Katie Faithfull, Trader House
What is your role at Trader House, what does this involve?
My role at Trader House is Assistant Accountant. I work across all our venues as part of our finance team. My main responsibility is to provide financial information to our operational teams that can be used as a basis for decision making. I distill big pieces of information into usable formats that are relevant and easy to understand. Sometimes that involves analysing past data or it can involve modelling to predict future scenarios. Day-to-day, together with my colleagues in the finance team, I am involved in paying our suppliers (and maintaining a relationship with them), producing financial reports, building and maintaining databases for stock control and purchasing, and looking for areas that are challenging from a financial perspective, that we can do a deep dive into.
When did you join Trader House and what was your journey in hospitality prior to this?
I joined Trader House five years ago at Supernormal in a guest services (reservations) role. Prior to this, I worked on the floor at a wine shop and before that I was a manager at a small restaurant in Ascot Vale. I had completed an undergraduate degree in Culinary management as I was interested in food and hospitality, but I found that it was the financial subjects that really got me excited! After completing this (and whilst working at Supernormal) I undertook a master’s in professional accounting. Fortuitously, a role came up in accounts payable and I made the move across to the finance team. Since then, I completed my masters and have progressed in my role. I am now working towards becoming a chartered accountant which involves more study and three years of mentored workplace experience.
What do you like to do when you're not at work?
Obviously eat and drink! I love travel (my next trip is to Vietnam). I used to love playing sport until I broke my ankle last year. As I am working full time and studying I don’t have much free time for other hobbies at the moment.
Are there any women in hospitality (or other industries) that have inspired and/or mentored you?
Our Financial Controller Kate Bradford is someone I really look up to. She is so talented at what she does and has always been very forthcoming with her knowledge. The way she handles the diversity and complexity of our group is inspiring.
There are lots of strong women at Trader House – it’s a great environment to be in. So many of the senior managers in the business are women with incredible experience and they are very generous with their knowledge. They aren’t competitive but they do all push each other along. I really thrive on that.
Outside of hospitality I find Daisy Pearce (the AFLW player) really inspiring., She is a trail blazer, and nothing ever seems too much of challenge for her. She shows that the end goal is something that’s worthwhile getting through barriers for. I really try and take this on board – if you’re working towards something worthwhile the hiccups along the way don’t matter.
If you could give one piece of advice for women thinking of embarking on a career in hospitality what would that be?
“Don’t be afraid to sidestep to get where you want to be long term. You can combine a passion for food and wine with other skills to create a career path – there are so many great roles in this industry that are not just about being in the kitchen or working the floor.”
What’s next for you in your career and what are your long-term aspirations?
My current goal is to get my chartered accountant certification, Trader House is supporting me to do this. At the same time, I’m growing my role and taking on different aspects, I want to build on my current skills. Long term, I love this industry – nothing draws me in like hospitality. The people you work with are a different breed, that’s really interesting to me – it’s so dynamic. Continual personal growth is really important to me. I’m a life long leaner and I feel like this industry offers that as it’s constantly evolving and changing.