"Looking past my unorthodox background, Capco saw the range of skills and knowledge I’d gained as I bounced around the professional world and the unique mix of aptitudes I bring to the table."

Joined Capco: 2021
Role:          Associate Consultant
Primary skills: Proposition & solution design, Facilitation & workshopping, Strategy & innovation
Interests: Philosophy & theology; History; Languages; Whatever my daughter is obsessed with this month,                                    currently the Moomins (I like Snufkin)

I have a non-traditional background for financial services. I came to Scotland from Canada 10 years ago to pursue postgraduate degrees in history in Aberdeen. Fast-forward a few years, I’ve left my PhD programme, having decided academia wasn’t for me. I worked as a freelance web content writer while my wife recovered from a serious health related incident. Freelancing is a daily grind which involves managing demanding clients, ever-shifting deadlines, pitching for new work to maintain a full pipeline, and keeping on top of delivering existing jobs. It’s a lot like consulting and I enjoy it, when the work is interesting (less so when I’m writing infomercials for e-cigs).

I’ve decided to make a career shift into financial services but was not able to leave Aberdeen. So, I took a job behind the counter at a local retail bank, where I spent two years building relationships with key stakeholders across the bank and improving processes. My next job was in Edinburgh, within investment operations and with an eight-month-old in tow. After 18 months of moving collateral, investigating valuation breaks, and tracking down errant SWIFTs, I joined Capco via the Associate Talent Programme.

I may not have a conventional background, but my career wanderings have equipped me with a wide range of skills that serve me well here at Capco. They don’t tell you while at university, but writing a dissertation is largely an exercise in project management: you have a key piece of work to deliver where you’re the only full-time resource and your contact with your key client stakeholders (your advisors) is monthly at best. Freelancing gave me insight into sales and client management. My time on the counter provided valuable experience with stakeholder management and exposed me to new (to me) ways of working such as Kaizen and Kanban that I’m using now to help our clients. Investment operations is heavy on data management, and I honed a lot of skills I’d first developed during my doctoral studies.

Looking past my unorthodox background, Capco saw the range of skills and knowledge I’d gained as I bounced around the professional world and the unique mix of aptitudes I bring to the table. The training offered by the Associate Talent Programme supplemented my industry knowledge and transferable know-how with practical guidance in consulting best practices, enabling a smooth transition from industry to consultancy.