Representation at the top of accountancy has always been rare. Karen Finlayson didn’t just reach PwC’s Supervisory Board, she used every step on the way there to make sure the next person’s climb would be a little easier.
Karen Finlayson joined PwC in 1997. She became a Director in 2008, was admitted as Partner in 2015, and in 2021 took a seat on PwC UK’s Supervisory Board, a position she held for four years. Across nearly three decades, she built a reputation as someone who could lead complex, high stakes work while never losing sight of the people doing it alongside her.
Her leadership roles at PwC spanned some of its most demanding sectors. She was lead client partner for NHS National Bodies, held the Regions Lead role for Government and Health Industries, and led the Internal Audit Practice across the North of England. Each role carried real weight, and each one gave her a platform to push diversity and inclusion further than a policy document ever could.
Her career highlights include:
- 27 years at PwC, rising from new joiner in 1997 to Partner in 2015
- Member of PwC UK’s Supervisory Board from 2021 to 2025
- Lead client partner for NHS National Bodies
- Regions Lead for Government and Health Industries
- Leader of the Internal Audit Practice across the North of England
- Senior Leader in Professional Services, British Black Business Awards, 2018
- Partner of the Year, Yorkshire Accountancy Awards, 2019
What sets Karen apart is what she did with that influence once she had it. She has spent years coaching and mentoring people, both inside PwC and beyond it, helping them find the clarity and confidence to grow in their own careers. That commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion has been formally recognised too. She was named Senior Leader in Professional Services at the British Black Business Awards in 2018, and Partner of the Year at the Yorkshire Accountancy Awards in 2019, having played a significant part in PwC’s own award win for Diversity and Inclusion that same year.
Her contribution has never stopped at the office door. Karen has served on the Board of Governors at Sheffield Hallam University and chaired the Audit Committee at Doncaster Children’s Services Trust, taking the same rigour she brought to PwC’s biggest clients and applying it to institutions that shape young people’s futures.
It is this combination, senior level expertise paired with a genuine investment in developing others, that makes Karen such a strong addition to the Novi Awards judging panel. She has spent a career proving that real leadership is measured not by how high you climb, but by how many people you bring with you.
Influence is only worth something when you use it to open doors for someone else. Karen Finlayson’s career is a masterclass in doing exactly that.
Join us in celebrating leaders like Karen at the Novi Awards ceremony. Tickets are on sale now.
