Women’s Post, Justine Connelly
An accountant by training, Cynthia saw it as a foundation: “If I could put financial statements together, I could certainly dissect them.” She worked at Deloitte & Touche, then Chubb Insurance, before taking a three-month sabbatical to “see the world.” While scuba diving in the South Pacific, Cynthia realized that she wanted to use her knowledge to do something fun.
Cynthia has found her professional love in her firm, Stewart & Kett Financial Advisors Inc., an advice-only financial planning, accounting, and tax services firm, where she is one of two principals. Her job allows Cynthia to use her analytical, technical mind, and also gives her the opportunity to interact with people. And when you’re talking about people’s life savings, you end up getting into emotional situations. Cynthia calls herself “a good listener.
The sense of adventure she realized on that first South Pacific dive hasn’t gone away. “The broad perspective that one obtains by travelling is a wonderful way to obtain an education about the world and other people.” This year she and her 13-year old daughter are headed to Ireland, to discover “a different kind of English-speaking culture.”
Cynthia has found success through the technicalities of accounting, the curiosities of travel, the positivity of boundless optimism, and the patience of knowing when to listen.