Career success story - Abdul Gaheir

Abdul Gaheir (Senior Portfolio Accountant) won the inaugural ‘Block Management Rising Star’ award at our annual celebration in January. He writes about his career journey so far, the lessons he has learned and his long term ambitions.

Surprisingly enough, I joined the block management industry unintentionally 10 years ago - I had no background and understanding of accounting or block management.

As part of a 100-hour mandatory work experience, I worked with all the departments within block management, and it allowed me to grasp the concept and understand what each department does - I loved it so much that I ended up staying for a few more days for free in the hope that they would keep me on and offer me a contract.

At the time, the company didn’t have a permanent role for me, but I pleaded with the finance director for an opportunity. He offered me a temporary role assisting with a system implementation project. The project lasted three months and this coincided with one of the accounts clerks handing in their notice. This created an unexpected opening for me and I stepped in without hesitation. I hit the ground running and earned multiple promotions within my first two years, eventually becoming a senior accountant there.

Nine years later, a recruiter approached me with an exciting opportunity to take the next step in my career and go into management. Having never considered leaving my previous company, I was initially hesitant. However, after learning about KFH’s core values and meeting with the senior management team, I accepted the challenge and joined in April 2024 - and it turned out to be one of the best decisions of my career. From day one, I felt at home, implementing fresh ideas and fostering team morale across the block management division.

There’s a funny stereotype that accountants are quite dull, but I’ve helped break that stigma whilst building friendships across the division along the way.

Early on in my management journey, I faced some challenges but managed to navigate and overcome them. The support I received from both my accounts directors (Anthony Wesley and Wendy South) during that period was invaluable to me and I will always be grateful to them!

Winning the KFH Block Management Rising Star Award 2024 was a highlight moment for me considering, I’d only been at KFH for 9 months. Now fully settled, my short-term goal is to continue growing and succeeding as a team, while my long-term ambition is to develop within KFH and work my way up to become a director. I am looking forward to the challenge!