Fri 30 Nov 2018
This week we’re joined by Irena, an Associate Director who works in the Global Infrastructure Advisory team. Irena tells us about how her career chose her, her main inspirational figures, and how stereotyping others is one of the biggest hurdles to creating an inclusive culture.
Catch up on our previous interviews with Louise, Martin, Siobhan, Tracy, Monika, Lisa, Hemehra, Natasha, Tejal and Lindsay.
Tell us about your career – what do you do?
I advise clients in Mergers & Acquisitions transactions, specifically in acquisitions or divestments of renewable energy assets.
Why did you choose your career?
It kind of chose me – I have been in the same industry since I left university. I originally chose to go into it because I thought it was ‘cool’, and I really enjoyed being in contact with clients. A few years later, I can say that what makes me want to stay in this career is the fact that no two days are the same and definitely the client-facing nature of it.
Who has contributed most to your success?
A combination of people – from a professional perspective – it has to be my first boss: he believed in me from day one and helped me become a confident professional in a male-dominated industry. From a personal perspective, my parents and partner: they never doubted my abilities and have been (and still are) very understanding when I have to travel at short notice or work long hours.
What are your aspirations?
I aspire to become a Partner in the next five to six years.
What’s one leadership lesson you’ve learned in your career?
Do the work and speak up!
What can organisations do more generally to create a culture of inclusion?
Unfortunately, stereotyping both consciously and unconsciously is a huge hurdle in creating a culture of inclusion. Implementing hard and quantifiable measures is the only way to break this. Over time, equal-treatment and equal opportunities will be a natural consequence, and no longer a target to work towards.
Thank you to Irena for taking the time to speak to us. We will be publishing more #WeAreMazars interviews over the coming months so stay tuned!
Mazars is participating in Women Returners Scotland’s return to work programme, offering two returnships for senior professional women who are interested in coming back to work in financial services after an extended career break. Angela Cooke, Diversity & Inclusion Senior Manager, explains: One of our top priorities for achieving our 2020 vision is to […]
June Sarpong came to speak in the London office on 12th September about how organisations can create an inclusive culture where people can be themselves. June Sarpong then joined a few members of the team for a panel discussion. I was asked to sit on this panel to speak from the perspective of disability and […]
In this week’s edition of the #WeAreMazars series, we’re joined by Monika, an Assistant Manager in the Indirect Tax (VAT) team in the Bristol office. Monika shares with us some of the lessons she’s learned throughout the course of her career, her advice for the next generation of leaders and her thoughts on what businesses […]
In our #WeAreMazars series this week, we’re getting to know Lisa. Lisa is a Payroll Supervisor in the National Payroll Services team. In her interview, she shares some of her tips for successes, the changes she’s seen during her five years at Mazars and what she believes it takes to create a culture of inclusion […]
This week in our #WeareMazars series we’re speaking to Hemehra, a Senior Internal Auditor based in Birmingham. Hemehra shares with us what made her want to become an internal auditor, what has contributed most to her success and how she faces challenges when times get tough. Hi Hemehra, can you tell us about your […]
Celebrating #WomenatMazars – Lara Brennan This week in our Celebrating #WomenAtMazars series, we’re joined by Lara Brennan, a Senior Manager from the Financial Outsourcing and Advisory team, based in Poole. Don’t forget to catch up with the previous interviews in this series with: Helen Parker Director, Entrepreneurial Business Charlotte Ward Assistant Manager, Forensic & […]
This week, Louise from Manchester, an Assistant Manager, joins us to share her experience of taking part in Mazars’ National Challenge. We collaborated with the charity Sense to run activities in offices across the country in order to raise awareness for deafblind people and those with sensory impairments to help lead a more independent life. […]
Celebrating #WomenAtMazars Next in our Celebrating #WomenAtMazars series, we’re speaking to Amy Reynolds, a Tax Partner based in Bristol. Don’t forget to catch up with the previous interviews in this series with: Hayley Brightmore, Senior Manager, Deal Advisory Beth Dodson-Wells, Director, Talent Acquisition and Development Vaneeta Khurana, Partner, National Head of Employment Tax Rebecca Dacre, Director, […]
Celebrating #WomenAtMazars – Charlene Nunn This week’s edition of Celebrating #WomenatMazars, we’re speaking to Charlene Nunn, a Senior Manager in the Audit and Assurance team, based in Manchester. Don’t forget to catch up with the previous interviews in this series with: Harriet Walker, Corporate Assistant, Professional Practices Catherine Hall, International Tax Partner Lara Brennan, […]
Today is International Women’s Day, and to show our support for this year’s theme; #PressforProgress; we’re taking the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women from across Mazars. Over the coming weeks, we’re going to be hearing from women in the firm about their careers, how they’ve progressed and what they’ve learnt along the way. […]
Over the coming weeks, we’re going to be continuing our celebration of the achievements of women from across Mazars as part of our commitment to #PressforProgress. In the first interview in our Celebrating #WomenatMazars series, we spoke to Helen Parker, a Director in the Entrepreneurial Business team. This week, we’re hearing from Charlotte Ward, an […]
Find out what keeps her motivated, what has been the most defining point in her career to date and the advice she would give her younger self. Don’t forget to take a look at the previous interviews in this series with Helen Parker and Charlotte Ward. Hi Jennifer, can you tell us a bit […]
Celebrating #WomenatMazars – Sophie Mellor Next up in our Celebrating #WomenatMazars series we’re speaking to Sophie Mellor, a Tax trainee who is part of the Tax Advisory team based in Milton Keynes. Sophie tells us about her career path to date, from gaining work experience whilst she studied at university to her current role […]
Celebrating #WomenatMazars – Catherine Hall Next in our Celebrating #WomenatMazars series, we’re speaking to Catherine Hall, an International Tax Partner who is based in London. Catherine has worked in a variety of roles over the course of her career. She shares how having a strong support network has been key to overcoming challenges, and […]
Celebrating #WomenAtMazars – Harriet Walker Today in Celebrating #WomenAtMazars, we’re sitting down with Harriet Walker to find out more about her life and career at Mazars. Harriet is a Corporate Assistant in the Professional Practices team in Edinburgh. Don’t forget to catch up with the previous interviews in this series with: Catherine Hall, International […]
As we look forward to marching in the Pride in London parade this weekend, we reflect on our standout moments for LGBT+ inclusion over the last 12 months: For more information Diversity & Inclusion at Mazars UK, please contact Angela Cooke.
Celebrating #WomenAtMazars – Iris Hughes Next in our Celebrating #WomenatMazars series, we’re speaking to Iris Hughes, a Senior Internal Auditor in the Consulting team, based in London. Don’t forget to catch up with the previous interviews in this series with: Charlene Nunn, Senior Manager, Audit and Assurance Harriet Walker, Corporate Assistant, Professional Practices Catherine […]
Celebrating #WomenAtMazars – Rebecca Dacre Next in our Celebrating #WomenAtMazars series, we’re speaking to Rebecca Dacre, a Director in the Restructuring Services Team, based in Milton Keynes. Don’t forget to catch up with the previous interviews in this series with: Iris Hughes, Senior Internal Auditor, Consulting Charlene Nunn, Senior Manager, Audit and Assurance Harriet […]
In our first #WeareMazars interview, we spoke to partner Lindsay who shared his perspective on what Mazars can do to create a culture of inclusion, the advice he would give to the next generation of leaders and what Pride means to him. This week we’re speaking to Tejal Bhogaita, a Corporate Assistant in the Tax […]
For this week’s edition of #WeAreMazars, we’re joined by Scott Weaver. Scott works as a Client Relationship Administrator for Mazars’ National Creditor Services in Gloucester. We speak to Scott about his career thus far, who inspires him, and how taking parental leave at Mazars has benefited him and his family. Catch up on our previous […]
This week, we’re joined by Tracy, a National Senior Tax Manager in London. Tracy tells us about how she incorporates her values into her work and how to action some tangible strategies for success. Tracy contributes to our discussion around inclusion and gives us her opinion on how organisations can create a more inclusive culture. […]
#WeAreMazars – a new series by Mazars to showcase talent from across the firm Over the past few months, we have been interviewing women from across the business as part of our #WomenAtMazars series, and we now want to open this up to hear from the diverse array of voices we have in the firm. […]
In celebration of Brighton Pride this weekend, we’re speaking to Natasha, a Tax Advisory Director from Birmingham about what it means to be an LGBT ally. In this candid interview, Natasha describes what being an LGBT ally means to her, and explains how those who do not identify as LGBT can still support LGBT voices. […]
To mark World Mental Health Day, Mazars Partner Tom Brichieri-Colombi shares his personal experience of stress in the workplace. In June of this year, AccountancyAge published an article entitled: What we have learned about mental health at work, highlighting the results from its 2018 survey on this topic. The top two findings from the report […]
To mark #InternationalMensDay 2018, we’re joined by Martin who works in the Forensic and Investigation Services team in Birmingham. Martin speaks to us about his career at Mazars, his encounter with former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, what good leadership entails, and how organisations should make work more manageable for expectant and new parents. […]
This website uses cookies.
Some of these cookies are necessary, while others help us analyse our traffic, serve advertising and deliver customised experiences for you.
This website cannot function properly without these cookies.
Analytical cookies help us enhance our website by collecting information on its usage.
We use marketing cookies to increase the relevancy of our advertising campaigns.