Kate Gatfield-Jeffries wins EY Strategy and Transactions prize
New Zealand-based Kate Gatfield-Jeffries has been named the global winner of EY’s Corporate Finance Woman of the Year competition.
Launched four years ago, EY’s Corporate Finance Woman of the Year competition is a programme that recognises talented women currently studying at university level or equivalent with the potential to have a career in EY’s Strategy and Transactions division.
EY’s Strategy and Transactions division houses the firm’s corporate finance, merger & acquisition and financial advisory capabilities, as well as EY-Parthenon (including EY Port Jackson Partners in Australia) – the strategy consulting outfit.
Organised in over 20 countries, this year’s edition of the competition saw a record number of applicants (>3,400) and participants (~300) for the national competitions. Country winners were invited to represent their country at a grand finale, which took place virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Following a jury vote – comprising leaders from business and EY’s Strategy and Transactions practice, Gatfield-Jeffries was elected as the global winner. “I am delighted and honoured to have been chosen among such an exceptionally talented group of women from across the world.”
Gatfield-Jeffries has been handed the opportunity to embark on an internship at the accounting and consulting firm (in any of the 100+ countries EY operates in), or alternatively opt to have the expenses of a professional certification of her choosing covered by EY.
Meanwhile, for EY, one of the main objectives of the Corporate Finance Woman of the Year competition is to stimulate diversity in what still is a male-dominated area of work (especially in the more senior ranks).
For Andrea Guerzoni, EY Global Vice Chair of Strategy and Transactions, and Kath Carter, EY’s Global Talent Leader for Strategy and Transactions, the competition is proving its worth. “The competition keeps growing from strength to strength… the number of women looking to start a career in EY Strategy and Transactions is growing steadily.”
