At RECRUITERS, we love hearing about our successful candidates’ career journeys, such as Dixons Carphone finance manager, Kathy McDermott. But it’s not just our candidates we love to hear from. We also strive to find our clients the best candidates so that they can exceed their business objectives.
One such example is with Brown Thomas' (formerly M&S Ireland) finance director, Claire Priestley, with whom RECRUITERS’ finance recruitment manager Gar O’Gorman has placed a number of strong finance candidates:
“Garrett is always at the end of the phone and has always taken the time to build a real understanding of my candidate requirements, offering a selection of great candidates every time.” Say's Priestley.
In her own role, Priestley has overall control and responsibility for all financial aspects of the company strategy. “I work very closely with the managing director for Ireland and with the leadership team as a trusted business partner on the strategic and commercial development of the retail business,” she said. “The best part about my role is that no two days are the same. Every day brings a new challenge.”
From an early age, Priestley has always had an interest in how to operate a successful end-to-end business and the driver behind choosing her degree in business and finance and later qualifying as a chartered accountant (ACMA). “This is what steered my career into industry as opposed to practice,” she said.
‘Each stage of your career does bring one challenge or another’
With so much experience in the industry, it’s no surprise that Priestley has encountered challenges throughout her career. However, she said these were manageable challenges and she relishes them. “Each stage of your career does bring one challenge or another. Studying and working is probably the first major challenge I had to face. However, you have to quickly overcome this by significantly reducing any social life you might have been used to,” she said.
“I did take a bit of a risk and a leap of faith in myself when I took up the role of head of finance in Arnotts back in 2012. During the economic downturn, Arnotts suffered financial difficulties and was taken over by the banks, so I knew this was going to be a very challenging role to maintain the financial viability of the company, but relished the challenge. However, not long after joining, I was promoted to finance director. This was a fantastic career move in the end as I was involved in all aspects of the company strategy including the ultimate sale of the company from the banks to a private buyer.”
She also said that this promotion was one of her career highlights, along with “gaining trust at all levels on a day-to-day basis from colleagues, peers and team to operate as a truly valued business partner.”
Along with the daily challenges that come with her current role, Priestley also has the extra challenge of balancing work and two small kids. “I thrive on the challenge though.”
Luckily, finding strong candidates doesn’t have to be a major challenge for Priestley with the help of RECRUITERS. “Working with Garrett and RECRUITERS has been great, I have had a number of very strong candidates join the finance team from RECRUITERS over the last few years,” she said.
As finance recruitment manager, Gar O’Gorman specialises in finding high quality, senior level finance professionals and matching them to their perfect roles. You can speak to him about possible opportunities by email at garrett.ogorman@recruiters.ie or on the phone at +353 1 632 5028.
Want to learn more about how RECRUITERS can help your business? Check out our hiring solutions for Finance teams here.
Feeling confused about your career? We’ve got everything you need to know about progression, new jobs and happiness in your career right here.
Calculator photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
