A career combining finance with engineering has come naturally to Ricardo FD Paula Bell, writes Jenny Hirschkorn.

She’s effortlessly glamorous with an air that suggests that nothing would faze her. Paula Bell is about as far removed from the stereotypical engineering finance director as you could get. For the past three years, this charismatic 41-year-old blonde has held the top finance job at Ricardo plc, a market-leading engineering and automotive consultancy at the cutting edge of the industry.