What is your story Nicole?

I have a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management and have studied at KTH  Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, HKUST in Hong Kong and at ZJU in Zhejiang. Before joining OPX Partners I worked in equity sales and research in the banking industry, M&A in consumer goods and as a management consultant at Bain & Company. Since joining OPX Partners less than a year ago, I have already had the opportunity to work on multiple cases in different industries, and gotten the chance to work in multiple countries as part of these cases. During this year I also took part in a project in Rwanda as part of a collaboration between OPX and East Africa Investments.

The secondment in Rwanda sounds really exciting, can you tell us a little bit about that?

OPX Partners supports and invests in East Africa Investments (EAI) - an impact investment company, focused on bringing business support and capital to entrepreneurs in East Africa. Every year a few consultants from OPX Partners engage in one of the portfolio companies to provide operational support on-site. For my colleague Petra and I, it meant supporting a small e-commerce business called Kasha with the goal to make hygiene articles available for every woman in Rwanda. This is one of the most hands-on and rewarding projects I have ever done. We learned so much from the increased responsibility and developed both as consultants and personally. During the project, we helped them to set up a promotion tool and better understand profitability in their product portfolio, as well as make their sales support more efficient by further digitizing their sales process. They are a lot further ahead on the digital journey than many westerners think.

You came to OPX Partners from another consulting firm, what was important for you when you decided to switch?

The people and the type of projects that OPX Partners do were of course very important. I like the focus on companies that work at a quick pace, which are typically smaller and more agile. But coming in as a more junior employee you also value that you get the opportunity at OPX Partners to work closely with the client from day one, instead of spending the first years of your consulting career in the back-office. It is also very valuable that the organization is flat and non-hierarchical, meaning that I get to work side-by-side with partners and managers on the cases, which is great for personal development. In addition to that, the comprehensive OPX Academy (training program for junior employees) and the entrepreneurial culture where everyone is part of shaping OPX Partners to become the company we want to work for were important factors when I made the decision. At OPX Partners your contributions are valued regardless of seniority, and we focus on learning a lot from colleagues and helping each other out. Here everyone takes responsibility to make our workplace the best place to work!