What inspired you to pursue the career path you are on?
Like most people in insurance, I ended up in my first job as a stop gap between getting a job after a year abroad and working out what career I really wanted. I started work in Eagle Star, Dublin, working in Group Insurance administration and while I liked the work and the people I found the environment was quite rigid with a lot of manual work and bureaucracy. A lady I knew there went to work for FINEOS (MSC at the time) and the start up culture and focus on technology really appealed to me. I started off in QA but missed the customer engagement and being at the front line so I moved into the business consulting team. When I moved to Australia there weren’t many of us here so we got to try lots of roles over the years and the presales and product management side of things was were I thought I fit best and could make the biggest impact on the company and our clients.
What does a typical day look like for you?
My day starts around 6am when it’s time to start the rollercoaster of getting the kids out to school, which is great to be able to do as I don’t have to commute anymore. They all leave around 8 and I go for a walk to my coffee shop to satisfy my caffeine cravings for the day and make sure I get some steps up before heading back home to the office. My workday is mostly made up of teams calls which is good for keeping up engagement with my colleagues. I usually have a mix of internal and customer calls as well as a few webinars and industry events to keep close to the key issues. Leading a team that crosses product management, presales and marketing ensures there is plenty of variety which I really like and opportunities to pass on what I’ve learned over the years to others. Working from home means I don’t get out walking as much as I’d like to so I try to fit in a gym class in the early evening before dinner and getting kids to bed. Most evenings I have some calls with the guys in Dublin before a bit of tele and a cheeky chunk of chocolate!! It’s the little things 😉
Who is a woman who made a positive impact on your career?
My mum has a very positive impact on my career with her determination to keep working and learning throughout her career. She was a nurse and always worked despite having 6 children, including triplets. Throughout her career she was always learning and looking for new challenges and opportunities to improve her skills and knowledge. I always remember her studying emergency medicine and trauma treatments in her 50s so that she could expand her skills in that area.
What stands out as one of your proudest professional moments over your career?
I have a few proud moments in my time with FINEOS including presenting at the different summits but the proudest was when FINEOS floated on the ASX. The company has built on global successes to get us to where we are today. In that time I’ve seen the company really grow and thrive and so many people are happy to work here. I think that was a really key moment and it was great to be there to celebrate it and even bring my daughter along with me.
Describe what you like about working in FINEOS in 5 words or less
Great, clever, innovative, funny people!
