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Like many neurodiverse women, Michelle Carson, Chairwoman at executive search firm Holmes Noble, masked for years, internalising her challenges and working twice as hard to keep up. Marking Autism Awareness month this April, HR Grapevine talks to her about leading a business and managing her neurodiversity.
As of June 2024, a total of 193,203 patients in England had an open referral for suspected autism, meaning they were awaiting assessment or diagnosis through the NHS. Autism is three times more prevalent in boys than girls, yet with diagnoses on the increase the number of females presenting as autistic is on the rise.
‘Overtime masking took its toll’
Carson’s neurodivergence – autism and ADHD – wasn’t diagnosed until later in life. Like many women she felt different but dealt with it by trying to fit in which she accomplished via masking.
“I have always processed the world differently, though I didn’t always have the words to explain it. I was driven, endlessly curious, and deeply empathetic, but I also struggled in ways that didn’t make sense to those around me. School, especially secondary school, often felt like a mismatch. I was often described as capable but disruptive, full of potential but inconsistent.
“My career began in retail and hospitality, where I learned the foundations of discipline, resilience, and how to genuinely connect with people. In the ’90s, I found myself at BRMB, a local radio station, and it was there that my fascination with audiences - and more broadly, human behaviour - truly took root. I became captivated by what made people tick, and that curiosity soon led me to the world of recruitment.
“From day one, recruitment felt like second nature. I had an intuitive ability to spot potential others overlooked, to recognise behavioural patterns and what motivated individuals beneath the surface. That instinct flourished, particularly within highly technical sectors like aerospace, defence, and automotive. I was deeply interested in how systems operated, how things were built, and - most importantly - how people fit into those systems. I asked the kinds of questions that made clients assume I had an engineering background, but really, I just saw connections - between processes, people, and possibilities.
Receiving an autism and ADHD diagnosis was a revelation, not a limitation. It gave me the language to understand my experiences, the challenges I’d navigated, and the strengths I’d always known I had. But it didn’t magically make life easier
“By the end of 2004, my life had taken a sharp turn. I left a role where I no longer felt supported, just as I was leaving an abusive marriage. That chapter forced me to rebuild from the ground up - finding a new home, parting temporarily with my pets, and managing a joint business until it could be sold - all while still paying the mortgage on the marital home. It was emotionally and financially brutal.
