Our leadership team
Our leadership team comprises our 'Executive Leadership Team' and our 'Senior Leadership Team'. Between them, they're dedicated to guiding the shape and direction of our service and ensuring that we’re meeting our legal responsibilities.
To find out more about leadership team members and their roles and responsibilities, click/tap their bios below.
![Portrait photo of Carolyn Symcox](https://www.wmfs.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Carolyn-Symcox.jpg)
Carolyn Symcox
Commercial Director
Executive Leadership Team
Preferred pronouns
She/Her/Hers
She/Her/Hers
Social media
Find on LinkedIn
Professional passions and goals
Carolyn is passionate about driving continuous improvement within organisations, focusing on smarter ways of working, more efficient operations, and improving customer/user experience. She enjoys challenging the status quo. Equality, diversion and inclusion (EDI) is important to her. In her previous organisation she was part of a colleague-led group to drive forward the organisational EDI strategy, determined that everyone should have the same opportunities and bring their whole selves to work every day.
Skill set and experience
Carolyn has extensive experience leading large teams across finance, HR and technology. She has a wealth of experience in change and transformation, having implemented new accounting systems, a purchase order system, and a time and attendance system. She has driven large-scale efficiency programmes to reduce costs on a recurring basis.
Professional qualifications or memberships
- Degree in Accounting and Finance
- ACA qualified
Interests and hobbies
Carolyn is married, with two children. She enjoys running, walking, and travelling, often exploring new places several times a year.
Work history
With more than 20 years’ experience in financial strategy and management, Carolyn started her career training in an accounting practice, working in audit and accounts preparation.
She qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2002 and, shortly afterwards, moved out of practice to join Places Leisure, an organisation operating leisure centres on behalf of local authorities across England.
She joined as Group Accountant and, during her 21-year tenure, held the positions of Financial Controller and, subsequently, Finance Director.