I started my finance career over 20 years ago in a junior role at AppSense, which at the time was an early-stage software business based in the North West. I was there for eight years and went through a number of key growth periods with the company, including international expansion into the US, DACH, Benelux and APAC regions.

During that time, I progressed through the finance function and was part of the team when AppSense raised $70 million with Goldman Sachs. Two of the directors later left to form Avecto, a privilege management software business, and I joined them at a very early stage – fewer than 50 people and under £3 million in revenue.

One of Summize’s board members, who I’d worked with previously, contacted me about the opportunity. What excited me immediately was the stage of the business and the ambition – it was very clear Summize was gearing up for a similar growth journey to the ones I’d already been through.

There’s a misconception that a CFO spends all day every day in Excel, but the role is far broader than that. To be effective, you have to thoroughly understand every part of the business – from commercial and customer considerations to implementation, people and operations.

Every department has a financial impact, and my role is to take data and insight and use that to identify risks, opportunities and the key strategic decisions the business needs to make.