Steph Wearing
Chief financial officer, Holiday Extras Limited
HolidayExtras.com history
Steph had always been close to Holiday Extras as a friend of Cathy Beare's, our Group CFO, and was delighted when an opportunity to join the finance team as Group Financial Controller came up in March 2008. Steph jumped right in, leaving the world of bricks and mortar retailing at Staples where she had amassed a wealth of experience during ten years, heading up Accounting Services, FP&A, Loss Prevention and even working in IT as a business analyst. The new, exciting challenge of online retail, situated by the coast - Steph is an avid sailor - was just too good to pass up.
Steph joined the board as CFO in February 2011.
Life before HolidayExtras.com
Steph has not taken a direct route to being a CFO, starting out at Agricultural College intending to join the working world either in farming or environmental work. In fact she's very useful at dry stone walling and plant identification but a season picking flowers made her head for a nice cosy indoor job and the spreadsheet bug took hold. Steph qualified at Oxford University Press, moved onto Orange to sample the heady heights of telecoms in the boom years, and then onto retailing at Staples.
Real life
Steph is addicted to sailing, having spent a year taking her Yachtmaster in Austraila and the UK (2003), and has recently bought a sailing yacht with her Irish partner Ray who she met on the course. Ray and Steph are self-confessed Italophiles and spend as much time as possible in their house on the Italian Riviera. Steph believes there is a novel in everyone and hers will be written overlooking the Ligurian Alps with a glass of red wine to hand. Steph and Ray have a son, Jack, who she hopes will love the water too.
What's your perfect hassle-free holiday?
"Sailing, sailing, sailing - plenty of wind, sunshine, good company and food."
Inspiration
"Happy people."
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