Did you enjoy school?
I went to an all-girls school growing up and looking back, I realise I learnt a lot in terms of education but not so much about real life experiences!
What qualifications do you have?
I only have GCSEs. I left school partway through my A-levels – I had a Saturday job and the idea of earning money was more motivating than learning.
Has your career path been a smooth transition, a rocky road or a combination of both?
I ended up in IT by total chance. In the beginning, I had no career aspirations and was just looking for my next job. When I arrived in IT, I knew exactly what I wanted to be and how to get there. I saw a career in sales for myself and loved learning about the technology we were selling and how it helped businesses function.
What is the best career advice you can give to others?
You must love what you do. If you don’t wake up with passion and interest in your role, your business and the people you work with, you won’t have the motivation to develop yourself.
If you had to pick one mentor that had the biggest influence on you, who would it be?
I am very lucky to have many influencers in my life, but I always go to my husband first and foremost, with anything. He is in the industry too and is by my side helping me make decisions always.
From where do you draw inspiration?
I love challenging myself by constantly venturing outside my comfort zone. I like being surrounded by like-minded people with high-performing mindsets because I thrive off them and find that I come up with the best plans and ideas under pressure.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced to date?
Stepping into the general manager role has been a big challenge for me, not just personally, but because it is constantly impacting my work / life balance. That said, I am fortunate to work for a fabulous, people-first business like Crayon. My team is incredibly supportive, allowing me to get the best of both worlds through lots of preparation and constant organisation – though I don’t always get it right!
What qualities do you feel makes a good leader?
People are the priority. If I’m able to get that right, then everything should come together. As leaders, we must make sure our people have everything they need to be happy and secure in their work environment. I believe in Crayon’s values – we should all act with integrity, deliver everything with quality, and at pace with agility.
From a work viewpoint what has the last 24 months been like?
Crayon UK has come so far in the last two years, and I am proud of the resilience and dedication our team has shown through the lockdowns and business changes. We came together during these times of change and constantly worked to ensure we were building a strong foundation for the future. I am grateful to our customers and partners who have worked with us during this time. I am very humbled to work for such a wonderful company and to have such a fantastic team of people by my side.
What would you say are the biggest tech-based challenges we face today?
The pace of growth and change is huge right now. With that, businesses need to get control of their costs and stand out from the crowd even if the journey is a steep one. Businesses need partners capable of helping them ensure they can both afford to do it and obtain the expertise to get there quickly. Secondly, keeping control of data and security is a huge challenge; businesses must implement the right business process controls to ensure the company is protected at all costs.
Give us a fact about you that most other people wouldn’t know
I’m a huge music fan and love attending gigs.