Who are you?

Hi, my name is Katie. I’ve been married to James for 14 years and we have 2 children, Chloe (11) and Jake (9) and 2 cats, Harry and Skye!

I grew up in Maidenhead with my 2 older brothers so haven’t ended up far from home although I love to travel so have made up for it that way!

I almost went into medicine or law but followed in my Dad’s footsteps as an accountant instead! I trained in practice then moved into industry where I worked for Fujitsu Services on various projects and then for Tullow Oil heading up the financial accounting for the UK operation. I joined Wilson Partners after having a family and have had a very happy 9 years here

What’s your role at Wilson Partners

I manage our internal finance department, which encompasses a wide range of work and means I get to work closely with different parts of the business and the Directors. I get involved in many projects within the business, from CRM systems and reporting software to GDPR and ensuring all our clients were compliant in time for Making Tax Digital.

I work with a small number of clients and am a member of the Wellbeing Team here at Wilson Partners which gives me even more variety.

Favourite drink in the office and out of the office

In the office – Tea (I drink a LOT of tea)

Out of the office – true favourite is Champagne, although generally Gin & Tonic in the summer (must be with lime) and whisky in the winter!

Favourite Film

I’ll need to put 2:

‘Dirty Dancing’ – no explanation needed surely….

‘Amadeus’ if I’m going for a cultured option. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a film about the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Amazing film and production, powerful, quite dark in places and obviously an incredible soundtrack.

Favourite Hobby

Running – anything from 5k to marathons. Basically, if I’m running I’m happy

Favourite Food

Thai

Favourite Country/ Holiday

Favourite country would have to be Cambodia. We travelled to Cambodia and Thailand on our honeymoon and it was the most amazing experience. The temples of Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm at sunrise were unforgettable. The people are lovely, the sights, the sounds, the food – just very special!

Favourite holiday – my husband and I took 3 months off work and travelled a bit, covering Miami, Peru (including a 2 night trek to Macchu Piccu), Cayman Islands, Cuba, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysian Borneo (where we saw sunrise at the summit of Mount Kinabalu) and then KL before coming home. Memories that will last a lifetime!

Cats or Dogs?

Cats of course

One thing that most people don’t know about you

I won the Water of Life half marathon women’s race in 2018, which is an all terrain race from Marlow to Henley. Sounds more impressive than it is, it’s a small race and I’m not really that fast….

Not sure many people know I have an advanced PADI diver qualification either.

Ask one colleague to describe you

I don’t know many people that are genuinely as warm and kind as you are. Always willing to talk and listen and always checking how I am (with genuine interest in the answer!). I really enjoy our chats (and dancing) and absolutely I see you as a friend first and a colleague second. [Dan]

Thanks Katie, we don’t think Dan could have put it any better, you’re a superstar!