An interview with Louisa Hedley

Following her promotion to Finance Director five years ago, Louisa was interviewed for her company’s in-house magazine.

Internal Company Communication

To: Redacted

From: Karen Fisher, Director of Internal Communications

Strictly Confidential

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Hey you, it’s Karen here! How you doing?

So, I wanted to tip you off about something regarding the in-house magazine (Yes, I know – groan!). Anyway, one of the things we’ve been accused of is not giving enough airtime to the business units scattered around the globe. Well, not any more!

So there’s this woman, Louisa Hedley, and she just got promoted to be Finance Director over there in England. I’ve only met her once, very briefly, and thought it would be good to get an interview with her for the magazine. Now, normally my colleague Chelsea does the interviews over Zoom, but I love London and kinda fancied a trip (why not – I deserve it, right? Ha-ha!). So I thought I would pull rank, do this one myself, and use the opportunity to visit some of the business units in Europe.

Anyway, I’m sending you a transcript of that interview. We did it off-site, and that’s because I learned long ago that if you use someone’s office, you get interrupted. Either by their phone, or some jerk barges in with news of a crisis – screws the whole thing up.

Now, I think Louisa’s a typical Brit – a bit stiff, if you know what I mean (AKA: poker up her ass!). Getting her to open up was hard, and there were one or two occasions when she was acting a little uncomfortable. Kinda threw me, but given her new role and your position, I thought you should be aware. So, I’ve added some of my own observations, which are in italics. I think you’ll find them interesting, but please DO NOT quote me on any of them, or share this stuff. It’s for you, ’cos I know you appreciate my amazing insights! And yes, you owe me!

Anyway, see what you think…

Bye,

Karen

Interview with Louisa Hedley

Karen: ‘So, Louisa, thanks for giving me your time and congratulations on your promotion!’

Louisa: ‘Thank you very much.’

Karen: ‘So how do you feel about it all, you must be super-excited.’

Louisa: ‘Of course, I’m looking forward to the challenge. But we have a great team here, so I’m very privileged.’

Karen: ‘So tell me about your time with the company. You’ve been here a while, right?’

Louisa: ‘Oh, nine years now. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been promoted twice, but I never thought I would end up as Finance Director for the UK.’

Karen: ‘So where did it all start? Let’s go right back to those childhood years.’

Louisa kinda rolls her eyes at this point. I nod enthusiastically, try and get her to loosen up.

Louisa: ‘Alright. Well, my father worked for the British Government, in what’s now called The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Mum was a political researcher, but had to give up most of her work because we were always relocating. When I was small, my father was posted to the embassy in Paris. And every few years after that we moved to another embassy in a European city. Rome, Bonn, then Brussels. I didn’t realise it at the time, but he was developing a strong reputation as a diplomat. He loved the work and appeared to be good at it.’

Karen: ‘Wow, what a great experience for the family. All those amazing places. Did you enjoy it?’

Louisa: ‘I did, but it was always a wrench when we had to move on. I got used to making friends, then losing them all too quickly.’

Karen: ‘That’s really sad. Do you have any siblings? Others who shared the journey with you?’

Louisa: ‘I have a brother, Michael. He’s a few years older than me. I think he found it very hard, the constant moving.’

Karen: ‘Are you close, as a result?’

I detect a flash of pain in her eyes. Nothing too obvious, but I’m no slouch at picking up on this stuff.

Louisa: ‘Not really, he’s a lovely man, but we lead rather different lives.’

Karen: ‘In what way?’

Louisa looks down. There’s clearly some hurt there. Best take it easy. After a moment her head comes up, and she forces a smile.

Louisa: ‘Oh, nothing really. You know, we’re just different.’

Hmm. Okay. I wonder what that’s all about.

Karen: ‘So how did that impact your schooling? The moving. That can’t have been easy.’

Louisa: ‘No, it wasn’t. When I was fourteen, I was sent to a boarding school back in the UK. The idea was to give me some educational continuity, in preparation for the exams that would follow.’

Karen: ‘Boarding school. That sounds a bit tough.’

Louisa. ‘It was a challenge, for sure. But I didn’t mind it, and it did allow me to make some friends that I might be able to keep.’

‘Karen: ‘Any that you’re still in touch with?’

Louisa smiles. It’s a warm smile, a genuine one.

Louisa: ‘Absolutely. Asha, our HR Director. We were at that school together. Then uni – university. Bristol in our case.’

Karen: ‘Oh my God. That’s awesome! So same boarding school, same university, then the same employer. Right?’

Louisa: ‘Indeed. It was I who tipped her off about the vacancy here.’

Karen: ‘Amazing. And what about your family?’

Louisa: ‘Well, I’m married to Peter, and we have a wonderful daughter called Sophie. The family home is in Barnes. That’s West London – not too far from here.’

Karen: ‘And what does Peter do? He must be very proud of you.’

I see her turn on the smile. I’m not sure I buy it.

Louisa: ‘Peter works in Amsterdam. He’s the European Engineering Director for a global distribution company. And yes, he’s delighted.’

Karen: ‘So that must be tough, with him in Amsterdam and you here. How does that work?’

Louisa: ‘Oh, we get by. He has a small apartment in Amsterdam and comes home every couple of weeks.’

I watch her shrug. She’s resigned to their arrangement, but clearly doesn’t like it.

Louisa again: ‘It’s not easy, but that’s what happens when you work for big international companies.’

She laughs, but it’s strained. I need to lighten things up a bit.

Karen: ‘Sure, but I’m guessing you get to enjoy lots of visits to Amsterdam. It’s an amazing city, right?’

Louisa: ‘Er, yes. To be honest, I haven’t been for several years. I went quite a few times when it was all new, but not since.’

Karen: ‘You’re kidding! I think I would be over there all the time.’

Louisa smiles, but says nothing. Let’s move on.

Karen: ‘Tell me about your daughter. Sophie.’

Louisa’s face lights up for the first time.

Louisa: ‘Well, she’s just turned fourteen, enjoys school and seems very happy. She’s mad about athletics and hockey and seems to be developing a keen interest in environmental issues. She worries for the planet.’

Karen: ‘Wow. Sounds like a very switched-on young lady.’

Louisa: ‘She is. Thus far we’ve been spared the grungy teenager thing, but who knows? They can change so much at that age.’

Karen: ‘Absolutely. Does she know what she wants to do with her life?’

Louisa: ‘She’s leaning towards a science bias, something that ties in with the environment. She likes biology, chemistry and geography, so we’ll have to wait and see.’

Karen: ‘Not finance, then? Like her mother.’

Louisa: ‘Er, I doubt it. One accountant in the family is probably enough.’

Karen: ‘Okay, back to you, then, what about your hobbies and interests?’

Louisa: ‘Well, I like to keep reasonably fit. I enjoy Zumba and try and get to classes two or three times a week. Sophie is vegetarian, but does eat fish, provided it’s from a sustainable source. I’ve found myself adapting my diet as a result. That’s probably a good thing. And with Peter away all the time, Sophie and I have been trying lots of different meat-free recipes, which is fun. It’s also something we can do together.’

Karen: ‘Sounds like you keep pretty busy. What about books, music, culture? That sort of thing.’

Louisa: ‘I had piano lessons as a child, and I used to play quite a bit. But I’m ashamed to say I’ve let that go. As for books, I enjoy novels that combine interesting characters with a good, suspenseful plot. Apple Tree Yard, by Louise Doughty, is one of my favourites.’

Karen: ‘Great, thanks. Right, we’re moving to a close here, but I have a couple more questions about you, if I may.’

I watch Louisa blinking. She looks nervous.

Louisa: ‘Right.’

Karen: ‘So, what advice would you give your younger self?’

Louisa: ‘Oh. Let me think.’

She looks to the side, she’s gazing into the corner of the room. I wait. Eventually she turns to face me.

Louisa: ‘Pursue your dreams. Don’t compromise. If you don’t like it, change it. And don’t waste time beating yourself up – it doesn’t help. Keep moving forward.’

Karen: ‘Wow. Thanks for that. Normally we get ‘work harder at school’ – that sort of thing. But don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you to elaborate.’

Louisa smiles at me. She wasn’t going to, anyway.

Karen: ‘So, finally – you’ve clearly come a long way in your life. What ambitions remain?’

Louisa: ‘I suppose the most important thing is to support my daughter on her journey into adulthood. I don’t fear for her, but I want to be the best mother I can. I think much of that is about striking the right balance.’

Karen: ‘Good for you. And what plans do you and Peter have, once you’ve achieved that goal?’

That manufactured smile is back. I’m guessing all is not well.

Louisa: ‘I think we’re both too busy to have given that one much thought.’

Crap. Let’s wrap this up.

Karen: Louisa, thank you so much for your time. And congratulations once more on the big job.’

I watch as Louisa hurries out of the room.