I became an accountant because I wanted to understand how organisations work. I didn’t actively choose accounting as a career; it just happened to be the access point. But then I realised that numbers don’t just report performance; they reveal behaviour. They show where decisions are emotional, where risks are ignored, where habits form and where growth is genuinely happening.
I’ve always followed curiosity over convention. My journey hasn’t been linear because of that. I stopped seeing accounting as a role, instead seeing it as a vantage point into how businesses function beneath the surface.
The real impact of AI is that finance can no longer hide behind process
AI has already changed financial strategy. It’s just that most businesses haven’t realised it yet. I believe the shift is not in automation, but in expectation. Finance is no longer valued just for producing information, but for interpreting it in real time and influencing decisions. AI removes the operational noise. However, what’s left is uncomfortable for many finance professionals: thinking, challenging, advising and taking ownership of commercial direction. The real impact of AI is that finance can no longer hide behind process. It must step fully into strategy.
Most of the key decisions I’ve made have felt uncomfortable rather than logical. Relocating to Dubai without a long-term plan was one of them, as was joining a young business that had no existing finance structure. I had no comfort of precedent, no template to follow and no guarantee of how things would unfold. I’ve learned that discomfort is often a signal that you are stepping into growth rather than away from it.
The same applied when I co-founded She Counts. Being visible, speaking openly and building something for others required a different kind of courage than just professional decision-making. It required vulnerability.
I don’t believe in waiting for certainty. Clarity tends to follow movement, not the other way around. This mindset has helped me make decisions when overthinking would have kept me still. My favourite saying is: ‘You don’t need the full plan to take the next step.’
I love being able to sit in the middle of complexity without feeling overwhelmed by it. Finance is at the intersection of data, people and decision-making. I like bringing a sense of order when situations feel unclear by asking the right questions, or helping others see what the numbers are really saying. Creating clarity for others is something I take pride in.
My biggest achievement has been learning to trust my own judgment
My biggest achievement has been learning to trust my own judgment. Early in my career, I often looked for validation from processes, from precedent and from more experienced people. With time, I realised that sound judgment is built through experience, reflection and pattern recognition. Milestones matter, but confidence in your own thinking is what changes your trajectory.
I would like to see far greater emphasis placed on people leadership and emotional intelligence within organisations. Workplace challenges are often not technical or operational, but human. Yet we often promote people purely on technical competence. Organisations would function very differently if leadership capability was measured by how well people support and bring out the best in others.
I was a gymnast when I was younger. I still love anything that involves movement and physical expression. Outside of work, I enjoy writing, creative design and building community initiatives; there is something freeing about activities that require presence rather than thinking.
