This week’s Spotlight features Chief Financial Officer Mary Kelly. Mary has been with CFAR since 1992 and has held a number of roles across the firm, including Accounting and Benefits Manager and Controller, before becoming CFO in 2011. Click here to read her full biography.
First and last name
Mary Kelly.
What is your role at CFAR?
Chief Financial Officer.
How long have you been with CFAR?
30 years this July!
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I enjoy that i can learn something new every day. Whether it’s from a colleague or watching Excel videos on the internet (one of my favorite pastimes—don’t judge!)
What are three words you would use to describe CFAR?
My other family. I’ve been at CFAR for 30 years. We have been through life’s milestones together and anticipate many more to come.
What motivates you to go to work?
The growth potential. Not just the growth of the firm, but also my own personal development.
What has been your favorite memory at CFAR?
I have so many including: traveling to Israel and London for work, our softball team when we were at 3600 Market, the view of Love Park from our 1600 JFK office, Derrick Pitts at our offsite a few years ago, the many happy hours in the city, and especially the excursions to the best lunch spot in town.
What is your favorite thing about working at CFAR?
The people, past and present. My colleagues are a reflection of who I am today. I’m very lucky to still have close bonds with people I worked with 20 and 30 years ago. I may not talk to them every day, but am grateful for how they influenced my life—you know who you are!
What book are you currently reading right now?
I still read at night with my son, and we are just finishing the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series by Rick Riordan. I am also reading A Course Called Scotland by Tom Coyne.
What is your favorite book/podcast?
Harry Potter series.
If you could gain a new skill in 10 minutes, what would it be?
It would be to learn a language or as many as I could. If I could master a skill in 10 minutes it would be golf.
What are your top three publications that you read every morning?
Is Wordle a publication? I’m going to go with yes! I also read The New York Times app on my phone.
What is one thing—industry-related or not—you learned in the last month?
I learned that lunch truck breakfast sandwiches make me truly happy!
What is one thing that made you smile recently?
If you know me, you know how important music is to me. I smile when I listen to my son practice piano. He is working on “What A Wonderful World.” The song makes me smile but mainly because I know how hard he’s worked on it.
If you could choose anyone as a mentor, who would it be and why?
I am fortunate enough to work in a firm of successful, talented, thoughtful individuals. I love that I can ask a colleague if they have time to talk and the answer is never “no.”
How do you define success?
Working hard toward a goal that is important to you.
What inspires you?
Success inspires me. Not just my own, but the people around me—my husband, my son, my family, my colleagues. Seeing people work so hard towards something is very inspiring to me.