Difference Makers Podcast
We created this podcast in order to celebrate the lives and work of people who have transformed communities, businesses, and the wider world, making a real difference in the lives of others. We call them "Difference Makers". Some overcame great personal adversity in their journey. They all showed the knowledge, perspective, skills and capabilities to lead, to achieve, and to make real change when it is needed most. Oh, and by the way... they are all Chartered Accountants!
Find out more at https://www.charteredaccountantsworldwide.com
Difference Makers Podcast
DMD Live Highlights from Season One: From Boardrooms to Breakthroughs
Join host Sinead Donovan for a special “best of” edition celebrating the most inspiring moments from the first season of Difference Makers Discuss. Over seven episodes, Sinead spoke with remarkable Chartered Accountants from the UK, Singapore, Australia, Ireland, Pakistan, and beyond—leaders and innovators who are reshaping business, driving sustainability, championing diversity, and embracing technology.
In this highlights reel, you’ll hear powerful insights from trailblazers in tech, finance, climate action, and more. From reimagining career paths to harnessing AI for a better future, these stories will spark ideas, challenge assumptions, and show how accountants worldwide are making a difference in business and society.
Whether you’re a long-time listener or new to the series, this episode is your passport to the ideas shaping the profession’s future.
hello there and welcome to a special edition of difference makers discuss. I'm Sinead Donovan and over the past 12 months I have had the privilege to speak to global charged accountant worldwide members who are knocking the ball out of the park in the various facets of business that they are involved in. So today we're taking a look back at some of the most thought-provoking moments from our very first season a smorgasbord, if you want, of the best bits. Season one saw seven episodes in total, with members representing the UK, singapore, australia, ireland and Pakistan. We heard from remarkable leaders and pioneers, people who are redefining what it means to make a difference in business community and beyond. Whether you've been with us since the beginning or you're joining for the first time, this best of episode is your chance to revisit powerful insights, pivotal stories and the ideas shaping the future of our profession.
Speaker 2:So let's begin our journey through the highlights of season one. In our first clip, we explored the importance of and the impact that technology is having. In our first clip, we explored the importance of and the impact that technology is having. It is not just about connecting us in the present, but also about anticipating our needs for the future. We hear from Caroline Sherry, chief Financial Officer at Hostelworld, which is a leading tech company in the travel space. Caroline is an inspiring leader known for her passion for innovation and empowering others, and in our discussion she reflected on her own career journey across industries, the importance of diverse perspectives and her vision for growing the business whilst championing female leadership.
Speaker 3:Because it's just another form of social like a social network. I'm posting about your life and I'm here eating this and I'm doing this. What's unique about our business is we know where, instead of it being instantaneous like I am doing this right now, our business is focused on I will be doing this, then in that place, the future, so it's all the data behind that, then, that will allow us to go okay. Well, sinead likes these things and she's going to be here, so she should do this and she'll meet these people when she's doing it. Multiplied by about 10 million customers a year.
Speaker 2:That is fascinating and there is definitely learnings for us as a profession as to how we should engage with this generation to make the attractiveness of the profession you know ever more, so that's fascinating. Coming towards the end, you talked about pivotal moments in your career sliding doors moments I sometimes call them. Can I be so bold as to ask do you have a vision for the next five to ten years? Do you set yourself goals? Um?
Speaker 3:I, I don't really um and that sounds slightly passive, that I don't but look, my career has been, uh, so I've worked in banking, I have worked in FMCG, I'm now in tech and I quite like that and I quite like with careers, and when I interview people, I don't necessarily want someone who has worked in travel tech. I have plenty of people who work in travel tech. I want someone who's going to come with something different and their experiences, because I'll probably learn more from them and they'll learn more from me. But in terms of vision and goals, I would love to see this company fly. We have a fantastic group of people 240 people who have been with us through some intensely challenging times, and I'd like to see you know I love the work that I do with the Balance for Better Business review group.
Speaker 3:I am very passionate about DE&I. I'm very passionate about leadership and female leadership and representation. I'd love to do more in that space. So I think for me me it's growing the business and it's seeing what more I I can give back to, like how I can. I can help others with it, um, and and support people on their journey as well. But, um, yeah, I kind of I don't like to set myself kind of limitations or rules on it, because I haven't in the past and has it has. It has worked for me. It permits those sliding door moments to happen. Yeah, you don't close yourself off. Yeah, 100%, exactly, yeah.
Speaker 2:Next up is Singapore and we hear from Maria Cho, Sustainability and Climate Change Leader at CLA Global. Maria has a clear passion for sustainability and purposeful career growth, and she demonstrates that age is not a barrier to achieving leadership roles. She shares her observations on the importance of staying open to possibility, redefining success and encouraging the next generation to find meaning beyond traditional career paths. Let's listen to her thoughtful perspective on what's guiding her journey forward.
Speaker 6:I wouldn't say it's a case of not wanting to say, but sometimes I guess one of the driving factors for me is really not wanting to lock myself in too far in the future.
Speaker 6:So, for example, when I was an auditor, people were asking do you want to make a partner, Do you want to be an audit partner one day, signing those financial reports? And I was like that's kind of a long way down the road and I don't think I want to lock myself down for the 10 or 15 years it would take to become a partner. So where I am right now is that I see roughly the development goals that I want to set for myself as to develop my skills in sustainability, to learn a little bit more about what people are doing to help companies who are on the journey or who want to start the journey in sustainability, as well as to really get young accountants interested in what we're doing, to see that there is life beyond auditing, for example, to see that they could really build a career in and what we do is not just black and white or just calculators and Excel spreadsheets. So I felt like, going on this angle or with this in mind, that's going to shape my career in the next five to 10 years, because this is what I'm interested in championing and helping younger people get into technology what we're doing right now or helping companies to move into a better space in the sustainability realm. Those are the two kind of key things that I want to promote in my career.
Speaker 2:From Singapore to Australia and Tasmania to be precise, and I spoke with Naomi Walsh, the trailblazing Vice President of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. In this clip, Naomi talks about how the profession of accounting is evolving and why we need to broaden the pathways into it, From early financial literacy programmes to welcoming people with science backgrounds and diverse skills. Naomi shares her vision for a future where young people see themselves reflected in the profession and feel inspired to contribute. This is crucial to the development of the profession, and let's listen as she explains why a wider range of talents will be essential to tackle the challenges ahead.
Speaker 7:This is something that I am really passionate about attracting into the profession people that might not otherwise find their own way to the profession. And in some ways I mean I don't have you know, I don't have there was not any real barriers to why I couldn't do this job, but I probably wasn't growing up, it wasn't necessarily where I was automatically going to land. So I think that, for me, is thinking about and you know, we have some programs through child accountants which I think are really good to plant the seed earlier in terms of the types of people that might get drawn to the profession. So we've got some programs around financial literacy in schools. So I think that's one that's really important. We've got some, you know, programs that we, the way we actually profile the types of careers in accounting, to represent those so that people can imagine themselves in those roles, because I think that people need young people need a bit of a vision about being able to see themselves in that future vision. So I think that's a really good way to, I guess, attract a diverse range of people into the profession and I think that some of the other avenues so it might not necessarily always be just accounting degrees and I don't think it will be.
Speaker 7:In Australia it traditionally has been really accounting degree into accounting, into chartered accounting, and that increasingly we're seeing some of the changes, particularly around climate, that it might be more of a science background. So you've got that science knowledge and background and that's going to be really valuable in teams as we move forward into accounting. So it is going to take um a lot of different profiles, a lot of different aptitudes and natural abilities to shape what is going to be the future of the profession. I think we're we are a long, long way past. You know that that automatically um looking at that maths ability and you know there'll be a whole range of you think about some of the tools around AI, logic, problem solving are going to be those skills that we need to look for in young people, not necessarily just maths.
Speaker 2:Continuing on our global journey, we hit Pakistan next and Asma Shabazz, head of Process Governance and Business Operations Risk at Mashreg Bank. She shares how she guides young professionals as they enter the world of work, from helping them discover whether a workplace aligns with their values to celebrating their clarity and purpose at such an early stage in their careers. Asma reflects on mentorship as a two-way exchange, one that also shapes her own perspective. In this excerpt, we hear her thoughts on fostering belonging, confidence and connection across the generations.
Speaker 1:I think, analytics.
Speaker 2:So that way, yes, I think I'm a big supporter of you know, using analytical tools and you know having dashboards, and I think that's a very good management tool as well students enough in in understanding, I suppose, the use of analytics and how to um, interpret, um numbers, or is that something that you think we as a profession can get better at?
Speaker 1:um, I think we are very naturally, I think, uh, the students of chartered accountancy. Uh, I think they understand numbers, right, uh, but the tools that you have to use for, uh, you know, data analytics. That is something which I feel is definitely, you know, till the time I was in touch, uh, you know, with academics, uh, it was very much missing. But having said that, uh, you know, I know that, you know, icab, the institute of chartered accounts of pakistan, here is taking a lot of steps, uh, kind of, you know, introduce these courses, these diplomas, where the students can, you know, enroll and learn more, you know, and kind of become experts even at data analytics. So, you know, a lot of appreciation for what ICAP is doing, but definitely, I think we need to look at and probably they already are looking at it, you know, pardon my, you know, lack of information there, but definitely I think this.
Speaker 2:this is one area that needs to be incorporated in the curriculum for sure. Throughout this season, many of our guests have shared moments when their commitment became something bigger than themselves. In episode six, I met Kudze Zendara, a director in balance sheet and liquidity management and treasury markets at Standard Chartered Bank. Kudze wanted to make a difference, and his journey started volunteering as a student in Zimbabwe, but took on a new dimension when he chose to speak out after the death of George Floyd. Here he reflects on the power of using your voice and how one action can park a much wider movement and how one action can park a much wider movement.
Speaker 4:I mean, I think it really took off to a large extent when I was at Standard Chartered, but I think earlier on in my career and even when I was in school, I have done things around, sort of just giving back. So, whether that's in Zimbabwe, we used to run a night school teaching program actually at the time. So how that worked was the staff who worked on the grounds and around the school would come in once a week after the school timetable had finished and they would be taught English, maths and science by students within the school. So I volunteered for that. It was a way of kind of giving back and helping them to pursue their what we would call O levels, but the equivalent is GCSEs. So that's something I did. So I've probably always had some form of helping out in some way, whether that's work experience or initiatives like that. But to your point and when, I, I'd say, got into it a bit more seriously.
Speaker 4:So if you go a few years back, I think the death of George Floyd was, within the UK and around the world, a kind of awakening for a lot of people and a catalyst for people feeling either compelled or comfortable with sharing their life experience, in particular, what being an ethnic minority within whatever country they were in had meant for them.
Speaker 4:And I think while that was going on and people were sharing stories and I was seeing organizations also kind of responding to what had happened by reaffirming their core values and beliefs, I myself also felt compelled to share my experiences of growing up as a black person within and outside of the workplace within the UK.
Speaker 4:Now I did that by sending an open letter to the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank. I emailed him one evening with an open letter to shout out to my wife because she was very supportive and encouraging of that. So I did that. He responded within about 24 hours and sort of said hey, thanks for sharing this. How about you and I speak one to one, which was not something I was expecting, but that took place. We had a very sort of positive conversation and that was a very positive experience for me. I shared that online on social media. So I shared the open letter and just the conversation I'd had with the CEO as well and I think through that. I mean I was workplace and landed on ICAS's radar as well and ICAS invited me to be a part of their ED&I network.
Speaker 2:And finally, we close with Michelle Shuttleworth. In the UK, michelle's journey reminds us that careers don't always follow a straight line From the lecture halls of LSE to the record stores of Virgin Entertainment, the corridors of the BBC, to where she is now, in her position as CFO of the Francis Crick Institute, whilst also founding and running her own company producing sustainable clothing, boa Wool. Michelle has so much energy and she shares how embracing unexpected turns can lead to the most rewarding experiences.
Speaker 5:So I did accounting and finance and economics actually at university, which is slightly tedious. But I studied at the LSE, thinking I think in those days you sort of didn't really know career advice wasn't particularly good. So you sort of think, well, I want to be a professional. And so that tends to either mean, well, I'm going to be an accountant or a lawyer or a doctor, and I knew I didn't want to be any of the other two. So I thought, well, I'll do accounting because that can probably let me do all sorts of things in the future. Um, and then actually did.
Speaker 5:I did a internship when I was there with what was Coopers and Librand um and absolutely loved it. I mean, I think it was just. I was a sort of very normal girl from Essex, hadn't really traveled very much. They took us out to Greece. It was terribly exotic and I got to meet lots of really interesting people from all different backgrounds and I suddenly sort of felt this lesser brethren of this far wider world and yeah, that really sparked a love of sort, of a desire to go and join the big four, I think. So I went off and joined Coops and Libram, which then quite rapidly became PwC um and, as you say, specialized in insurance, financial services. Um and I spent some time there training in audit but doing some transaction services and M&A, and um latterly did, um, some media M&A, which is what then got me into going to work with Virgin Entertainment, which, for those who remember record stores Virgin Entertainment had a load of record stores, basically that, including the big mega store on Oxford Street. So that was a fantastic experience and I went from sort of this big, very corporate environment wearing some very smart suits and the rest of it to somewhere where people were turning up in flip flops and I didn't quite know what to do with myself.
Speaker 5:And I think what was brilliant about that was that I was sort of in my early 20s and it really rubbed the edges off me. I think I'd had quite a. I hadn't appreciated till then, actually what a narrow perspective I had had being in that kind of environment. You know, you're surrounded by lots of people who are incredibly bright, who have are all very driven, all very ambitious, and they've all got to a certain point in order to be part of that firm. And then I think what you realize when you go out into the big wide world is that there's a vast array of people from all sorts of backgrounds, um, who are hugely successful in whatever they do, um, who are driven in a completely different way, um, so I loved that um, and I spent about three or four years there doing all sorts of things from, uh, they owned a site that was an ex? Uh nightclub in Manchester that they needed to work out what they were going to do with it. They'd bought to make into a cinema and you know, all these sorts of random Richard Branson-esque things that, um, that come up. So, uh, it was also.
Speaker 5:Did you meet? Did you meet the man himself? I did, yeah, I did. He had a, um, uh, an annual party at, um, a club on Kensington High Street that, uh, he had an involvement with. So all the staff would go every year up to this rooftop bar with flamingos and all the rest of it. So, real flamingos, real flamingos. Yeah, stop it. Extraordinary man, yeah, oh, brilliant. Yeah, it's quite an interesting time, but a very cash-strapped organisation, so it was a lot of working through through. You know, retail at that time particularly record stores with the advent of digital downloads etc was a struggling industry, so it was an interesting lesson in the importance of cash flow planning actually, because I think probably in no other role since then the cash flow sort of done itself once you've got your P&L and balance sheet. But in that one it really was the king.
Speaker 2:So I will leave you now, but I want to say a huge thank you for joining us today and throughout Difference Makers Discuss. I am so lucky to meet with these Chartered Accountants Worldwide members and I hope that some of their stories may have resonated with you. We would love to hear your thoughts, your comments, your feedback, and please share this episode and connect with us on social media to keep the conversation going. If you have suggestions for upcoming episodes, drop us a line and I look forward to welcoming you all to the next season of Difference Makers Discuss. So, from me to you keep asking questions, keep challenging assumptions and keep making a difference.
