Stephanie Larivee, Director of Corporate Recovery and Insolvency at Cork Gully
Stephanie believes bringing our true selves to work is the only way to go. Why? Find out on this episode of Leaders With Ambition, which highlights her highly successful professional corporate journey and key lessons learned along the way. Host Nicky Acuna Ocana invites Stephanie to share how she found her footing as an Insolvency Professional and why she prioritises psychological safety, for herself as well as her teams.
Stephanie reflects on her leadership style, a series of pivotal mentors and an ongoing commitment to learning amidst changing industry standards and demands. Learn how Stephanie promotes employee satisfaction (as well as retention) within a high-stress environment along with what’s on the horizon for the insolvency & restructuring sector as a whole. Above all, advises our guest: “Be your authentic self because you’re not going to do yourself any favours in the long run trying to fit into something that doesn’t feel right.”
If you enjoyed this discussion, please click here to find previous episodes of Leaders with Ambition.
Key Takeaways
Starting out
How an early role at PwC gave Stephanie, still completing her undergraduate degree in New Zealand, a window into the corporate world and opportunities within professional services.
Adding more strings to the bow
Why after eight years at PwC Stephanie was ready to explore recovery and enforcement through an investigative and policy role within New Zealand’s Inland Revenue service.
Making a leap
About Stephanie’s decision to make a leap, relocate to London and deepen her expertise with an important certification in insolvency that solidified her career trajectory.
Taking the challenge
What spurred Stephanie to sit for the high-stress, high-stakes Joint Insolvency Exam Board (JIEB) exams and ultimately qualify as an ICAEW insolvency licence holder.
Paying it forward
Why mentoring and extending relationships is front and centre for Stephanie, who goes out of her way to support development and provide exposure for younger team members.
Room for growth
About Stephanie’s commitment to creating a workplace culture that allows for mistakes and tailors career paths to the specific needs and strengths of team members.
Embracing authenticity
How Stephanie came to understand that diverse, inclusive environments allow individuals to bring their true identities to work and forge strong, safe, healthy cultures.
Leveraging positivity
Why cultivating strong team morale is key to sustaining through the stressful, sometimes hostile aspects of insolvency work.
Intergenerational learning
How skills sets are built and expanded across different age groups, incorporating lived experiences to promote growth as well as strength across Cork Gully.
The networking piece
Why Stephanie makes a point of encouraging team members to attend professional events and cement new industry contacts with prompt follow-up (especially in person).
Biggest industry obstacles
Changing Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) priorities and their operational impacts; restoring trust in the financial services sector, including improved safeguarding rules; uncertainty around taxes, cross-border crime and streamlining corporate structures; and challenges around the UK’s global competitiveness.
Staying abreast
About the resources Stephanie taps to ensure she’s constantly learning and staying up-to-date on latest news and business developments, especially as regards insolvency.
Evolving vision
About the triad of influences that have shaped Stephanie’s style as a leader fostering trust, professional development and retention (rather than as a manager simply doing a job).
Words of wisdom
Be authentic; hiding yourself away will do you no favours; make sure you’re enjoying the work; and aim for continuous improvement, because there’s always something more to learn.
Key Quotes
“The young need opportunities to get themselves out there, and then they can make (career) decisions based on whether (insolvency) is truly where they want to be.”
“We’ve got the freedom in insolvency to foster the right skills within people. It’s not as black and white perhaps as some large accounting firms … We’re able to provide more of a tailored approach.”
“You need people to come in and bring their best self to work while working incredibly hard.” (Nicky)
“Be your authentic self because you’re not going to do yourself any favours in the long run trying to fit into something that doesn’t feel right ... You might not feel that straight off the bat because you’re still learning, but that’s different from feeling ‘this isn’t for me.’ ”
“When I’m speaking to staff I really try to stay focused on development rather than just management. Giving people the tools they need to develop is very important.”
“You have to create an environment where people can learn – and feel you genuinely care about their personal learning. It’s not just to get a job done. It’s about how you can impact their professional career.” (Nicky)
About Stephanie
A director of corporate recovery and insolvency at Cork Gully, Stephanie has more than 18 years of proven restructuring experience, gained in the UK and New Zealand across various forms of corporate recovery, insolvency, debt advisory and investigative roles.
She has her ICAEW certificate and is a chartered accountant in Australia and New Zealand. Prior to taking on her role at Cork Gully, Stephanie served as an associate director at Grant Thornton.
About Nicky
With over 25 years of experience leading high-performing recruitment teams, Nicky is a dynamic leader in the recruitment industry. As Regional Managing Director for the US, UK, and Europe at Ambition, she oversees a team of specialist recruiters dedicated to connecting top talent with professional services firms.
Her teams focus on niche areas: the US division specialises in Legal Marketing & Business Development recruitment, while the UK & Europe team excels in placing professionals within Business Services functions within Legal, Practice and Consultancy.
Passionate about leadership, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and talent retention, Nicky is a sought-after keynote speaker. She frequently presents at industry conferences, sharing insights on recruitment trends, hiring strategies, retention best practices, and DEI in the workplace.
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