Adele started her payroll career on a YTS placement in the payroll team at a car dealership, where she stayed for 8 years.

She then spent 18 years at a transport and warehouse distribution business, working her way up from team leader to supervisor and then payroll manager. She ran payroll for major retail contracts, including Asda, worked closely with HR and unions on pay negotiations, and led projects from time and attendance rollouts to centralising satellite payrolls. Along the way, she studied for her CIPP team leader and supervisory qualifications.

From there, she moved into managed payroll as Operations Manager for a national managed payroll provider, where she helped build a client services team from scratch and grew its education service.

In 2026, she joined Ascend as Head of Strategic Partnerships.

In her role, Adele’s focus is on building strong, lasting relationships with the partners who help Ascend reach more businesses. Her experience on both sides of payroll means she understands what clients need and how to talk to them about it.

For Adele, it’s always been about the service.

“It was never really about selling a product. It was a service, and payroll is all I’ve ever known, so talking to clients about it just came naturally.

The best partnerships are built on trust, and that comes from knowing your stuff and always doing what you say you’ll do.”

That’s the approach she brings to every relationship – honest, knowledgeable and built for the long term.