New partner Christie Fearnside, speaks to the Alumni Network about her new role at Deloitte, and her advice to others aspiring to move into a senior leadership role.
"You don't need to set a career path to follow because often you don’t know what opportunities are going to present themselves to you."
Tell us about your career to date:
I joined Deloitte over three and half years ago as a Director working in public sector transport, focussing on how the sector can transform through digital innovation. I also have consultancy experience from elsewhere, and I worked at Network Rail for over 6 years where I left as the IT Programme Manager for, at the time, the largest digital transformation programme of rail in Europe.
What projects at Deloitte are you most proud of working on?
I’ve loved working on the CIO programme where we support senior leaders on their career journey. The programme is about people, talking to them about how we can build their leadership skills, and equipping them with the expertise, tech and IT knowledge to move up to the next level.
I’m also passionate about the work we've been doing across transport to advise on how digital and data can be used to operate more sustainable and resilient networks. We’re working on projects that support ambitions to create digital networks in the UK which are more sustainable and could enable autonomous travel.
What does being a Partner mean to you?
Being a Partner is about making a difference to our clients, and to our teams at Deloitte. It’s about being a leader for the teams around me, supporting our clients by bringing the best of Deloitte across to them, and making a meaningful difference.
What advice do you have for those aspiring to move into a senior leadership role.
Don’t be afraid not to be the expert. Being a strong leader is about listening to the client, offering your knowledge, expertise and confidence to solve a challenge with a different perspective. You also don’t need to set a career path to follow because often you don’t know what opportunities are going to present themselves to you.