Therapy North
Director
Kirsty’s career to date spans the public and private sectors, large and small organisations. Her strengths are in strategy, creative thinking and ideas, business scaling and succession planning.
After graduating, Kirsty started her career as a Police Officer for Northumbria Police which was a steep learning curve in criminal justice, team-work and communication. She moved through departments from child protection and family liaison to CID and under-cover work.
Kirsty studied for a post graduate qualification in education alongside her police career, and eventually left to become a teacher. She taught in schools across the north-east and achieved head of department. This led to her taking a position as an Education Advisor for Newcastle and North Tyneside Local Authorities, supporting Head Teachers across the region to meet their strategic plan and equipping them for Ofsted inspections. She also served as a school governor, leading on strategy, HR and finance committees. Kirsty went on to manage large scale national projects for the Department for Education.
Whilst on maternity leave, Kirsty had the idea to start a business in Education Recruitment, which grew from a small north-east based company to an international business under her Directorship. The business was recently sold to a Swedish Group who intend to introduce their education technology into the UK and US markets.
Following the sale of Exact, Kirsty returned to study for her Master’s in psychology and CBT post grad, alongside a counselling qualification. She is now involved in a new venture focussing on mental health in schools, with business leaders and their teams.
Kirsty finds time to mentor fellow business leaders and provide advice and support on growth strategy and succession planning. Her key skills lie in her ability to be a sounding board, see a problem or opportunity from different angles and present creative solutions. She is keen to make time to take an active role in the Entrepreneurs' Forum, helping support north-east businesses and innovation across our region.
