business, enabling us to navigate each and every challenge before returning the business to growth.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Always stand back to see the bigger picture. As a young finance professional, you often find yourself doing plenty of transactional work, but never really seeing the whole picture.
Working across the teams at Waypoint has given me a range of different perspectives, which in turn has influenced how I may advise a client on their growth journey in the context of a broader view.
Who was your hero or inspiration growing up?
My career heroes would have to be two of my previous Financial Controllers. Whilst they are very different people both personally and professionally, it was the shared values they had that inspired me.
Both had a resounding sense of calm, even at the most stressful of times – I always admired this and to this day aim to replicate. The second was that they were very people orientated – always available for guidance and advice, with a genuine focus on developing their team (and myself). Thank you Sandra and Justin!
What brought you to Waypoint Partners?
Having spent close to 15 years in both network and independent agencies, I wanted the chance to use that knowledge in a far more strategic way.
An ex-colleague approached me about joining Waypoint and I was immediately interested and excited by the prospect of working with some of the best people in our industry and using my own career knowledge across multiple businesses.
Favourite motivational quote?
Perfection is the enemy of progress. Always aim for the latter over the former if you are serious about change!
