Tim Segaller

Natalie courageously seeks the truths of her life, and life itself. With this comes a remarkable degree of self-awareness: ‘I recognise that, like everybody else, I’m not perfect. I really try to understand that lack of perfection. But, while I don’t think I’m an arrogant person, I also see in myself an integrity, which I will only deviate from under great pressure.’

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Her passionate pursuit of truth has also led Natalie to take a great interest in other people, and to be a loyal, kind friend (which I can strongly testify to): ‘Over time I think I have developed an ability to get on with people because I’m genuinely interested in their depths. I think people respond to that really well and because they’ve responded to that I’ve carried on doing it.’

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Natalie is perhaps the most determined person I know. She’s overcome many challenges during her life, and so her choice of Life of Pi as her favourite novel is apt. Her strength of purpose led her to create a highly successful property training company in a field that she pioneered. The ultimate recognition of her achievements perhaps came when she became a lecturer at Cambridge University. But the main satisfaction she derives is nurturing young talent within her company: ‘It’s a really wonderful thing to watch another human being grow and to think that you have had a part in it.’

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Natalie is upbeat about her future: ‘There are so many directions that I could take, so many exciting choices and opportunities.’ But she also sees that her long-term happiness perhaps can be found by living life at a different kind of tempo. She wants to devote more time to her life with her partner on the Isle of Skye, to nature and to her friends: ‘There is another choice as well. I could stop achieving and just relax.’ I hope and trust that she will find the peace she seeks.