Essential Skills Series

George Mendes is a Manager in the Strategy Practice, based in London, and works mostly on projects with clients in the Energy, Retail and Financial Services sectors. He graduated from the University of St Andrews in 2006 with a year at the Wharton School, and was part of the Accenture Horizons Scholarship Scheme before joining.

“Accenture Strategy provides an incredible opportunity to work with senior clients in business and governments around the world on some of their most critical challenges. I guess I am best described as a sort of ‘business doctor’ as I work with organisations to help diagnose and treat some of their most challenging issues. The experiences I’ve had since joining here have been extraordinary – right from the start, I’ve found myself working with senior leaders within business and governments from around the world.

Alongside my role at Accenture, I am a pro-bono member of a non-profit board, run an online strategy think-tank, and am a visiting lecturer at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School.”

Beth Garfield joined as a graduate in 2005 and is now a Manager with our Technology Practice.

“I am quite nervous about my new project – there will be endless deadlines and I’ll need to stay right on top of things to make sure it all runs smoothly. But that’s what makes life at Accenture so exciting – the work is never dull when you work for some of the world’s leading businesses. On this project, we’ll be delivering a new network infrastructure (telephones, videos and data) across the UK and Ireland for a large banking client – and my role will be to make sure it’s implemented properly. Essentially, I’m there to make sure that the new system works when it’s switched on!”

“I like the variety best of all about Accenture – in my career here, I’ve tended to move onto a new project every six months or so, which means things never get boring! In fact, it’s a bit like starting a new job every time – so there’s no need to leave the company for a change of direction.”

Zahra Bahrololoumi is a Senior Executive with Accenture, joining as a graduate 13 years ago.

In 2006, Zahra was listed in Management Today as one of “35 Women Under 35” to watch and in 2010 was voted ‘Most Inspirational Leader’ in Accenture.

“I am the UK Technology Account Lead for one of our largest oil and gas clients and I run an application outsource in another of our key energy clients. That means I run large application development & maintenance teams, creating, building and implementing systems for our clients and working with teams across multiple geographies. My time at Accenture has seen me work in a number of market sectors from Financial Services, Communications, Media & Technology, Public Services, Products and Resources.

I love the opportunity and the diversity of the work that we do at Accenture – and the chance to work with amazing clients. I also love working with the people here and in our client teams. No matter what team I’m in, I’m surrounded by bright, sparky, intelligent, people, who always keep me on my toes. I am a firm believer in the way we do business, the way that we think as an organisation and the fact that we always operate with integrity.”

James Langley is a Senior Manager in Management Consulting. He’s been with the company for 11 years, joining as a graduate from the University of Edinburgh.

“I work in an area we call Change Management and I'm passionate about it. In today's environment companies are constantly going through change - it could be implementing new processes, a new organisational structure, a new technology, or all three, and there are implications for the people in that business. Change management is the process, tools and techniques to manage the people-side, ensuring the required business outcome can be achieved as they go through this change. It’s a cross-industry role, and that means I can work in any company or industry".

“I enjoy the diversity of the work that Accenture offers. One day I could be working with my client either in The Hague or in London; the next I'm supporting proposals and presentations to prospective clients; the next I could be graduate recruiting in Edinburgh; or taking part in a company sponsored charity day; and then I’m in a studio being filmed! It’s this variety that’s kept me here for 11 years.”

James McCann is an Analyst in our Technology Practice. He’s based in Edinburgh and joined Accenture as a graduate from Strathclyde Business School in 2011.

“So many things appealed to me about Accenture before I joined: career progression; exposure to lots of different types of organisations; the chance to deepen my industry knowledge and become a true expert in what I do; and the opportunity to work globally. So far I haven’t been disappointed – I’ve already spent time in London and Bangalore, completing my core training, and I’m now based in Edinburgh working on a client project there.”

“I’ve been really impressed by the levels of responsibility I have already, quite early on in my career – I have a client facing role on one of the largest technology programmes in the business world! And best of all, I’ve met so many interesting people here, so there are endless opportunities to share knowledge and learn from others.”