Being a volunteer at CFA UK comes with great responsibility but there is no greater commitment than being a Board member.  CFA UK is incredibly lucky to have such an engaged and committed Board.  November saw the stepping down of our chair, Gerry Fowler, CFA,and three Board members, Alexandra Haggard, CFA,Anne Marden, CFA, and Stuart Fiertz, CFA. 

November also saw the appointment of our new Chair and Vice Chair, Daniel Murray, CFA, and Graham Cook, CFA, and the on boarding of three new Board members, Stephen Wackerle, CFA, Gillian Elcock and Hilary Eastman, CFA.

Stephen, Hilary and Gillian have all been long serving volunteers at CFA UK.

Stephen is Vice-Chair and a long-standing member of the Finance Committee and also leads the Brexit working group, which is looking into the impact of Brexit on CFA UK and potential mitigations.

“Volunteering is hugely beneficial and an effective way of developing and sharing transferable skills. It exposes me to a different environment, with different challenges and opportunities from my place of work. Through volunteering I continue to meet and work with incredibly impressive people that are inspiring and thoughtful and that help me to expand my thinking and expertise. I learn a tremendous amount through these interactions and feel that I am also giving back to CFA UK where I can based on my areas of knowledge and my experiences in a way that can help the Society and its members.”

Hilary has been a long time member of our recently closed Financial Reporting and Analysis Committee, has been involved in the Value of the Investment Profession work and, as part of the ESG working group, has helped launch CFA UK’s first ESG qualification.  

About her volunteering experience, Hilary says “My volunteering has largely centred around advocacy and for me the benefits have been enormous. I've been able to meet an amazing group of people who care about making sure standard setters and other policy makers are aware of and understand the information needs of the investment community. This has helped me expand my network both within the profession and with policy makers. It's also been great to be involved in helping educate and inform members about changes to corporate reporting rules that will affect them.” 

Gillian is Vice Chair of the Content and Networks Steering Committee as well as Chair of the SIG Council, which is reviewing the structure of all of our special interest groups. She is also a Co-Chair of the Research Analysts SIG.

“Volunteering with the society has been very beneficial. A lot of my work has centred around special interest groups and it's great to feel that my ideas are listened to and that I have been able to make a real impact. I believe that volunteering enhances my professional development while giving me a chance to serve the investment community. It also provides great opportunities to network, as well as build and enhance communication and teamwork skills.”

Read more about the new Board members