I am writing to let you know that Wendy Meiklejohn will soon be leaving Navigator to spend more time with her family. Before anyone recognises that line as something which normally precedes a politicians early retirement for questionable reasons, I should state that this move is for very commendable reasons.
Following the very sad passing of Fran a few months ago, Wendy has reflected on her own personal circumstances wherein her own family is more often apart than together. That must have been very difficult over the last few years and I am very supportive of her determination to make sure that the three of them spend more time together as a family in Italy. I’ll avoid sharing anything of the lovely large house they have in Italy or the rather nice swimming pool that sits alongside it so that you remember her without envy!
Wendy was the first fee earner to join Navigator in the summer of 2011. Particularly in the first few years of our business, she was asked to fulfil a number of roles and without exception, she was always willing to move away from her core areas of expertise in an attempt to support my slightly erratic approach to winning and retaining business. As we became a more settled going concern and moved to becoming a profitable business, we also began to develop a number of niches within certain markets and I am acutely aware of how valuable Wendy has been to Navigator in securing our foothold in those markets.
On a personal note Wendy has also been a very valuable counsel to me and I hope that this will continue to be the case.
However, the separation from Navigator is not as dramatic as you might think. Wendy has agreed to remain connected with Navigator as a consultant and we expect that a number of HR projects which are more naturally supported by remote or off-site consultancy, will be supported by Wendy working from her Italian home. We are currently expecting Wendy to finish her UK-based Navigator relationship on Thursday the 7th of September and her new Italian-based consultancy role to begin shortly after that.
I and the team at Navigator wish Wendy, Renato and Alessandro all the very best for a wonderful future. She will be missed.
Gareth