Dieters: the inside story
While the financial planning world occupies a large part of Corinna Dieters’ life, Darin Tyson-Chan discovers some of the other things she also finds important.
MM: What motivates you outside of financial services?
CD: This is probably going to sound very corny but I think the thing that is important to me is to make a difference in what I do — whether that’s something from a work point of view or a personal point of view. I’d like to think that when I’m no longer here, be that in a professional capacity or physical capacity, that I can be comfortable that what I did made a difference in some way.
MM: Where will you be in 10 years from now?
CD: I have a very strong passion for things to do with volunteer organisations. I’d like to think that my work with the FPA would stand me in good stead to work with other groups outside of financial planning on a part-time basis to make sure I’m still contributing in whatever form towards a work perspective.
MM: Do you have involvement with volunteer organisations right now?
CD: I have a very strong interest in whales, so I do some research work for a group that’s based in Hawaii. I try and do that every couple of years, in fact, I’m going back in January to do that. This interest flows back into other activities I do here. I dive, so anything to do with water and underwater things are my passion.
MM: What would be your most satisfying career achievement to date?
CD: When I think back, one of the things that was important to me was being voted back for a second term on the FPA board. When I stood for re-election, as did a number of other existing directors, to actually have been voted back was a good vote of confidence. We’d had such a bad year in terms of the financials and so on, it was either a vote of confidence or it was because nobody else wanted the job. I take it as a career highlight that it was a vote of confidence.
MM: Would you do anything differently in your career if you had the chance?
CD: I think there is always something when you think about it in hindsight that you would have done differently. There’s probably no real standouts but a key thing is about communication and being empathetic in all of those situations. It’s about who’s going to be affected and what does it mean to them. Once you lose sight of that, sometimes things go a bit haywire.
MM: If you weren’t involved in financial services what would you be doing professionally?
CD: I think I’d be working with a welfare organisation for animals or something to do with whale research — if they’d have me.
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