A huge congratulations to our Partner, Diane Hughes who has been with Bell Cornwell LLP for 10 years. Diane started in 2012 as our Financial Controller and is now our longest serving member of the Business Support team and one of three Equity Partners. Under Diane’s leadership the Practice has gone from strength to strength, so we asked her to share her thoughts on the past 10 years of success and what her aspirations are for the Business Support team and the practice as a whole.
How does it feel to be celebrating your 10th work anniversary and how significantly has the company changed since you started in 2012??
It doesn’t feel that long, time has flown by. Yet, when looking back to 2012, it feels like we’ve gone from Stone Age to the 21st Century! Professionalising so many processes has been the greatest (if not the hardest) achievement.
What is your favourite thing about Bell Cornwell?
The staff – mentoring staff and enabling them to grow and achieve their goals is the most rewarding thing about my job.
What has been your career highlight/s so far?
Becoming an Equity Partner was a wonderful personal achievement. Opening 2 more offices since joining 10 years ago has also been fantastic. Honestly though, seeing the way IT has so significantly impacted and improved our working lives has been amazing – and it continues to amaze me.
Any long-term predictions for the planning system?
I leave the predictions to the planners but I do think it is increasingly clear that system will need to change quite substantially to reflect the new ways in which we live and respond to modern pressures – particularly in the case of Local Plans.
Where do you hope to see Bell Cornwell in 10 years’ time?
I hope we continue to model our recently confirmed company values:
- Providing genuinely enterprising planning advice and ideas for our clients.
- Continuing to develop our workforce to ensure our input is always insightful.
- Dedicated team members that love what they do.
- Maintaining our reputation of excellence within the market.
What are your aspirations for the Business Support team over the next 10 years?
I would like to see the team grow as we continue to support more and more offices, providing real consistency across policies and processes that become solid foundations for the Practice as a whole. The roles within Business Support are continuously evolving with the needs of the business and I would like to see more definition between Finance, Administration, Marketing and IT. We have exciting things on the horizon and my next priority is growth in marketing support.
