In their shoes:

Rowan Moony

As part of our ‘in their shoes’ series, we sat down with Rowan Moony…

Tell us a little about you, and what makes you tick...

I studied a BA in Liberal Arts before pivoting to corporate governance as a postgraduate so I come from quite a different background to most governance students. While I am happy with my career choice, I still have a passion for cultural studies. I love to travel (when not grounded by a global pandemic) and take delight in trying new food from around the world – my favourite cuisine is Vietnamese. In my free time I like solving puzzles and playing boardgames, and I am currently trying to learn Welsh.

How would you describe your experience as a student?

I studied a qualifying masters degree with the University of Law instead of the self study course directly through the Chartered Governance Institute. The modules were the same but squished into one year of full time study, which was quite intense! I chose this route because it was easier during the pandemic (I graduated from my BA in 2021) and I wanted to get the studying over and done with in a shorter timeframe instead of dragging it out. I greatly enjoyed the contact and I am glad I chose to study the way I did because I think it worked best for my study style. It also meant that I had the opportunity to connect with other students easier and I was able to get advice from the university careers team.

What has drawn you to governance?

I have always been the type to want to try a little bit of everything and the broad scope of a governance professional means that my career will have a good amount of variety for me to thrive. Initially, I was drawn to the role after seeing the CGI Competancy Framework because the values and practical sections resonated with me even though I had not studied anything in the knowledge section. A career with a strong moral compass that involved problem solving and organisation appealed to me even if I didn’t pursue it straight away.

What do you think are the most important skills that you have developed for your current role?

Aside from the academic knowledge needed for the role, such as how to file papers with Companies House, the most important skill that I have developed over the last few years is interpersonal communication. Interpersonal skills are important for any job but governance professionals interact with so many different people in the course of their role that it is invaluable.

How do you find balancing your studies with your job?

I worked part time in an unrelated field while studying the masters programme. As the LLM is the equivailant of the ICSA qualification, there is a lot to study and remember in a relatively short amount of time so studying alone feels like a full time job. Balancing this with a 18-27 hour work week was exhausting and I would recommend anybody doing the masters to have some savings put away for exam season and other times where you need to take time off to study.

What excites you the most about your future career?

I have found a job with a small professional services firm, Almond+Co, and I am looking forward to working in a great team with a range of companies. I am excited to be able to get some practical experience and to hopefully help companies embed good governance into their corporate culture.