INTHEBLACK February 2024 - Magazine - Page 35
ONE PIECE OF ADVICE
“Once you achieve your postgraduate qualification – in
whatever career path that is – attend the professional
learning events that the organisation offers to stay on top of
things. The world is rapidly changing, and it is important to
keep learning, keep fresh and keep relevant.”
Strategy-wise, the investor who most
resonates with her is legendary American
business magnate and philanthropist
Warren Buffett.
“What strikes me about Buffett is his
earlier career, when he would just purchase
entire businesses and let the owners run
them,” she says.
“He genuinely didn’t try to replace them
with new CEOs. He was looking for
passionate owners. I do like founder-based
companies to invest in.”
INVEST IN YOURSELF
Keenly aware of how others have supported
her during her career, Wigglesworth is also
a firm believer in the power of mentoring.
She credits another director at Milton,
Ian Pollard, for inspiring her to become
a mentor.
For Wigglesworth, mentoring is not
always formal. “I will have coffee with
young people if they approach me and want
me to be a sounding board,” she says.
Wigglesworth participates in two annual
CFA Societies Australia mentor programs
MICHELLE WIGGLESWORTH CPA,
AUSTRALIAN ETHICAL INVESTMENT
– the CFA Institute Research Challenge
and the CFA Societies Australia Mentor
Program.
In 2022, Wigglesworth was a mentor
in the F3 program, founded by funds
management professional Camilla Love.
The program encourages women to start
a financial services career, giving them
a taste of what it is like to work for a
financial organisation.
Wigglesworth is also president of a
Rostrum public speaking club and helps
run the Rostrum national public speaking
competition for high school students.
When she considers her career so far,
Wigglesworth advises to look beyond the
short term, to the overall trajectory. “Don’t
give up,” she says. “Keep going.”
READ
an INTHEBLACK
article on how to
come back from
career curveballs
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 35
