I am a Yorkshire lass, with two younger brothers. My mum was a science teacher, and my dad was a civil engineer. At the age of six, we moved to Northern Ireland for dad’s work. My fond memories of living there revolve mainly around horse riding and going to the beach…and it always being sunny!? However, these came to an abrupt end at the age of 10; the day my dad didn’t come home from work, having been killed in an accident. We returned to Yorkshire the next day, where at my new (state) school my strong NI accent definitely made me stand out!
Although education was seen as very important in our family, I chose not to go to university but instead decided to get an early start on working life and take professional qualifications. So I am a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, and an Associate of the Chartered Financial Analyst Society of the UK. I suppose I created my own sort of degree apprenticeship. Later, on my first career break from asset management, I obtained an Executive MBA from Cranfield School of Management. I also became an independent strategy and change consultant.
I have always had a keen interest own development, so I worked with a coach for a few years after I joined Amlin. That experience and my interest in developing others led me to qualify as an executive coach with Meyler Campbell in 2008. I use the skills I learnt extensively as a leader, advisor, coach and mentor.
Having built a fantastic and successful team at MS Amlin, I decided that I had added the value I could and that it was time to switch gears and challenge myself again. Being a career serial monogamist, I handed the baton on to them and took my second break from asset management. During this I wanted to make a wide-ranging difference, so am actively involved with the Diversity Project.