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Today, Chair of the Board, La Nuova Musica; Board Director, Shaw Trust; Non-executive Director, Société Générale and X Forces Enterprise CIC, Diane Cote, talks about her most rewarding career moments and how taking a risk brought her to an unexpected but fulfilling role across the Atlantic.
Who stood out to you as a mentor or influence during your time at EY?
When I compared my work experience at EY with other colleagues from other Big 6 firms (that was a while ago!) I realized that at EY there was no institutionalized hierarchy, and even at a junior level I had the incredible chance to be working for a partner, Gary Pooley, who shared his experience and knowledge. He became a mentor and gave me opportunities to explore new audit fields.
Gary worked extremely hard but knew from his personal experience about the risks of not having a balanced life. He often reminded us as such and would tell us to go home, that the work would still be there the next morning. He cared about his people. He has remained a source of inspiration for me throughout my entire career.
Tell us about your most rewarding career moments.
My most rewarding moments throughout my career have been all the times when the team and I went beyond what was expected and were able to contribute to the achievement of strategic objectives or prevent a major crisis, and the recognition we got from the board.
Diane Cote
Chair of the Board, La Nuova Musica;
Board Director, Shaw Trust;
Non-executive Director,
Société Générale and
X Forces Enterprise CIC
However, what I have found the most rewarding has to do with people. It’s when my team members and others I have mentored, either directly or indirectly, become really successful and have very fulfilling careers. That has always been my goal as a manager of people.
Other very rewarding moments for me have been related to my roles as chair of the foundation and chair of diversity and inclusiveness (D&I) at the last company where I worked. Through the foundation, we helped young people have a better, a brighter future, and through D&I we were able to transform the culture of the company, which made such a difference in people’s careers, and that made all the extra time and effort so worthwhile. Seeing diversity being part of the strategy of a company after many years of hard work was another great rewarding moment for me.
When you left EY, what did you envision as the next stage of your career? Did you envision doing what you’re doing now?
When I left EY, my only ambition was to return to EY after gaining experience in the insurance industry. At that time I was contemplating a future with EY. My team partner had even asked me to come back after my stint in the insurance world. That obviously never happened!
So my career has been pretty much driven and shaped by seizing opportunities and not being afraid to take some risks. And that’s exactly what happened when I decided, together with my family, to move to Scotland to pursue my career. There were quite a lot of unknowns associated with the move, including my husband not having a job waiting for him.
At that time, I never thought there would be a future for me and for us in the UK. However, I have been really fortunate to have had good sponsors combined with a really good professional foundation and good work ethics, together with a very high level of resilience. EY was a great contributor to help me develop these attributes, which have helped me get to where I am today.
Summary
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