During high school I developed a keen interest in technology and programming. I was also offered a part-time programming job during university, and as much as I enjoyed it, I decided I wanted to do something totally different beyond my tertiary studies, so I applied for a graduate position in tax at PwC.
Being in a tax role, I initially had no desire to fall into programming again, but it didn’t take long before I started to spot gaps in the market, as well as many redundant processes. I realised that there was an opportunity for PwC to efficiently and effectively bridge the gap between clients and their business problems through innovation. This was my ‘lightbulb’ moment, and it was at this point I knew where my career was headed.
There were a few things that helped me on the path to becoming Partner. Firstly, the people I worked with were extremely supportive and as a graduate, I was lucky to receive coaching, guidance and support from my mentors in the business, all of whom I still have solid relationships with today. My friends and family were also a big support. I also took an approach of thinking ahead to solve problems before they occurred - the ability to be agile and forward-thinking is often undervalued in business.
It helps that I’m very passionate about what I do, but one of the challenges in the beginning was that the looming technology shift was causing a lot of anxiety in business - some left shellshocked by the global financial crisis in 2007. It was hard at times to stand my ground in a business centred on people and services.
