Special Co-owner close-up, Susan Cohen
This special 'Co-owner close-up' features Susan Cohen, as she shares fond memories of her time at Castlefield upon her retirement. Susan has been an influential and inspirational voice within Castlefield. All Castlefield Co-owners wish her a very happy retirement.
My Castlefield journey has been a-typical by any stretch of the imagination!
My first introduction to Castlefield was when I was appointed Finance Director of a charity whose investment portfolio was managed by Castlefield Investment Partners (CIP) (there was only CIP in those days and the concept of ‘the Thoughtful Investor’ had yet to see the light of day!). Little did I realise that this would be the start of a long-lasting involvement with both the firm and its people. Furthermore, it was in this role that I first met Arthur Burden, who was life president of the board of trustees, although I had no idea then about the close connection between his family Foundation and Castlefield. Remember, this was before the days of Google and Linked-In showing up connections between people and companies at the click of a mouse.
Fast forward approximately 10 years and I was looking for a new challenge, but when I visited the office, then on the 9th floor, I didn’t think the outcome would be a job offer. Once the initial excitement had worn off, panic set in on the tram going home. In my mind, no financial services firm would consider recruiting a head of finance who had worked in the charity sector for 10 years and had no relevant experience but then, I had also never started a job where I was welcomed so warmly and made to feel as if I had joined a family rather than a firm. Castlefield had just acquired Barchester Green Investment so there was plenty to occupy me and suddenly we were all in it together integrating the advisory firms and I was too busy to think about why or how I had got here.
What makes Castlefield different? Well, first Employee Ownership (EO) and the values, now defined as CORE (see below), at that time a list on a Word document. It is difficult to over-state how important they are to the working environment we take for granted here. It is not simply that as co-owners we own a stake in the business, however small, but also the fact that there is a sense of shared responsibility, so doing things properly and picking up tasks not directly related to your role, even answering the door and offering drinks to visitors, however busy you may be, are the norm. Everyone is listened to fairly and there is no hidden agenda, so we all know what the ultimate goal is at any given time, and why. I can say with confidence that this is often not the case in other professional firms. EO can of course be surprising fun as well: I never imagined that as part of our annual EO celebrations I would be building bridges out of straws (I didn’t miss my vocation as an engineer), walking round Manchester looking for statues and images of bees or acting out a scene from ‘Working 9 to 5’! I think I have Summayya and Alison to thank for all of those.
Castlefield's Core Values
The people – it sounds trite but is nonetheless true. Whilst some of the issues and challenges are common to all workplaces (air conditioning, keeping the kitchen tidy, to name but a few), nowhere have I laughed as much or been so comfortable with and supported by those around me and that I shall genuinely miss. The twenty-year anniversary party made me think I am perhaps not alone in this as the atmosphere was truly amazing, especially given that for two years most of us had not seen each other face to face.
Lastly, the opportunities. Eight years ago Castlefield Academy, now our internal career development programme, was still an aspiration but in some ways, I road-tested a few concepts. A person’s mindset and personality cannot be changed, hence understanding someone’s values at the outset is so important, but with the right support and hard work, anyone can learn and adapt so I am grateful to John for having offered me the chance to prove this to myself and to my office support network for listening to my frustrations and keeping me on track.
It’s not a total farewell as I shall still be involved with Castlefield’s two most significant minority shareholders, Burdens’ Charitable Foundation and our Employee Share Ownership Trust, Piccadilly Trust, so keeping my ear to the Castlefield grapevine, but the last thing I will say for now is that I hope the next twenty years are as exciting and successful for Castlefield as the first twenty years have been and that you all continue to celebrate achievements and have fun along the way.
Written by Susan Cohen