Name: Caroline Monk
Company: Beever and Struthers
Job Title: Executive Partner
What does the business do: Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors.
What are three words to describe yourself: Cheerful, positive and thoughtful.
What do you love about working from home: The commute, the view from the window, that I see my family for lunch and dinner every day.
Favourite sports team: Tough one, but probably the GB sailing team!
Favourite Book: Another tough one, but I think would be Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, I remember reading that for the first time and it being the first book I was totally overwhelmed by. So although plenty of brilliant, fun, inspirational books since that one sticks?
Favourite Podcast: Showing my age… have not got into Podcasts… yet!
Favourite Band/Artist: Conflicted here, either Generation Z, this being my sons band (and I am sure will be the next big thing!) or Manchester Camerata, brilliant advocate for Manchester, and how classical music can/should be heard.
Best business moment in your life: Quite a few to choose, but I think I should say becoming one of the firms two Executive Partners, a huge honour, and responsibility and something I am really proud of.
What advice would you give to 18-year-old you: Don’t worry, don’t try to plan ahead too far, but take advantage of unexpected opportunities.
If you were allowed to have 5 people, living or dead, in lockdown with you, who would they be: Tough, because I clearly should choose my family (husband and three children), but we are experiencing this in real life, so in my make believe world it would be my grandparents (all four of them), my maternal ones because they were a huge part of my life and I would love them to see what I have achieved, and my paternal ones because they sadly died when I was too young to get to know them, and then I would ask Nelson Mandela to be my fifth person, he will be able to demonstrate the patience and fortitude we would need to survive a long period of lockdown.
What restaurant are you most looking forward to returning to: The Oddfellows Arms in Mellor, lazy as just up the road, but in the end local businesses must be our priority.
Celebrity Crush: Not really a celebrity, but when I was younger, and had the energy for crushes it was always Maxim Vengerov, Russian violinist with eyes to die for.
Your Business Heroes are: There are a few business heroes I am honoured to have as mentors, but I don’t want to single any of them out, so I will mention Graham Calder, who was managing partner at the firm I first joined after university, and who still takes the time to ask about me and my career when we see each other (which is now when walking dogs!)
What superhero would you be: Spiderman, doesn’t kill and loves life?
Why Downtown: Connections, simple!
