I was hired at Speakeasy as a Controller in January 2001.

Having spent my career at more conservative firms, I was amazed at how young everyone was and the open atmosphere at the company.

I invited my sister to visit and when we went to dinner after walking her through the offices she commented, ‘you’re the oldest one there.’ I thought about it for a minute and realized I was indeed the oldest one there. I was 46 and had never been the oldest one at a company, so this was quite a shock.

No one in the department had much real accounting training, but I liked the people I worked with and decided to provide training and support to them and then just get out of the way and let them flourish.

I think the company’s leadership and working atmosphere helped them all just do their best, more than I could have expected.

It was the best work environment I have ever experienced and I loved my job.

— Harry Gatjens