I think that many organisations claim to put their people and their clients first, but the reality is often that sales/revenue targets and leadership demands can mean that these priorities can be in conflict. At Berkeley I feel that we truly put our clients and our people first. I have found that we demonstrate on a daily basis our commitment to doing the right thing for our clients even if this means less money for Berkeley. It is incredibly liberating to work in environment where the first question is always “what is right for our client?” rather than one which focuses on internal revenue and profit.
With regard to our people, at every step of my Berkeley career I have felt I have been treated as an individual with my own goals, ambitions, and priorities. This has been best demonstrated by always being asked how I would like my role and career to develop and seeing the outcome of these discussions implemented by my leadership.
In my career I have often found that I have begun my client engagements right at the start of their transformation journey. This has allowed me to understand the business case and value drivers from the outset of the project and ensure that everyone is focused on these as the engagement ramps up into a fully-fledged delivery effort. I have found that taking the time to understand what the underlying goals and objectives of the project has allowed me to focus efforts on achieving outcomes for my clients rather than just deliverables and outputs. Coupling this understanding with my drive to be a trusted partner for my clients has allowed me to help my clients achieve their aspirations.
I would like to continue to work on challenging and interesting engagements for clients in a range of sectors and work in more senior and demanding roles that allow me to grow my skillset as a management consultant. Within Berkeley I would like to be part of developing our presence in the New York and US market and be part of growing the business and developing our US brand. Finally, in my personal life I am an active volunteer with several homeless non-profits, and I would like to leverage my professional experience to help non-profits as a board member.