Profile
I left Berkeley in 2004 after seven very rewarding years to spend what was intended to be a year out in New Zealand with my family – which has since become a decision to emigrate. We now have residency, live by the sea and I drive to work looking at the Southern Alps. I am one of three founding members of Thinking Cap Partners, an IT project management consultancy set up here in Christchurch in 2006, which was due to take on its first employee in July 2007.
My time at Berkeley contributed greatly to my confidence in taking this leap of faith, and in determining how I want our small business to evolve. The Berkeley values and esprit de corps are (I believe) exactly what any employee and any client would want them to be. The focus on the long-term client relationship, the instilled belief that work is to be enjoyed rather than tolerated, and the view that the consultant’s skill lies in leveraging the client’s expertise, rather than replacing it, are all now tenets of my own business.
I have very fond memories of working (& playing) with a group of extremely able and like-minded people. Our annual “away weekends” were legendary, with only a little work done and even less sleep had. The client events were always very well attended – there was clearly a sense that the people there enjoyed each other’s company outside of the office, as well as respecting each other in it. Berkeley will undoubtedly continue to thrive because of its talented people, its strong relationship ethos and its results – I’d commend it equally to prospective clients and future employees.