For me, this question is very easy, as I have had two distinct roles in EY. I joined EY in August 2010 as a Business Development Executive. I worked with the Partner group to help drive profitable revenue growth, primarily through implementing an account management framework across the priority accounts. In this role, I worked across all service lines and sectors. It was my first experience of working in a Professional Services firm and gave me great exposure to all facets of our business – from audits, to mergers and acquisitions, to tax, to consultancy services. This also meant I got to meet and get to know a lot of people around the business. This role also gave me great insight into our clients, how we worked with them and the best way to build relationships with them. It was a great foundation and stepping stone into my second role in EY, when I joined the Advisory practice in 2013.

I had come to Dublin after finishing my Bachelor of Business Studies degree – wanting to join either a Big Four or a consultancy practice. At the time EY’s Advisory practice was mostly focused on risk advisory services and internal audit, so instead I took up the Business Development role. However, in 2013 the practice had expanded to include a consultancy arm. I reached out to one of the Directors in the Advisory team and asked him about joining – we had already worked together on an internal project so it was easy for me to chat to him. He arranged for me to meet the lead Partner, who subsequently hired me.

Since joining Advisory I have worked on over five different projects, one for only 4 weeks and one for nearly 13 months. I have worked in teams of two to teams of 32. I have even worked in London for six months. Every project is varied, but at the heart of them all is delivering high quality services to our client and enjoying ourselves along the way. If I look back six years when I first joined, I have moved from an internal role that was very much focused on account management and sales, to an external role that is focused on improving client’s business performance and helping them achieve their business goals.

Leigh-Anne Maddock