Can you describe your role at IMGS & DataBuilders?
My core responsibilities revolve around managing sales, marketing, and strategic partnerships. However, like many of us nowadays, I wear many different hats depending on the needs of our customers and business. From time to time, I’ll help manage some of our smaller projects, support our accounts team or give support a dig out. I really enjoy working in a dynamic environment, which has kept my role exciting over the past nine years and allowed me to continually learn new skills.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
There are a couple of things, the first of which I mentioned above is the dynamic nature of my role and the industry we work in. I don’t think it has ever stood still over my past nine years, and it only seems to speed up, especially with the increased adoption of Cloud & AI. The second and most enjoyable reason is the people. I consider myself very fortunate to work alongside an incredible group of bright, intelligent, and very funny people. Their energy makes every day enjoyable and time flies.
Do you have a favourite work event that you’ve attended in the last 12 months, and why?
I’ve attended a number of great events over the past 12 months, however, there are a few that stand-out events like the FME User Conference in Bonn, Germany. The event was hosted in the World Conference Centre on the banks of the Rhine, which was a stunning backdrop to an incredible event. It was a great week of networking and getting inspired by the incredible real-world stories from around the globe.
The Hexagon partner meeting in Athens, Greece was also a standout event. Like Bonn, the backdrop of the beautiful and historic city of Athens added to the event, and even though it rained the entire time we were there, it didn’t dampen the spirits of the partner community.
Gartner’s “Data & Analytics Summit” in London early last year was also brilliant. We enjoyed speakers from Microsoft, Amazon, Databricks and our own Jon Hawkins, previously of Waterford City & County Council. Don Murray, Safe Software also spoke about the importance of spatial data and how, if ignored, it can become an blind spot in your analytics.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I have a young son Oscar, so most of my free time is spent outdoors with him trying to burn off his energy which seems to double daily, while mine halves. In the evenings Emma & I might get to watch a movie, and if I’m really lucky I might to go out for a cheeky Guinness on the weekend.
If you could meet any historical figure or celebrity, who would it be and what would you ask them?
This is a great question. I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to the universe, so it would have to be Albert Einstein. I wouldn’t go in with a specific question as I’m not sure I’d even understand his answer, but I’d love to just talk to him and get a glimpse of how his mind worked. It’d be incredible to experience his thought process firsthand.
What types of books/ movies do you enjoy?
I’ve only started listening to audio books while commuting to and from work. I’ve gravitated towards biographies for some strange reason and I’m currently listening to “Unfiltered: My Incredible Decade in Formula 1” by Guenther Steiner. Last month was “The Trading Game” by Gary Stevenson which I really liked. From a movies perspective I’m very basic, I love action and sci-fi so anything with explosions and lasers . . . . please don’t judge me, we all have our guilty pleasures.
If you could quickly and easily learn any new skill, what would it be?
There are so many things that come to mind like learning an instrument or another language. We bought a new house a couple of years ago and I’ve realised my handyman skills are lacking, with this fresh in my mind I’m leaning towards carpentry as a useful skill to have.
Did you ever imagine yourself in another occupation? If so, which one and why?
Don’t laugh, but an Astronaut. Clearly, I didn’t have the grades among many other missing attributes but as a kid (and still now if I’m honest) I would love to travel into space, I can only imagine how incredible that weightless and awe-inspiring feeling is to look down on Earth from space.
Quick fun fact, the term “astronaut” derives from the Greek words meaning “star sailor”. You can stop laughing now by the way 😊 !
