1

How have you helped a client when it really mattered?

Berkeley’s work is centred around the biggest or most complex challenges the client has. This has been true with all my client work at Berkeley to date. One of my clients in the agricultural feed industry had the challenge of replacing its core ERP system and the same time as overhauling the wider system and process landscape.

This represented a significant undertaking for client, with an added time pressure as the core system would be out of support. It was therefore critical that the programme was mobilised effectively and had the structure that was commensurate with the scale and complexity of the scope. Leading this work with the client (CFO and business partners), we defined a clear delivery scope, established the mechanisms for effective delivery as well as bringing the wider business and leadership on the journey, such that the key drivers and benefits of the project were clearly articulated and widely understood. The project is now successfully moving forward with its delivery phase and on course to execute within the required time frame.

2  What’s the most important thing you learned at Berkeley?

Relationships are at the heart of everything. This is at the core of how Berkeley operates and approaches client work. Through my time at Berkeley, I have experienced this first-hand. Building those relationships with the client and their wider team is critical to building the levels of trust required to ensure the effective delivery of projects. The key to achieving this, from my experience, is ensuring that the clients vision/needs are at the heart of everything and are front of mind when all decisions are made. Equally, it is critical to ensure that this vision is clearly communicated and that those who are involved in the project are taken on the journey from the start.

3  Why did you choose your career?

I would love to say that consulting was my dream job from childhood, but sadly not! After graduating I knew that a career in research or academia (having studied Physics) was not for me. However, I knew that I wanted to find a career that still allowed me to use my analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as providing me with the variety and challenge I needed. Consulting became a very attractive proposition, being a great fit for my skillset as well as offering great personal and professional opportunities. As they say, the rest is history, and I wouldn’t change my decision today.