We caught up with Frances Holmes, finalist for Young Consultant of the Year at the Management Consultancies Association Awards, to discuss a whirlwind 12 months, what makes her tick and plans for the next five years.

 

Not a bad few months being awarded Thales Consultant of the Year in 2017 and now, your nomination for MCA award Young Consultant of the Year - how are you feeling?

A little overwhelmed to be honest. It’s great to be recognised for the work I have done, but I am still very early in my career and I know I have got a lot more I want to do and learn, I guess this is just the start.

 

What's a typical day look like for you?

The great thing about consultancy is no day is the same. At the moment I work across two clients, one internal to Thales in the innovation hub and one external in a government department. Both are different projects and utilise and develop a diverse range of skills. One day I am in London, embedded in a government team, managing a business change initiative, the next I am talking to engineers in Thales to progress there projects along business and customer axes.
 

What's the best part of your work…? 

The variety of people I get to work with and meet on a daily basis. Thales employees are experts in their fields and always willing to talk me through the details of their projects. External stakeholders have come to talk to me at events because I am from Thales, meeting experts in smart cities, cryptography across industry and government departments. The network I am building is diverse and deep in knowledge and expertise.
 

…And the most challenging?

I am a natural introvert, so large meeting and networking events are always something I need to “Big Myself Up” for. It gets easier the more I do it, but I still get those butter flies before I enter a large event where I do not know anyone.
 

What are the Thales Cyber & Consulting team like to work with? 

I have not yet had the opportunity to work with a lot of teams in TC&C as I have been out on contract since I started. However, whenever I have had questions, everyone always has time to help. The structure is really flat, and the management are very approachable. If you have a good idea and a forward approach, your thoughts and opinions will always be heard.
 

Now for a bit of background…

What did you study at University?

I studied Maths at Newcastle University. I did an undergraduate masters in mathematics, specialising in General Relativity and black holes for my thesis.
 

Any ways you can link the concepts you learnt at Uni with your work at Thales? 

My degree and thesis gave me a great foundation in code development and ground breaking theories. This has driven my work in the research and innovation domains. It has allowed me to understand the technical aspects of the projects I am working on and be able to communicate effectively with the SME community. I fully appreciating the constrains and limitations they are under.
 

Have you had any challenges in your career? If so, how did you overcome it and what did it teach you? 

 
I am definitely still coming face-to-face with challenges every day. I don’t feel like you ever stop learning, and you only learn when you are challenged with something new. I constantly have times when I feel I could have delivered my knowledge and argument better, or that I should have gone about a task differently, but that’s all the learning curve we go through to improve. I don’t expect to know it all at 28, I have a lot more to learn and many more times to will fail before I get it right.
 

Back to the future…

Where do you see your career in five years? 

I have been asked this question a number of times over the past year, especially around appraisal times. It is never a question I really know how to answer. My career to date has definitely not been planned out, I wouldn’t expect to be here, as a business consultant 5 years ago when I finished my degree. So here goes for an answer, in 5 years’ time I want to be a senior leader in a technology organisation, building on my internal and external network at Thales. I want to have challenged and broken down barriers. I want to enjoy every day of my career and continue to be challenged.
 

Any favourite quotes?

I clearly say “Love” to much in conversation, when referring to someone. I think its my northern routes. But I think my fav quote I live by is not to be afraid to fail, if you always play it safe you won’t do anything of note.
 

What do you like to do in your down time? 

I am a qualified sailing instructor and yacht day skipper, so I do love sailing. Unfortunately I don’t get to do it as much as I would like.
 

And finally… favourite food?

Bolognaise, that was easy, it’s my go to comfort food.