Meet Lottie...
We caught up with Lottie, Senior Associate at BRG, to learn more about her experience at the company.
Please tell us a little about yourself and your role at BRG.
Hi, I’m Lottie, and I’m currently a Senior Associate at BRG. In my role, I have the opportunity to work on a variety of projects, including cases in Competition Economics, Audit Negligence, and Business Valuations.
Before joining BRG, I studied Economics and Management at Oxford University. During my time there, I was an active member of my college’s netball and ultimate frisbee teams and was heavily involved in one of the student consulting societies.
In my spare time, I enjoy cooking, painting, and traveling. I’m currently planning a bucket-list trip to Canada!
What is your favourite part of your role?
I would say that my favourite part of the role is that I am consistently given the chance to learn. Working on such a variety of projects gives me the opportunity to always be developing and picking up new skills.
The structure of our company also means that juniors get a lot of responsibility on projects from the outset, which really gives you a chance to develop your critical thinking, communication and organisational skills.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I usually get into the office just before 9. I start by getting a coffee and writing my ‘to do’ list for the day. Often, I have a project team meeting in the morning, where we discuss ongoing tasks, give status updates and ask any burning questions.
After a team meeting, there are usually more tasks to action. Tasks can vary a lot! They can be qualitative, e.g., desk research, reviewing key documents in the case, drafting sections in our expert reports. Or they can be quantitative, for example cleaning large datasets, creating financial models or producing charts.
The junior staff usually eat lunch at a similar time, and we have a great kitchen space for everyone to have a catch up about their days.
In the afternoon, I will spend a small amount of time on non-project work, such as planning events for our Women’s Leadership Initiative or completing training courses.
I leave the office around 5.30, and I often meet friends or go for a drink with my colleagues.
What skills would you say are important for your role?
I would say the most important skill for my role is being able to communicate effectively. This applies to both written and verbal communication. My role often involves having to explain complex ideas, ask targeted clarifying questions and write concisely and accurately in our export reports.
Having good quantitative skills is also very important, as I work primarily with data in one form or another. My role also involves having to quality check my colleagues’ work regularly, therefore understanding why their data analysis may or may not be correct is paramount.
Finally, having great interpersonal skills is important, as I need to be able to work within a team of all different backgrounds and experience levels. Also, in my role there is the longer-term view of building my own network of potential clients, so being able to converse professionally and effectively is key.
What do you like about BRG as a company?
I like the fact that our office in London isn’t too big. We have around 100 employees, which means that you can form a personal relationship with most colleagues, which makes working with many different people a lot easier.
We also have the freedom to organise social events or create clubs/initiatives within the office. For example, I have recently set up a Women’s Leadership Initiative with the help of two colleagues. We set up the WLI to improve the community for female employees in London and have already organised a Christmas Hamper Raffle for charity and monthly networking opportunities.