1 What do you like most about Berkeley?

Berkeley has a great culture that drives a strong sense of community and a sense of belonging. Over the years, many of my colleagues have become close friends. It almost feels like a family business, with everyone pulling in the same direction and sharing the same core values. We are a friendly and sociable bunch with a diverse range of social activities arranged and weekends away together. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and have a lot of fun together.

2What’s been your biggest professional accomplishment?

My biggest achievement was successfully turning around a distressed project to implement a new global finance system and processes at one of the world’s largest commercial real estate companies. The system had already gone live in the Americas but with significant challenges, causing delays to the remainder of the global rollout and a loss of confidence in the solution.

Taking over the role of Programme Director, I led the effort to turnaround and manage delivery of the programme. It was large and complex, with a $120m budget and a project team of over 220 people at peak. I was so proud of the team when we completed the global rollout smoothly and without any critical issues. We completed within the original project timelines to 40,000 users in over 50 countries.

3What are you passionate about in life?

After being at Berkeley for 10 years I took a six-month sabbatical to travel. I spent most of it riding my motorcycle 14,000 miles around 21 states of the US and camping in the wild. I’m curious and adventurous, and loved not knowing where I would go each day, who I would meet or where I would sleep.

I believe that travel is a wonderful educator that broadens our horizons, opens us up to fresh perspectives, supports the development of empathy and teaches us how to approach challenges in new ways. I like to think these are lessons which I lean on in my professional life too, on the projects that I work on and the people that I work with.