Kim Ellis
By Sabrina Smith Davis

s a partner in one of the nation's leading public accounting firms, Kim Ellis (BSBA '83) supervises the work of roughly 375 people and manages revenues close to $100 million. She is a picture of professional success, yet her greatest accomplishment, in her words, is keeping her family at the center of her life.

Ellis is a tax partner with Deloitte & Touche. Based in Raleigh, she also serves as the national tax leader of the firm's Women's Initiative, an effort to retain high-talent, female professionals. And Ellis is the Deloitte & Touche partner in charge of national recruiting at UNC-Chapel Hill. The job keeps her on the road, in the skies or on the phone for much of her 50- to 60-hour work week, yet she reserves time and energy for Nicholas, 8; Jonathan, 6; and Elizabeth, 3.

"If anyone had told me nine or 10 years ago, that I'd be sitting here today, the mother of three children and a partner in a Big 4 accounting firm, I would have said, 'You've lost your mind.'"

Ellis credits the Deloitte & Touche Women's Initiative, born in the early 1990s, with changing attitudes and the work environment to provide women the chance to excel professionally and fulfill family responsibilities. Early in her career, Ellis never considered becoming a partner in her firm. She knew she wanted to have children and didn't think it was possible to do both. So, it's ironic that when she was made partner in 1996, she was eight months pregnant with her second child.

"Public accounting is not flooded with women partners who have children," Ellis said about her leadership in the Women's Initiative. "There still are young women who think there's no way they can achieve their career goals and have a family. I want to keep this issue at the forefront for the firm. I have a story to tell."

Ellis shares her story as a way of giving back to all those who have supported her. She answers dozens of calls from Deloitte & Touche female managers who want to talk with her about balancing career and family. She encourages young women at UNC-Chapel Hill to believe they can be both an executive and a good mother, if they so desire. She gives them the same advice - to be honest about what is important to them.

The best piece of advice Ellis ever received was to recognize that life happens in cycles. "Realize that you don't have to say 'yes' every time to every opportunity. Think about what's right for you at the time."

Ellis has said "no" to advancement opportunities that would have taken her away from her family. The security she feels in knowing she is there for her children gives her the confidence to pursue her work, she said.

"My career helps me to be completely well-rounded," she said. "I think my work makes me a better person. I can offer experiences to my kids that I wouldn't be able to otherwise. If you're truly happy in your career, it can make you feel more fulfilled. But you have to be happy on the personal side first. You can't make up the happiness on the career side."