After graduating from Queen's University in Belfast, Denise moved to Dublin and started a career in sales, which developed into a role with a company specialising in sales and management training. Denise later moved to London with a company owned by Dow Jones, publishers of the Wall Street Journal. The client base included international banks, financial institutions and large corporates. Denise stayed for 13 years, holding a number of sales and management roles, mostly City based but with some European and global responsibilities. Denise joined Cygnet as an Associate after taking a career break during which time she performed a number of voluntary roles most recently with a large international relief organisation.