What does a fourth-generation New Zealander, raised in a small city, with a Singaporean-Chinese mum, a law degree, a CA qualification, and an Irish husband have in common with the Italian government, a 2,000-person community in Greenwich, and a global mission to attract foreign investment?
Meet Aster Thackery. In this episode of Difference Makers Discuss, host Sinéad Donovan sits down with one of the most refreshingly non-linear careers you’ll encounter in our profession. Aster is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, currently serving as Chair of the CA ANZ UK Regional Council — and by day, she works with the Italian Trade Agency, helping international businesses understand the investment landscape in Italy. Oh, and she’s also built one of the most vibrant parent communities in southeast London. Essentially from scratch.
The Chartered Accountancy Qualification That Opened Every Door
Aster studied both law and accounting, but it was the Chartered Accountancy qualification that made all the difference when she arrived in London on a working visa. Recruiters, employers, boardrooms — the accounting credential was the one that got her the interviews and, ultimately, the opportunities. It led her to a role as lead finance specialist with what was then UK Trade and Investment, sending her around the world to talk to businesses about the UK’s investment landscape. From there, a similar role — but this time for Italy.
It’s a reminder that a Chartered Accountancy qualification doesn’t just open the door to a career in accountancy. It opens doors, full stop.
Key Takeaways from the Episode
- Cultural awareness is a genuine professional advantage.
Aster recommends The Culture Map by Erin Meyer as essential reading for anyone working internationally, noting it helped her understand the significant difference between how New Zealanders (direct, egalitarian) and Italians (hierarchical, nuanced) operate in professional settings. A small awareness shift that made a big difference. - Your Chartered Accountant gives you confidence in rooms that feel daunting.
Walking into a conference room full of senior business leaders as a young woman? That can feel like a lot. But the Chartered Accountancy qualification acts as a kind of professional anchor – a visible signal of credibility. - Community is one of the most powerful things you can build.
Five years ago, Aster moved to Greenwich, knew nobody, and was pregnant with her second child. She started a small coffee meetup for local parents. That meetup now has over 2,000 active members. It’s incorporated as a social enterprise, and has empowered other women in the community to launch their own initiatives. What started as a simple human impulse — I don’t know anyone, let me find some people — became something much more substantial. A reminder that the most meaningful things often don’t begin with a grand plan. - People want a village — but they don’t want to be a villager.
Many people lament the loss of community while simultaneously being unwilling to contribute to building one. Her push-back is gentle but firm: if you want the village, you have to show up for it. - Done is better than perfect.
Aster credits much of her ability to juggle a demanding international career, a voluntary leadership role with CA ANZ, and a thriving community project (alongside being a mum of two) to one simple mindset shift: knowing when good enough is good enough. - Never drop your other interests — they all compound.
Each year, Aster deliberately learns something completely unrelated to her professional field. A pottery class. A certified advisory board chair course. Her reason: it keeps her brain thinking in different ways, and you never know when those lateral skills will become relevant. - Self-reflection is where it all starts.
Understanding who you are, what your values are, and what direction of travel makes sense for you.
Why Watch This Episode?
This is a conversation about what it looks like when you allow your career to be genuinely, authentically yours, even when that looks nothing like the path people expected you to take. Aster is funny, self-aware, and wonderfully honest about the bits she found hard: the cultural hiccups, the shift from independent free spirit to co-parenting life, the slow realisation that connecting people might actually be her greatest skill.
For anyone who has ever wondered whether a Chartered Accountancy qualification can support a career that doesn’t look like a traditional one, this episode is your answer. It absolutely can.
