We’re a little bit different

When she isn’t nerding away on her laptop, Dunya can be found galloping around the mountains or lounging on the beach. She has a passion for sun and fresh air, loves to wine and dine and has an insatiable appetite for travel and exploring. She’s pretty good in Excel, too.

• Chartered Accountant – CA (SA) 2010
• 6+ years’ experience in the financial services industry at Nimble Group
• Joined BOOST&Co in March 2017

Kerry lived in the Cayman Islands for five years and has travelled all over North, Central and South America. She can often be found hiking on mountains, practising yoga or spending time with friends and family. She loves dogs and can’t wait to have a fur-baby of her own.

• Chartered Accountant – CA (SA) 2013
• Previously worked as an audit senior manager at PwC Cayman
• More than five years’ experience in the financial services industry

New to Cape Town, Kayleigh spends her free time exploring the city, as well as performing professionally as a singer-songwriter in local bars and restaurants. Besides her passion for music, she enjoys cooking and playing underwater hockey.

• BCom (Hons), Information Systems, Rhodes University
• Previously worked at Hubble Studios
• Joined BOOST&Co in June 2019

Heather is a very busy amateur violinist. She plays for a number of non-professional orchestras and opera groups in London. She left HR briefly some years ago to work with an art dealer, but returned a year later having failed to sell anything!

• MSc (Occupational Psychology)
• 17 years’ experience in HR, including nine years with McKinsey & Company
• Provides fully bespoke people-processes to SMEs, especially partnerships

Lottie loves adventure, whether it’s kayaking in Vietnam, hiking up volcanoes in Guatemala or whizzing down the ski slopes in France. She plays hockey for Brooklands HC and fills the rest of her time by cooking spicy food and continuing her quest to find the perfect G&T.

• Degree in English Language and Literature, University of Leicester
• Two years’ experience of B2B marketing within the Bouygues Group
• Joined BOOST&Co in February 2019

Sydne loves outdoor activities. She has a keen appetite for travelling and exploring the great unknown, and is happiest when riding a horse through beautiful landscapes. When the sun shines, you can find her on one of Cape Town’s many hiking trails.

• Three years’ experience as a PA
• Previously worked for two years in the film industry
• Joined BOOST&Co in June 2017

Faith enjoys doing fun runs at the weekends, as well as trying out new recipes and photographing all the food she cooks and bakes! She moved to Cape Town from Zimbabwe in 2015, and helping those less fortunate than her is also an important part of Faith’s life.

• Began her career in the financial services industry
• More than five years’ experience in finance
• Most recently worked for tech start-ups for three years

Lauren went to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London in 2012, but gave away tickets for Great Britain’s gold-medal-winning Super Saturday because she had plans with friends. People now always ask her if she has any spare tickets.

• 17 years’ experience in the financial industry
• Specialist in acquisition finance, mergers and acquisitions, and asset-based lending
• Experience in lending to businesses ranging from start-ups to firms with turnover of £600m

A full-time accountant and part-time socialite and fashionista, Celeste starts every day with a gym or yoga session. She enjoys spending time with friends, and loves beaches, sunshine, mountains and vineyards, whether in Cape Town or one of the many countries on her bucket list.

• Chartered Accountant – CA (SA) 2015
• Completed articles at Deloitte
• Two years’ experience in group finance within the retail sector at Clicks Group Limited

Olivia has travelled all over the globe, enjoying activities such as cookery classes and skydiving along the way. She has since found her way back to the hustle and bustle of Manchester, where she loves nothing more than spending her weekends with family and friends.

• More than three years’ experience in HR and recruitment
• Previously worked for Robert Walters and Visionstream
• Joined BOOST&Co in September 2018

Matthew is a numbers man, but away from figures, he enjoys playing and watching sport, mainly football and rugby. He enjoys spending time with friends and family, and no week would be complete without a traditional South African braai.

• Professional Accountant (SA) since 2015
• More than five years’ experience in accounting and business management
• Joined BOOST&Co in June 2017

When Richard isn’t buried in spreadsheets, he is (was!) a keen sportsman who loves playing and watching most sports. However, his spare time is now typically spent with his young and very active twin boys. To relax, he enjoys a drink and socialising with friends and family.

• ACA since 2009, with 13 years’ experience in financial services
• Previously worked for KPMG, FTI Consulting and Sandton Capital Partners
• Joined BOOST&Co in February 2020

When Eli’s hands are free of pens or a Wacom tablet, she is passionate about fantasy novels, animation (especially Studio Ghibli) and RPG games. One of the items on her bucket list is to become an explorer travelling the globe – maybe even Mars. See her work on Instagram here.

• MA (Communication Design), Central Saint Martins
• Eight years’ experience in design and illustration
• Previously worked for Midan City Development Corporation

Edd is naturally captivated by all things accounting, but he also is a keen sportsman, playing cricket and football in his spare time. Parenthood keeps him very busy, but whenever he gets a free moment, he also enjoys reading and travel.

• ACA since 2008
• Ten years’ financial experience
• Previously worked for DN Capital, Grainmarket Asset Management and Xchanging

Charlene loves spending time with her family, and enjoys researching psychology, thanks to her fascination with human behaviour. She recently began to experiment with woodwork and also loves to try new recipes in the kitchen, even if they aren’t always a success!

• More than 10 years in the credit control and accounts receivable field
• Previously worked for MTN and Philip Morris International
• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (cum laude), Regenesys Business School

Ria plays in the critically acclaimed Kensington Symphony Orchestra and can normally be found practising the violin or evangelising about Denmark’s greatest composer, Carl Nielsen. She’s also a politics geek, a sports fiend and a lifelong supporter of Burnley FC.

• First-class BA (Hons), English Language and Literature, University of Oxford
• 14 years’ experience in journalism, on consumer, B2B and specialist publications
• Previously worked for The Art Newspaper, Charlton Athletic FC and The Bookseller

When Ibrahim isn’t buried in textbooks, you can find him at the office completing daily reconciliations. At the weekend, he loves lazing on the beach in the Cape Town sun. He’s also interested in mechanics and spends quite a bit of time under the hood of his car.

• Two years’ experience in banking, with Nedbank and Bidvest Bank
• One year’s experience in accounting, with H. Tarley and Company
• Currently studying for a BCom in Financial Accounting

Andrew, a born and bred Capetonian, has a passion for the outdoors as well as tennis, football and watersports. At the weekend, you can find him spending time with family and friends, working on his classic motorcycle or crafting a fine beer in his home brewery.

• Chartered Accountant – CA (SA) 2017
• More than four years’ experience in financial services (private equity and structured lending)
• Previously worked as a manager in financial services at PwC

Sinead’s happy place is camping with family, her dog Sammy and friends. She’s passionate about travel and has hiked active volcanoes in Indonesia, kayaked rivers in Bali and explored Angkor Wat in Cambodia. A real foodie, she loves earning her calories in the gym, and has completed Tough Mudder in aid of Cancer Research.

• Qualified chartered banker with 17 years’ experience in the finance industry
• Specialist in supporting firms through working capital, M&A funding and growth finance
• Experience of funding businesses with turnover up to £750m

Dom, a born and bred Capetonian, describes herself as a “beach bum” who loves to be outside playing in nature and spends all her spare time surfing. She also enjoys photography and can strum a chord or two on the guitar.

• Previously worked overseas as a stewardess on super-yachts and as an au pair/PA
• Volunteer co-ordinator at Gap Year South Africa
• Joined BOOST&Co in July 2019

Kim is a social butterfly and loves spending time with her friends. She enjoys exploring new places, and when she isn’t on a beach or on the slopes, she can be found horse-riding in the countryside or walking her dog Purdy (a rottweiler who thinks she’s a chihuahua).

• Nine years’ experience in UK SME venture capital and private equity
• Previously worked for Puma Investment Management and Aberdeen Asset Management
• Joined BOOST&Co in March 2018

Exiled Mancunian Faye has made her home in Cambridge, achieving some key local milestones – a Cambridge Folk Festival regular, she bought her first cargo bike in 2019 – but Manchester is never far away, with Saturdays often spent teaching her two boys the Smiths and Stone Roses’ back catalogues.

• 17 years’ experience in financial services
• SME lending expert (working capital, growth finance, people leadership and strategy)
• Experience of working with businesses at every stage of their life-cycle

Bryony’s greatest loves are people, culture and new experiences. Recent travels led her to New York and Central and South America, where she learned everything from Spanish to scuba diving. Outside work, you’ll find her enjoying brunch, the sunshine and any music concert that happens to be on.

• Qualifications from the University of Johannesburg and Stellenbosch University
• Completed CA articles at Deloitte Johannesburg in 2018
• Joined BOOST&Co in October 2019

A keen pilot and sailor, Lance holds a private pilot licence from South Africa, a float-plane licence from Canada and a soaring licence from New Zealand. He is currently working on his helicopter licence… location to be confirmed!

• 12 years’ experience in private debt
• Previously worked for McKinsey & Company, ETV Capital and Atego
• Founded BOOST&Co in 2011

Kristi is obsessed with travel, from weekend getaways in Europe to bigger adventures such as backpacking around Southeast Asia or tracking down animals on safari. She also loves hiking and cooking, and she’s always happy when she’s on the beach.

• MBA, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
• 14 years’ experience in banking and debt technology, life sciences and fintech
• Previously worked for Silicon Valley Bank
• Joined BOOST&Co in February 2019; joined Growth Lending in February 2020

An accountant with a sense of humour, Shalin will only start his day with the best macchiato or cortado. When not soaking up the sun on the cricket field, he is a keen foodie, often trying his hand at new recipes while sipping a well-balanced glass of red.

• Chartered Accountant – CA (SA) 2013
• Eight years’ experience in financial services
• Previously worked as an equity analyst at RMB Morgan Stanley

Cassandra cannot possibly start her day without coffee. She loves animals and all the spectacular sights the world has to offer, and beautiful clothes, sunshine, ice cream and the ocean waves keep her happy. Her mantra is: “Healthy mind, body and soul.”

• Chartered Accountant – CA (SA) 2014
• Five years’ experience with Standard Bank Group and Woolworths Financial Services
• Joined BOOST&Co in June 2019

Tarryn loves reading, especially crime novels. She believes she could be the next Clarice M. Starling, but for now, she is pursuing all things Asian in the hunt for the perfect bao and dim sum. She enjoys spending time with her fur babies, family and friends, sharing meals, walks and laughs.

• Began working in credit management in 2010
• Previously worked at Transaction Capital Business Solutions
• Joined BOOST&Co in October 2019; joined Growth Lending in February 2020

Sonia’s passions are reading and socialising. She has set up a new book club every time she has moved house – in Kent, Brisbane and now Cambridge. When she’s not looking after her two small children, Sonia enjoys yoga, cycling and the odd run when the sun is shining.

• ACA since 1999
• 15 years’ experience in private equity
• Previously worked for 3i plc and Foresight Ventures

Joanna is a passionate classical musician and regularly performs in some of London’s best venues with the City of London Choir. She is also a keen walker and spends many weekends travelling around the UK, armed with her backpack and boots.

• Nine years’ experience in UK SME investment banking
• Previously worked in corporate broking at FinnCap
• Joined BOOST&Co in January 2017

Outside the office, Vincent has a passion for music and the outdoors. If he isn’t hiking on the mountain trails around Cape Town, he will be enjoying the music and cultural scenes that the city has to offer.

• Four years’ experience in finance
• Previously worked for State Street Southern Africa
• Joined BOOST&Co in October 2018

Ryan loves heading into the Peak District with his family and friends for a long stroll, followed by a pub lunch. If he isn’t at the gym, out running or playing football, he’s kept on his toes by his two young daughters. That means more pub lunches are allowed, right?

• ACA since 2003
• More than 20 years’ experience in financial services
• Previously worked for BDO, PwC and Lloyds Banking Group

Johan’s perfect day (usually a Saturday) kicks off with an early-morning body-surf and a hike in the local mountains, and ends next to a camp fire with friends and family. Having recently become a father, he has seen an increase in the frequency of perfect days.

• Chartered Accountant – CA (SA) 2014
• Previously worked at Deloitte, EY and Outsourced CFO
• Joined BOOST&Co in November 2018

Cea enjoys a good Netflix binge but can also be found mountain biking, waterskiing, trying out new recipes and socialising with friends. She is very fussy when it comes to braaibroodjies and always braais her own. Uber drivers rate her 4.6.

• Chartered Accountant – CA (SA) 2015
• Previously worked as an audit manager at Deloitte Cape Town
• More than six years’ experience in the financial services industry

Zaytoon loves a taste of the exotic life – Mauritius is her family’s current favourite holiday location – as well as hiking in Cape Town and visiting the beach. She also enjoys DIY and appreciates modern art. Community is important to Zaytoon, who was previously a ward councillor for a number of years.

• BI specialist with 16 years’ experience in the IT industry
• Experience of setting up end-to-end BI solutions
• Founder of Cape Town-based non-profit organisation A 2 Z Helping Hands