One of her professional regrets she candidly tells CFO World is that she never gained experience outside the finance function. it's hard to reconcile that a lack of a stint in operations or marketing has held her back, but she so firmly believes in the experience that it forms a critical part of the company's talent development programme for finance staff launched 18 months ago.

"I didn't go it and regret it. I actively transfer people out of finance and second them," Hunt says.

Her resolve on this point is explicit. One of the failings she recognises in those in finance is their distance from customers. As a business that prides itself on customer service and staff development Hunt says it's vital for Standard Life to ensure finance teams .

"It's so easy for the finance function to never come into contact with customers," she says.

Another reason for encouraging secondments outside of the finance department is to broaden individual's horizons not just professionally but personally as well. "Finance people are genuinely nice people but the flip side of that is that they don't like confrontation." Again, Hunt doesn't strike you as someone who's afraid of confrontation.