Here at Profile Financial Services, we take the time to get to know each and every one of our clients. So we think it’s only fair to let you know a little bit about each and every one of us! Over the coming weeks we will introduce each of our team members as a way of helping you get to know more about Profile’s dedicated work family…we hope you enjoy getting to know us a little bit more! Today we’re introducing our wonderful CEO Lena Ridley!
What are you reading right now?
A Promised Land by Barack Obama. I raced through the first half and then put it aside for a short while but have now gravitated back to it. I appreciate the reflections he has on his growth and development as a person, father, husband, and leader over his extraordinary career.
Favourite recipe and where can we find it?
My partner and stepdaughter both mix a wicked kingfish and salmon ceviche. It’s fresh, tart, spicy and best served with family, friends, hot weather, and cold drinks. Google Mexican ceviche, pick a recipe that takes your fancy, visit our iconic Sydney Fish Markets for some fantastic produce and mix away.
Any pets/kids/spouses?
My Swedish partner, Magnus, his daughter, Tilda, and our son, Erik make up our little family. We currently have four goldfish, though those numbers go up and down with the circle of life from time to time…
The one movie you just keep coming back to…
That is such a hard question, there are so many! Any of the Star Wars original trilogy of movies is a go-to mother-son movie choice in our household.
Why do you work in financial planning?
I tripped into it originally after I completed several case study assessments on a financial planning practice I knew throughout my undergraduate Business degree. At heart though, I am a lover of stories and journeys. I am endlessly fascinated by our client’s lives and the journey that staff have gone on that has led us to being colleagues. I am equally as fascinated by the journey our industry has been on this past 25 years and passionate about where it is going. If I can be a part of something positive in any way for our clients, our staff, and our industry, then I sleep well at night.
What are your top 5 key values?
Authenticity, curiosity, respect, growth, and open-mindedness are the ones I hold most dear. All very interrelated.
Who has influenced you most in life and how?
My Grandma was a farmer’s wife with 7 children and 25 grandchildren, yet she always made you feel as though you were the most special person in the room. I have all the right memories of childhood from her and Grandad, the farm, her food, and her love. I continue to be influenced by her financially forward attitude. She sold jams and chutneys made from garden produce as well as eggs from the hens. She turned those coins and notes into a blue-chip share portfolio with a buy and hold strategy that gave her more choices and options and freedoms as life went on.
What makes you smile?
When either of the children do or achieve something that makes them proud…that, and terrible Dad’s jokes!
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