top of page
.png)
1989 - 2007
After training as a nurse and a stint in drug (legal!) and car sales I found financial services in my mid-twenties. Somewhat under-qualified, I help found a franchised mortgage brokerage in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1989.
From there I joined a large insurance company working in direct sales – a tough place to be! Each of these experiences taught me a lot; some good, some not so good. But all valuable experience that would shape what I’ve done and stand for in financial services.
There followed employment with a few IFA's as I learned my trade, took my financial planning exams and gradually made my way up the corporate tree....
Fast forward to 2007 when, stuck in middle management for a national firm of IFAs, I realised I hadn’t worked hard to become one of the first Chartered Financial Planners to be surrounded by target driven salespeople. So, I took my own medicine, which was, “if you think you can do it better Sturkey do it, or stop moaning”. A kind of “put up or shut up”!
2007 - 2017
Which led to the founding of my financial planning firm, The Red House, with my two business partners, Gareth and Linda. An incredible sense of pride followed as we crafted a firm that reflected our values of fairness, service and teamwork. I loved it.
The business flourished as we recruited talented team members and great clients, sticking to our knitting and values as we grew. Of course, life and business rarely run smoothly. We had to navigate the serious illness of one of my co-founders, resulting in his need to retire at short notice some 6 years in.
After negotiating his retirement, Linda and I continued to grow the business until the end of 2017 when we went through the sales process and merged the business into Paradigm Norton.
2017 - 2020
We spent three years seamlessly transitioning The Red House into Paradigm Norton taking the best from both firms to evolve the merged businesses to the successful, employee owned, B-Corp business Paradigm Norton is today.
Following the formal three-year handover I remained at Paradigm Norton as a non-executive director until 2025.
2020 - today!
Since 2020 I've trained as a Coach, working with financial planning leaders and their teams; Chaired the Institute for Financial Wellbeing; founded a podcast in partnership with Paradigm Norton – Money Espresso – and MC’d several financial planning conferences. I continue to be drawn to the financial planning profession and the good it can do, not just for our clients, our colleagues and our business partners, but society at large.
The future of financial planning, with the rise of technology, our greater understanding of behavioural science and the position money serves in our overall wellbeing, is exciting. Let me help you be part of this vision.
And when I'm not working?
It’s all about friends, family, fitness, film, food and fine wine – quite the female flâneur!
bottom of page