Louisa Symington-Mills (1999) founded Cityparents Ltd (www.cityparents.co.uk) in 2012; it has since gone on to be an award winning organisation. Cityparents Ltd provides expert-led resources, information and advice to individuals and businesses across a range of topics.

1. When did you leave The Abbey and what are you doing now? I left The Abbey in 1999 – gosh 22 years seems like a very long time ago! After school, I read English Literature at Durham University before moving into a career in the City – firstly in property consultancy then subsequently in investment banking. In 2012 my first child was born and although I didn’t know it at the time, becoming a parent started a whole new career journey for me. When I returned to my banking job after maternity leave, I was totally unprepared for how tough it would be to make the juggle of career and home life work in practical terms. I also didn’t know any other working mothers in my organisation – so I was beginning to doubt that it was actually possible. In November 2012 I decided to create a professional network called Citymothers to connect working mothers across the City, and provide peer support, inspiration and expertise. In 2014 Citymothers became “Cityparents” and in 2017, after 5 years running the network in my spare time alongside my banking job, I left the City to concentrate on growing and developing Cityparents full time. Cityparents (www.cityparents.co.uk), is now an award-winning organisation offering tailored, expert-led resources to over 25,000 working parents and professionals, supporting their work and home lives. 

2. What do you miss the most about The Abbey? The opportunities to learn so many different skills outside of the core curriculum – there was always so much going on and I have very fond memories of music concerts, public speaking debates, drama and young entrepreneur events. 

3. What would you say is your biggest achievement? Managing a small business through a global pandemic has really felt like steering a ship through a storm – there have been many stressful moments but I’m extremely proud of our small team, and our rapid response in March last year which saw the physical events programme transition entirely online almost overnight. In May 2020, the NHS got in touch to ask if Cityparents could offer its programme of resources to their staff during the pandemic. It’s been an unbelievably tough time for so many working parents and of course medical professionals, and we are really proud to be able to offer this help and support. 

4. What advice would you give to current students? I’m going to repeat a piece of advice that really resonated with me, spoken by Jane Fraser who is now CEO at Citigroup, who said, “Your career is going to be measured in decades, and you’ll probably have many careers in your life, so make sure that you really enjoy each period of your life and make the most of it. Don’t try and achieve everything at the same time and put so much pressure on yourself”. As time has passed I have realised how true this is; there have been periods in my life when work felt like the dominant priority, and others where home or family life have taken over. The important thing is to try to recognise which phase you’re in at any given point and be cognizant of which priorities are driving you, as this can help hugely to shape your motivation and happiness.