Karen Preston

Karen Preston has extensive experience in finance and accounting, with a focus on financial management and control. Karen has held various roles throughout their career, starting as an Audit Senior at Robson Rhodes in 1992. Karen then served as a Business Support Manager at Martin Dawes Telecommunications Ltd from 1997 to 1999.

In 1999, Karen joined UK Waste Management Ltd as Chief Accountant, where they were responsible for financial leadership and oversight. Karen moved to VIA Net.Works UK in 2001 as a Country Controller, handling the day-to-day accounting function of the UK subsidiary.

In 2004, Karen became the Financial Controller at UBM plc (Advanstar Communications UK subsidiary), a global marketing and communications services business. Karen played a crucial role during UBM's acquisition of Advanstar Communications UK Ltd.

Continuing their career progression, Karen joined CBRE GWS - Local FM in 2016 as a Finance Manager. In this role, they were assigned to the Airbus contract, delivering financial management for all FM services. This position exposed their to a challenging, fast-paced environment with significant interaction with the divisional management team.

Since 2017, Karen Preston has been the Head of Finance at Medicines Discovery Catapult, where they bring their wealth of experience to lead the finance function.

Overall, Karen has demonstrated strong financial acumen and leadership skills throughout their career, contributing to the success of various organizations.

Karen Preston attended Bluecoat, Oldham from 1982 to 1989. Karen then pursued a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Management Studies and Statistics at the University of Leeds from 1989 to 1992. Following that, they completed the Association of Chartered Accountants (ACA) qualification from ICAEW by 1996.