Who's Who: Jean Paul Quertier, Simpkins Edwards.

Name, age & current position: Jean Paul Quertier, 39, corporate tax partner with Exeter based chartered accountants and business advisers Simpkins Edwards.

First job (& pay-packet): I worked in the personal banking department at Coutts Bank in Guernsey with an annual salary of around £12k.

What I've done in my career and how I got where I am today: After Coutts, I went into higher education and on graduating I joined KPMG with whom I qualified as an accountant. After working with KPMG in Bristol and London, I had spells with Deloittes in Bristol followed by various posts with mid-tier practices. I have also been an officer in the Territorial Army for over 18 years and have had two one-year attachments to the regular army, serving as a Lieutenant in Bosnia with the Welsh Guards in 2002 and then in Afghanistan as a Captain with the Gurkhas in 2004. I am now a Major in the TA with 6 Rifles. I joined Simpkins Edwards in January 2007 and became a partner in October 2008.

Career high point: Passing my tax exams first time and becoming a partner in a leading regional accountancy practice.

Career low point: There are no specific low points on a personal level. They come along from time to time when clients are in difficulties and, no matter what you try, you are unable to help — but this is very seldom.

When I'm not working I like to: I run and keep fit and the TA still takes up a lot of my time. I also spend as much time as I can with my two young sons and I enjoy travelling. I recently spent a six-month sabbatical with my wife travelling through Europe living in a two-man tent.

Things I've learned that I wish I'd known when I started: Once you have confidence in your own abilities, it is learning that personal relationships with clients make the real difference. If you can't relate to your clients, no amount of paper qualifications are going to help.

My advice to someone starting out in business now: Take as much good professional advice as you can. Have real passion about what you are doing and what you want to achieve. Seek out a business mentor in a similar field and listen very carefully to them. Learn by their mistakes rather than your own.

My ambitions for the future: To contribute to and enhance the reputation of Simpkins Edwards as leading regional business advisers, to continue seeking out dynamic and vibrant businesses to support and help to grow. To ensure the work we do has a significant impact on the local and regional economy and further develops the South West in general, and Exeter in particular, as a centre of excellence for all professional services.