Life before Holiday Extras

Confounding the expectations of my school friends (I was voted most likely to become a poet) and much to the surprise of my UCL university peers, I followed my BA in Egyptology by becoming an accountant.

After qualifying with KPMG I followed my heart, and stomach, to Pret A Manger where I enjoyed seven years in a number of roles culminating in becoming Chief Accountant. The biggest project I managed whilst there was the £350m sale of Pret to the private equity house Bridgepoint, but one of my best roles was being on the 2009 cake tasting team.

In 2013 I joined The Big Issue as Finance Director of Big Issue Invest, which invests in businesses driving social change, and was promoted to Group Finance Director the following year. Sadly the relocation of the office prompted me to look for a new challenge and I moved to Corbin & King, the restaurant group which includes The Wolseley, as CFO. Working late definitely had its perks - a la carte silver service delivered to my desk.

After successfully selling Corbin & King I joined No1 Lounges as CFO, working closely with the founder to grow the business, and within a year we had doubled the number of lounges and built a profitable business in Australia.

Why HX

I met Matthew Pack at a work event, and we talked at length about HX. His clear passion for the people and culture were really inspiring, and stuck with me because I love working in businesses which are truly values-driven.

Life outside HX

I like nothing more than hanging out with my husband and children, and taking our dog for long walks. But I also like to help other people and businesses, I am trustee of the Whaleco charity, a non-executive director for a beauty buying and social media app called Sk|in, and a mentor for aspiring CFOs. I have a lot of energy and like to get involved when I believe in something.

What/where's your favourite place and why?

Having just moved down from London I am really enjoying exploring Kent...the beaches, the downs, the cathedral cities! It really is a special place to live. But if I could only go on holiday to one country it would have to be Spain, I love the food, the culture, the weather and the ability to get up to the Pyrenees to ski one day, and eat lunch outside by the sea the next.

What's your perfect hassle-free holiday and why?

I've spent a lot of time in airports with small children and so for me the perfect hassle-free holiday starts with making that experience a little bit easier - meet and greet parking, fast track through security and then finding a child-friendly lounge. Once I'm on holiday as long as there's good food and good wine I'm happy!

What's your favourite value and why?

Being Courageous - one of my personal mottos is "Feel the fear but do it anyway" and I'm sure that has empowered me to try new things and take chances, but I also strongly believe in doing the right thing even when it's hard, and you need real integrity and strength of character to do that in some situations.

Interesting fact

During lockdown, whilst home-schooling my children, I set up an online business called Cohero. It provides a private platform to source uniform, find school run partners and provide a unique marketplace for busy parents.