Enterprise Adds Up
Chartered Accountant, Alyson Howard, was until recently a partner of Meta Corporate Finance, a successful South East based company responsible for a wide range of investment business activities and who specialise in the sale and purchase of large and medium size businesses.
Before joining Meta, Alyson enjoyed a successful career as a partner with the Tunbridge Wells based Accountancy firm, Creaseys. She has also been a high profile former Chairman of the Kent branch of the Institute of Directors.
Over the years, a large number of South East businesses have benefited from Alyson’s professional and empathic approach and she has now joined SEEDA’s team of Women’s Advocates which is part of a national initiative to inspire and give confidence to ambitious women entrepreneurs.
“I want to encourage women to take the plunge – women who have, maybe, positioned themselves in the background in companies and yet clearly have leadership skills,” says Alyson. “Invariably, when I come across women in leadership roles, they are quite brilliant” she adds. “Often, here and in Europe generally, women are under-represented at the top levels of business because they don’t feel able to compete in a seemingly hard headed, hire-and-fire, combative male environment.”
However, as Alyson points out, “there are
ways of mitigating the hard edges of a macho culture, being direct while taking
risks, creating a culture where people aren’t losing their tempers and banging
fists on boardroom tables.”
“We are not going to inspire potential women entrepreneurs to take risks overnight” admits Alyson. “However, as ever increasing numbers of skilled women succeed at senior levels in male dominated business environments, particularly with practical help and support from organisations such as SEEDA, more and more women will take the plunge.”
“I want to inspire other business women” says Alyson, “I would never have taken the risk to branch out into the Meta world of corporate finance from my role at Creaseys if it hadn’t been for the inspiration I gained from women all across the world who have made their own destinies.”
