Lynne Walker is CEO of Johnston Carmichael, which is a UK Accountancy firm of just under 1,000 people. Unlike many CEOs of such a business, she lives in a town of 10,000 people in the north of Scotland.

Topics discussed include how she manages work and life whilst leading and driving the business forward, how the role of CEO has evolved over the last 5 years and her advice on opening new doors whilst not closing doors behind you.

Timings of episode

00:00-02:23: Introduction and background

02:24-07:20: The journey from Partner to CEO

07:21-10:08: Understanding board-level decisions and challenges of being a CEO

10:09-12:29: How has the CEO role evolved over the last 5 years?

12:30-15:25: How does Lynne manage being the CEO of nearly 1,000 people across the UK when she lives in a small town in the north of Scotland?

15:26-18:57: Taking chances and being adaptable to fulfil ambition

18:58-21:53: 90 years of Johnston Carmichael

21:54-23:42: Professional and personal goals for the next 12 months

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Andrew Holloway is a Tax Partner & Head of Equity Rewards & Venture Capital Schemes at Cooper Parry which is a UK-based advisory and accountancy firm, backed by US private equity firm, Lee Equity Partners. Interestingly, he was employee no.1 of the firm in Scotland (which at the time had over 2,000 employees based in England) but that was nearly a year after he had turned down an offer to join them.

So, what changed for him? What changed for them? Why did he join with no other colleagues to work alongside in his region?

Tune in to hear so much more from this super interesting and honest chat with Andrew.

Timings of episode:

00:00-04:50: Introduction and background

04:50-: 07:35: Why tax?

07:35-15:46: Why did you want to specialise in reward tax and what is it?

15:47-20:45: Why did Andrew first turn down an offer from Cooper Parry and then why did he join as employee no.1 in Scotland for Cooper Parry?

20:46-27:00: How working for a firm with high growth mentality and high risk has been an enormous but fun learning curve.

27:01-31:58: Discussing the different environments of LLP, large mid-tier and PE-backed.

31:59-36:40: 'The Rebels of Accountancy’ - who would be a good fit?

36:41-38:12: Plans for Cooper Parry in Scotland over the next few years

38:13-45:10: What does his voluntary role with Patrick Thistle Football Club’s ‘The Jags Foundation' involve?

45:11-48:10: Personal and professional goals for the next 12 months

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Melanie and Tom had been working together for years under different companies and then they decided to take their effective working relationship into their own hands and launch their own corporate finance business, Quantify Advisors. In their first year, Quantify advised on 14 completed deals with a cumulative deal value in excess of £150 million.

This episode discusses their evolving personal brand journey, the learning curve of being a business owner and how they create added value for their clients.

Timings for episode

00:00-5:35: Introduction and how they met

5:36-7:56: The story so far of Quantify Advisors

7:57-9:11: The learning curve of being business owners and wearing lots of different hats

9:12-14:45: Differentiating as a new brand in a competitive market

14:46-21:29: Working to strengths and navigating personal branding

21:30-23:45: What are Tom and Melanie learning as leaders?

23:46-31:19: What AI can and can’t do to add value in corporate finance

31:20-34:29: Commentary on the corporate finance and private equity market in 2026 and deal flow for Quantify

34:30-36:06:Being consultative by building relationships with clients

36:07-40:15: Personal and professional goals for the next 12 months

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.