I graduated from University of Aberdeen with a History & Sociology Degree then went on to do a Diploma in Management Studies at RGU before starting my CA traineeship with Deloitte in Aberdeen.

In my 3^rd year of training in audit I got pulled into the partner’s office. Thinking I had done something wrong (which was one of the usual reasons for being in there), it turned out he wanted to offer me the chance to move into corporate finance. I had no idea what that meant but knew that I didn’t want to stay in audit so gave it a go. I spent 9 years at Deloitte working as part of the wider Scottish team alongside Ian Steele, Cahal Dowds and Graeme Sheils, working my way up through the ranks to Assistant Director. The firm had started discussions with me about how I could get to Director level, but it was clear at that time this would involve a move from Aberdeen. I wasn’t against that, but at the same time I felt I had built a strong network and to move would involve a step backwards to go forwards. It was then I ended up working on the buy side of a transaction where Simmons & Company were acting on the sell side and having completed the transaction I received a call from Eddie Leigh asking me to meet them to discuss a move.

I joined Simmons in 2006 and remained there until 2012, becoming the firm’s first female corporate finance director. Having worked mostly on Scottish deals at Deloitte I got the chance to travel to Australia, Asia, Middle East, Americas and worked with some really fantastic people. One of my main clients at Simmons was EnerMech, Doug Duguid and Michael Buchan had visited us in 2008 when they were setting up the business and due to a colleague being off sick one day I got a last minute invite from Mike Beveridge to join him in the initial meeting. In the four years after that I helped advise them on a number of acquisitions and both equity and debt raises, and knowing I was struggling with the balancing act of motherhood and work having just returned from maternity leave, Doug offered me the role of Corporate Development Director in 2012.

Whilst there were many ups and downs, my time at EnerMech has to be the best learning experience to date. In my 8 years there we went through it all, acquisitions in 4 different continents, integrations, multiple refinancings, industry downturns, restructurings, a sales process, major changes to the management team (twice), a serious cyber-attack and then COVID hit!! Having survived two major downturns, I finally decided that I needed to position myself in a role that was more indispensable, and in summer 2020 I started considering a move towards becoming a CFO. During my time at both Simmons and EnerMech I had worked with leadership coach John Sutherland so I reached out to him for some advice. In another stroke of luck, the day I met with John he was also meeting with Allan Pirie, CEO of Ashtead Technology. John mentioned to Allan that I was considering a move and within days I had an offer to join as CFO.

I joined Ashtead Technology as CFO in January 2021. At the time the business was owned by Buckthorn Partners and I knew one of my main tasks would be to help them exit. Not long after I started we kicked off our IPO process. Despite having worked in corporate finance all my career, I had never been involved in an IPO so had no idea what was involved. The next 7 months were possibly the most interesting and exciting of my career to date. We listed on AIM in November 2021 and the bell ringing ceremony at London Stock Exchange has to be one of my proudest career moments so far and an event that I feel absolutely privileged to have been part of. Since our IPO, our businesses has continued to grow, we have completed 2 more acquisitions and I have learned a lot about life as a public company CFO, most of which I enjoy immensely.

It may sound a bit cliched, but I genuinely work with a great team of people across our business. The most enjoyable part is showing investors around our sites and watching our technicians talk so enthusiastically about what we do.

I always wanted to be a teacher, both my parents were teachers and my sister followed the family path. That was one of the reasons I studied history & sociology as I wanted to keep my options open. Whilst in 4^th year at uni and with my teacher training application already completed, my dad called me and asked me not to apply. I have no idea why he was so against it but unlike my usual disdain for advice from my parents at that age, I had a hunch that he was right and I suspect he knew I just wouldn’t have the patience! I have had the odd pang of regret from time to time but genuinely feel I picked the right path for me, thanks to great advice from my dad!

The role of an accountant is so much more than it used to be and at all levels is as much about giving good commercial advice, business challenge and working in true partnership with operations than keeping the books. AI is undoubtedly going to continue to transform the world of finance but having people with good business acumen to understand what that data means is going to be an increasingly important part of the role.

No, but I think age has. I have always been incredibly ambitious but definitely feel I have tamed that with age. What COVID did teach me though is that for many things in life there is no rule book and you have to listen to your gut and trust that you will make the right decisions, even if they are tough ones. I am also much more open to flexible working but still prefer the office to working from home personally.

Don’t chase the money and make sure you do your research before making the move. The grass isn’t always greener so make sure you are moving for the right reasons for you.

From a work perspective, always keep your options open, trust your gut instinct, do something that genuinely interests you rather than what you are naturally good at, always be yourself and if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t so watch your back.

From a personal perspective, don’t wait until you are 30 to start trying for a family! It took 7 years, 4 rounds of IVF and lots of heartbreak and tears before I had my daughter and after 2 more rounds of IVF I was advised to stop trying due to my age. I got married at 23 and my only regret in life is being so focussed on my career and not trying for family sooner. I feel incredibly lucky that we managed to have a beautiful daughter but sad that we couldn’t create a sibling for her.

I feel like I have achieved a lot but at the same time I am still new to life as a CFO so for me it is about proving that I can do a good job in both the good times and the not so good.

I am recovering from a bad ski accident which resulted in ACL surgery earlier this year so can’t wait to get back to running.

As a family, we love spending time in our caravan in Lossiemouth – years ago I would have laughed if someone told me I would own a caravan but it has been the best life investment we have made to date.

I played the fiddle as a teenager growing up in Shetland and had the honour of performing in a concert watched by Queen Elizabeth II. I also appeared on TV several times with my fiddle group, Shetland’s Young Heritage, in the early 90s. I rarely play now and wish I could find time to play more often.