I work as a director, and sometimes chairperson, on a number of regulated investment funds and special purpose vehicles. The clients I work for are large institutional investment management firms and corporate entities in the financial services sector.
After becoming a member of ACCA in 1996, I worked as a fund accountant in Luxembourg. My career led me to the Cayman Islands and, after a few short years back in Ireland, to Luxembourg again in 2010. It was here I started my directorship journey. This led to approval to serve on the boards of regulated Luxembourg funds. I returned to Ireland in 2017 after my son was born and became a self-employed independent non-executive director (INED) in March 2020, just as the Covid-19 lockdowns started.
My job is not the typical nine to five due to timezones
What I love most about what I do is that my roles on boards are quite varied. I act as chair on a couple and that can be a different dynamic than being an ordinary board member. The clients can be quite different too, and generally there is an international element to them. Board packs for regulated investment funds typically include reports from fund administrators, depositories, MLROs, investment managers, auditors, lawyers and management companies, covering the previous quarter’s activities. These often extend to hundreds of pages. At year end we also get presented with the audited financial statements for approval and filing.
One of the keys to being an excellent INED is being available, independent (obviously), knowledgeable, experienced and inquisitive. My job is not the typical nine to five. Clients, lawyers and auditors can come to you with requests at various times of the day due to the different timezones involved. One after-effect of the pandemic is that e-signatures are much more common now, which helps with the turnaround of documents for authorisation.
In recent years I have learned to slow down and pause. In the fast-paced corporate world, not every email needs to be read instantly and responded to immediately. Taking time to reflect and consider all sides prior to responding is often wiser.
It’s not always formal, but I’m now at the point in my life where I embrace learning again
Having worked through the previous financial crisis, I have learned that the financial services and regulated funds world is very resilient. Assets under management may decline, but a downturn in the markets also creates new opportunities for the canny investment management firms to launch new fund products and snap up some bargains.
In terms of my own growth and learning, I would like the year ahead to be one of further learning. I can remember when I was younger, and recently finished studying for my ACCA Qualification, that I wanted to take a break from study. I’m now at the point in my life where I embrace learning again. It’s not always formal learning these days, but I do enjoy reading industry journals and blogs, going to seminars and networking with my industry peers. I believe that if you are not continuously learning, you are going backwards.
The most important business lesson I have learned in my career is to always listen carefully to others. Not only the words, but the tone and delivery used. Always take time to consider your response and to keep calm under pressure. This is something that I also have to practice as a GAA referee, which I enjoy doing in my spare time.
