Deborah Wilson.

This cozy scene of Deborah Wilson enjoying a relaxing tea time at an old English country inn comes in sharp contrast to what she's doing now. Soon after this photo was taken, she had to deal with the trauma of having a tree half-demolish her Macon, Ga., home--while she and her husband were in it! They are now living elsewhere while going through the process of building a new home. She says that having a sense of humor has helped weather this ordeal.

Title: CFO 

Company: The Utility Service Group, which comprises five companies: Utility Service Co. Inc., the core water tower maintenance business; Utility Service Communications Co. Inc., Utility Service Leasing Co. Inc., Utility Service Realty Co. Inc. and Utility Service Holding Co.

Born: in South Africa 

Spouse: Stuart, for 25 years

Education Summary: MBA, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, 1983; MA in Business Philosophy, Somerset University, United Kingdom, 1991

Career Summary: S. Ashberg, Hill & Co., 1973-76, a small accounting and auditing firm; S.A. Scale Co., 1976-79; Brown, Davis & McCorquodale, 1979-83, Accountant; after a short stint as Business Manager at Hoechst Chemical Co., my husband, Stuart, and I formed Wilbarr, a corporate consulting company, which we ran for 15 years, including moving operations to the U.S. in 1988 and forming Wilbarr Inc. In 1997, I joined Utility Service, becoming CFO later that year.

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FEI Involvement: I do not belong to a chapter, since there is none close enough to participate in events. I've been involved with FEI since 1999; am a member of the Committee on Private Companies (CPC) Policy and Standards Subcommittee and Chair the Program Subcommittee. I am also a member of the FASB's Small Business Advisory Committee (SBAC).

Leisure: Traveling, both in the U.S. and internationally; sailing (my first sailing experience was on my honeymoon, which my husband arranged--as he is a keen sailor); reading and playing "long distance" Scrabble via the Internet with my mother (in South Africa) and my mother-in-law (in the UK).

Time Management: I don't know what I'd do without my trusty calendar. It keeps me on track, and ensures priorities are kept on the front burner.

Stress Management: Have a sense of humor--but watch your timing! This has been particularly helpful this year, in keeping perspective on personal issues (building a new house, hiring and firing builders and all that that entails), while managing a dynamic professional environment. Thank goodness for highly competent, motivated departmental managers!

The best advice I've received is from my husband, who has always urged me to be the best I can be, and not be dissuaded from a course of action just because it may not be expected convention. Also from my mother, who said, "Education is everything--and you can't lose it once you've acquired it."

Favorite Job: My current position. This group is such a dynamic, growing organization and there are always new challenges to meet--which sustains the learning opportunities and encourages innovative thinking.

Favorite Deal: Working on a multi-million dollar credit facility for the Utility Service Group. The challenge was educating the contending lenders about our business model. We had to get agreement on our reporting arrangements so that they would not try to "put a square peg in a round hole" with prosaic ratios.

As a child, I expected to grow up to be: A nun! ('Nuff said.)

Quotable: "Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions," by Oliver Wendell Holmes. How true this is--whether one likes, rejects or merely processes the "new idea."

Often, it seems, when I don't accept the "first" answer to a problem, I'm considered being "unreasonable." But, in the words of George Bernard Shaw, "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man." [Read "woman" where appropriate!]

Memorable Moments: My first interaction with Americans was when I did a major business assignment with the American International School in Johannesburg; I met and worked with the diplomatic staff, including the U.S. Ambassador, and taught an elective course in accounting for one semester.

Email: [e-mail]

Edited by Ellen M. Heffes