1

What do you like most about Berkeley?

Having always worked for very large organizations, I really enjoy the different feel that Berkeley has, both internally and with our clients. It’s amazing to be able to get to know most people on a personal level. Berkeley places a priority on this, and even though I joined the firm at the start of the first lockdown in 2020, I managed to meet most people quite quickly through various social events, albeit virtually! 

I find Berkeley’s approach to its people on a professional level really refreshing – we’re given the support we need to deliver to a high standard for our clients, but without the admin and red tape you sometimes come across at larger organizations.

2  What’s been your favorite piece of work and why?

One of the assignments I learned the most from, fairly early on in my consulting career, was with a client who had set up a start-up business as a subsidiary, focusing on customer engagement and document management. I started when it had just been set up, at first working on a supplier consolidation exercise. 

I ended up holding several different roles at the company over two years, working directly with the commercial director, client services director, COO and CEO. I led several types of operational and commercial work, including designing their commercial and sourcing processes; working as a project manager for the company’s first client (a UK building society); managing their brand relaunch once the company had been in business for a year.

I enjoyed the variety of responsibilities, the level of trust from the board and the experience of being able to ‘turn your hand to anything’ that’s so important in a new company. It was also a fun environment to work in, with the feeling of being part of something new and exciting where you could have a real impact. 

3  What might people be interested in knowing about you?

I was a very early adopter of electric vehicles and domestic solar panels, investing and taking a leap of faith before the tech, infrastructure and benefits were really known. So I have a keen interest in innovation and technology that will help us respond to climate change, reduce consumption or do it in a responsible way, and move humanity closer to long term sustainability goals.

At the moment, I’m interested in seeing how retailers and consumer goods companies respond to the growth of the sharing economy and the rental, preloved and subscription markets. And I’ll be watching with interest to see what commitments the world's leaders will continue to make around reducing emissions.