Finance wasn't my first job after graduating with a Masters in Electrical and Electronic Engineering – but having always had a passion for Maths as well as Physics and IT, I decided that it was the path for me and so I joined the Smiths Finance Graduate Scheme.
I worked towards my CIMA accounting qualification whilst working full time and then moved through a series of finance roles – from Financial Analyst, to Treasury Manager, to Regional Shared Services Director and Divisional Financial Controller. Today, I am the Director of FP&A (Financial Planning and Analysis) for Smiths Interconnect, the third Smiths division I've worked in.
There’s always been another challenge to accept, and I haven’t had the same role for longer than two years. The opportunities available are huge, and that's what attracted me to Smiths in the first place. Smiths is also so diverse in terms of products, which I find fascinating, and I love learning about them.
My personal drive has always been to make things better, improve processes and increase efficiency which I’m allowed to explore in my role. What I love hearing about at work are the success stories for individuals, either with customers where they’ve been able to exceed the expectations or internally with job promotions.
I love the people at Smiths Group, that’s what has kept me here so long. If I was to offer one piece of advice for someone coming into a finance role is talk to people – get out and about and discover what’s going on with all the teams out there, you can’t understand the numbers if you don’t understand the business!
After five years with Smiths Interconnect, I have taken the opportunity of another internal move to become Smiths Group’s Financial Planning & Analysis Director.
