Profile: Lena Johnson - The youngest partner of a Big Four firm


A career in professional services was always something of an inevitability for Lena Johnson. With both of her parents running their own practices in Oxford (her father, Stephen, is a Chartered Accountant and auditor, while her mother, Séverine, is a barrister), her teenage years were predominated by an agonizing choice. Her choice, thankfully, was aided by them in no small part. “Neither of them tried to nudge me towards either path,” Lena explains, “They taught me all they knew about their own profession, answered any questions that I had for them, but that was it. It was purely my choice.”

No matter what path Lena took, the journey would be the same for both. University was never an option for her. “I've never really been much of an academic,” she admits, “My skills have always been very practical, very applied. My parents, my teachers, they always said so as I went through my education.” Her A-levels in Accounting, Maths, Law, and Psychology, that being said, were enough to make her a shoo-in for any career choice she decided to proceed with.

Maintaining such a disparate frame of mind in her subject choices was a strain, but one Lena was willing and able to accept. “By Year 12, I still didn't quite have a clear choice in my mind. I knew it would be difficult, but keeping my options open was important to me.”

Proceed she did, at 18 years old, to become a junior associate with the assurance department of Big Four firm OWE (OsbourneWalshEvans). She spent three years there before joining another member of the Big Four, Thornton and Downey, as a senior associate. She swiftly began to rise through the ranks, becoming a junior manager after two years, then a senior manager after three more. At last, Lena achieved one of her career goals at the remarkable age of 30, by ascending to the rank of partner.

With such a feat never heard of in the world of accounting, Lena's achievement culminated in a press release. While a touch apprehensive at her appointment being used to promote the firm, she was no less glad to strike a blow for feminism in the world of accounting. “I spoke with my parents about it, and they helped me realise that I was still saying to the world, “Women can do it just as well.””

It may be interesting to note that Thornton and Downey was, in fact, the firm Lena's father had worked at before he and his wife moved to Oxford. Lena, however, had given the organisation a wide berth when choosing the firm to complete her Chartered qualification with. “I didn't so much as put in an application,” she confirms, “Doing so just wouldn't be right, I felt. I wanted to start my career off on my own merit, not my father's.”

Her own merit has made her something of an icon, being the youngest in the world to have accomplished such a feat. Yet, you stand before a humble woman when you speak with Lena Johnson. She has no intention of resting on laurels, planning to put her strengths and expertise to as much use as she can. “I felt in danger of plateauing when the possibility materialised,” she confesses, “Although, it's actually done nothing but encourage me. I've never worked harder, truth be told.”

In an environment where women in senior management are a rarity, Lena feels quite disconcerted with being a role model. “I've had women in the firm come up to me, some of them nearly in hysterics, and proclaim that I've become such an inspiration for them. It's madness.”

Lena deals with this madness by telling them what her parents told her: The only true stumbling blocks are ones you lay down. This tenet of nothing being outside the realm of possibility with a little self-belief is one she has kept in mind all her life, and has served her well.

On the demanding work/life balance, Lena has a great deal to say. She balances her career with her passion for gymnastics in her spare time, and considers herself quite blessed. “There are women around my age starting families and still managing to fulfill the demands of a career like ours, and I take my hat off to them. Every one of us knows that accounting, auditing, consultancy, they all are careers that require stern convictions and the utmost devotion. That being said, we would not be where we are if we did not love what we do.”

It is words such as these that have cemented Lena Johnson as a champion of women in the workplace, even if she does not truly see herself as one. She is only, to use her words, “a girl from Chelsea with some damnably stubborn French genes.” Nonetheless, her story is one that joins the accolades of other women making equality in the workplace that bit more of a reality.

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