Cindy values clarity and care

Meet Cindy Hu, Gellibrand Support Services’ new Finance Manager and Operations Manager.

Cindy took a break from work recently and travelled for four months to South America and her home country, China. But it wasn’t all about holidaying for Cindy; she was also giving deep thought to her next career move.

“I have always worked in the commercial area, for profit organisations,” she said. “So, at this stage of life, I wanted to do something for value and I was looking at for-purpose organisations. That’s when the Gellibrand job came up.”

Cindy moved to Australia in 2009 and her more than 20-year professional career has been with stock market-listed companies. However, she wasn’t completely unfamiliar with the non-commercial sector; during COVID she signed up as a volunteer at a welfare agency’s soup kitchen and she still helps out when time allows. She felt she knew what to look for in an organisation she would want to work for and, when researching Gellibrand, she became quite excited.

“I was thinking, gosh, this business seems to have very good online customer reviews and I saw the growth looks quite significant the last few years,” she said, adding that she also read Gellibrand’s website and annual reports. “I saw so many people have worked here for so long. I was very intrigued and wanted to find out more.”

Cindy has now been at Gellibrand for a few weeks and is getting up to speed with the organisation, including going out to some of the shared houses and meeting clients. While she has no personal or family experience of disability, Cindy has a close friend with a family member who had Parkinson’s disease and was in wheelchair for a few years.

“I know how challenging life can be for people with a disability and their families,” she said.

It takes a team approach to overcome challenges and Cindy is proud of her track-record of developing high-performing teams in her previous workplaces. While building effective teams obviously takes time, she has collected valuable wisdom that helps her successfully create them.

“Have clear expectations and be caring for people. Respect them and value them. Listen to them and never ignore any complaints,” she said, adding that she always aims to increase people’s collaboration.

Cindy said that regardless of whether an organisation is commercial, not-for-profit or for-purpose, some principles for good financial management remain the same.

“It’s about having very clear timelines…clarity and structure,” she said.

When navigating the ins and outs of financial systems, it’s obviously important to be able to find the right direction. Cindy is experienced at that, having enjoyed a couple of years of ‘rogaining’, a sport that involves long-distance hiking and orienteering.

“It's very physically active and interesting,” she said. “You have to orientate with a compass and a map as well. I'm not doing rogaining at the moment, but I hike often and enjoy the fresh air and nature.”