1

What’s different about Berkeley for you? 

For me, the two key things which sets us apart from other consultancies are the people and the Berkeley values; which are inexplicably linked. 

The value of “doing the right thing” truly influences what we do, and the way we do it. This is evidenced by having no sales targets at consultant or partner level: it drives excellent behaviors where we are able to put the clients’ interests first without any thoughts of our own personal reward. It also means that everyone at Berkeley is so happy to help each other, and being able to draw on that collective wealth of experience is super helpful. I think that it is our strong values which help to attract and retain people who, although different in diversity of thought and interests, have a similar personal value set.  

As corny as it sounds, Berkeley is full of really nice, really bright and really fun people. I’ve made friends at Berkeley, not just colleagues. It feels like a really special place to work. 

Oh, and I can’t fail to mentioned that there are Pickled Onion Monster Munch in the office. Undoubtably the best crisps.

2

What types of work projects excite you the most?

I’ve worked on a wide spectrum of projects across both private and public sector clients during my career. I enjoy all aspects of consulting: from quickly learning about a new industry; to getting to grips of the real challenges facing my clients; to working collaboratively to find, and implement solutions. For me, consulting it is mixture of intellectual variety and helping people.

The projects I enjoy the most have two clear characteristics. Firstly, they are the complex people-orientated projects. I enjoy being able to bring my people-focused expertise to help (which usually involves a mixture of complex change, operating model design and implementation; or leading projects with a critical people impact).  

Secondly, it’s doing challenging work alongside a great team.  We spend a lot of time at work, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t be fun along the way.  

3  What might people be interested in knowing about you?

Outside work, I enjoy spending time with friends and family and if that time can involve sun, snow or travel, then so much the better. Although I must confess that I’ve swapped my bug infested backpacking days to more civilized traveling experiences: I’m more a Guatemalan-luxury-eco-jungle-lodge type traveler now.  

My other favorite things in life include coastal walks, cheese, rosé, live music and musicals. Not sure I should have confessed to that last one…but at least I didn’t let my love of 80s power ballads slip. Oh, oops.