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Emma Furniss |
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| Associate |
Function: Associate
Education: PhD. in History (Oxford), Masters in History (Cambridge), MA (Hons) in History (Oxford)
Joined Booz & Company: 2007
What is your background?
I studied history in the UK, Spain and the Netherlands, wrote a book about sixteenth-century Spain and completed a PhD. I would definitely be defined as an 'Alpha' student, but I always enjoyed working with numbers and solving problems in a logical way.
Why Booz & Company?
For me, the people were the main reason. I checked out some other consulting firms during the recruitment process, but I had a real click with all the people at Booz & Company I met. They were inspiring, smart and ambitious but, most of all, diverse, down-to-earth and a lot of fun. I knew immediately that I wanted to work with them. In addition, the opportunities to work abroad appealed to me, and the training that I was offered (Mini MBA and intensive Finance Course), which demonstrated the extent to which Booz & Company was prepared to invest in me.
How diverse is Booz & Company?
Booz & Company is not only diverse in terms of the amount of women working, but also in terms of the diverse backgrounds in the office. At the last count, we had 18 different nationalities amongst the consulting staff, which makes for a fascinating group of colleagues (as well as some great holiday destinations!) Amongst the women, in particular, there is a strong sense of camaraderie: once a week we have a ladies' dinner together and we often go out shopping together or socializing after work.
What do you like most about your job?
The fact that I am never bored. In general, I get distracted easily, but, with the intensity of projects, the range of subject matter we deal with and the wide variety of teams we work in. The job is never the same from one day to the next. I am continuously learning, and improving my consulting skills, both because of the sheer variety of problems I am exposed to, and because of the motivating and inspiring attitudes of my colleagues. The international travel and buzz from seeing the results of your work in the newspapers are added extras, of course, as is the intellectual challenge raised by the assignments we are given.
Which project was your most interesting project and why?
Within an international Booz & Company team, I worked on a project for a global premium Scotch whisky producer in Scotland. Our team was based entirely on site, so we gained invaluable insights into the working of the company and the industry as a whole, and we worked very closely with the CFO of the company. In addition, because our team was relatively small, we brainstormed ideas together, solved difficult problems together and had a lot of fun socializing at the end of the day. Intellectually, some of the scenarios we were suggesting were very complicated and satisfying to complete. Even more interesting than this, however, was the thrill of seeing my ideas being used by the CFO in his internal presentations, and being told by the client that he loved us being on site because of the extra challenge it brought to his own daily work.