Profile
Michael Kirby (“Mike”) is a semi-retired Chartered Accountant, who has lived in or close to Guildford since the early 1980s.
Mike has a BSc in Economics from the University of London and worked for a firm of Stockbrokers in London for a couple of years before joining Deloitte & Co to qualify as a Chartered Accountant. He worked there for 6 years, including 3 in the Brussels office. He then joined Air Products Limited, the European arm of a large US industrial gases company, based in Hersham, Surrey, as the European Accounting Manager and later as a Controller of their European Operations. After 6 years Mike joined a small start-up US software company, Informix Software Inc, in Ashford, Middlesex, as their European Financial Controller, leaving only when that company was taken over by IBM.
In 2006, Mike bought an existing firm of Chartered Accountants in Petersfield, which he expanded and sold in 2015, but retained the lease on their premises which he has operated as Serviced Offices for the last 9 years, as well as continuing to operate part-time as an accountant and tax adviser on his own. The Petersfield building is Grade 2 listed, as is the Guildford Institute building, and it has given Mike invaluable experience of some of the constraints of operating in such an environment. He also has experience of negotiating leases, which has been very useful to the Institute since Mike joined the Board in March 2020.
Mike is married, has 3 adult daughters and lives in Mayford, just north of Guildford. He is also an active member of a successful Investment Club and a member of Surrey County Cricket Club.
