Rachel joined the team in 2014 and over this time the scope of her role has changed considerably.
In these quick fire questions below we get to know a bit about Rachel and what her responsibilities entail.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
When and why did you decide to join Commerce Decisions?
I joined Commerce Decisions in 2014 as Finance & Operations Assistant, which was a newly formed role due to the business expanding. I had worked in a number of similar roles in the past, but was excited to join such an innovative company in a completely different industry. I’m now VP Customer Success & Operations, and the scope of my role has grown a fair bit over the years!
What are your main responsibilities?
I manage our Finance and Office Management functions in the UK and Australia, and my role covers a huge breadth of areas – HR, finance/accounting, audit, health & safety, change management, systems & processes… the list goes on! Holding a central role means I frequently get to engage with people right across our business.
What is your current focus/priorities?
The recent acquisition by Harris Computer means that my focus at the moment is on ensuring a smooth transition across from QinetiQ. As with any acquisition, there is a lot to do and a lot to learn – new systems, policies and processes – and my role in Operations is to make this as smooth and simple for our team as possible, whilst ensuring the best outcome for both Commerce Decisions and Harris.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
2020 has really changed my perspective on free time – being in lockdown for weeks at a time has reinvigorated my love of reading (I’ve just finished The Midnight Library by Matt Haig and have been recommending it to anyone who will listen!). I’ve also started walking and cycling a lot more – there are some beautiful routes near my home in South Oxfordshire.
What was your first job?
My first job was a Sales Assistant at Next when I was 16 – I joined just before Christmas and absolutely loved the buzz of helping people with their present shopping. My first full-time job after university was as a Customer Service Assistant for a distributor of hi-fi/DJ equipment.
What’s one thing you’re learning now, and why is it important?
For the last few years I’ve been studying towards an MBA alongside working full time – I’m currently studying the “Finance for Strategic Decision Making” module which has really helped my understanding of finance beyond the day to day accounting that forms part of my role. This will be particularly useful as we begin to understand the reporting requirements of our new parent company! The MBA has been tough going at times, but I’m sure I will miss it once I graduate next year (fingers crossed).
What’s a work-related accomplishment that you’re really proud of?
My first project when I joined CD was to implement a new solution for accounting, timesheets, expenses and absence recording, including selection of suppliers, implementation of the systems, user training etc. This completely overhauled our way of working, integrating and streamlining processes which had previously been disjointed and incredibly manual. More recently, I played a key role in the due diligence work which led to the successful acquisition of Commerce Decisions by Harris.
Find out more
You can find more information about the acquisition of Commerce Decisions by Harris Computer Corporation here.
You can find more information about the Commerce Decisions team, including details of our current vacancies, on our Careers page.