Kai Andrews
Point B
Excellence in Technology
Kai Andrews ended up in consulting purely by accident, he says. He always had a strong technical interest but started his career as a CPA when he found his way into helping companies install financial systems which led to a job in software development. "Ultimately, I didn't want to keep up with every latest coding language and found that I could instead help businesses translate their needs to tech speak… and the rest was history," he says.
Today, Andrews is Principal, Future of Work Practice Leader at Point B and has over 20 years of business and IT consulting experience, with 15 years of expertise in delivering pragmatic workplace transformations and business collaboration and intelligence engagements.
"I get the greatest sense of achievement when faced with a challenge and a blank slate," he says. "Whether designing and deploying an international store management portal for a client that was built on a yet-to-be-released version of SharePoint or standing up Point B's Future of Work practice, building a vision and leading a team to success is an accomplishment that never gets old."
The ability to make technology relatable at a human level has been the biggest factor to his success, he says. "Whether I'm designing a system from scratch or we are implementing a content management portal, it is the usability of the system and how it makes the user's work life better that is of the ultimate importance."
Never knowing what is coming next is one of the aspects Andrews says he enjoys most about consulting. "Every client is unique, every team is fun to get to know and every business need entails a unique challenge different from those before," he says. "There's no time to be bored. There's certainly no time to get lazy. It's fantastic to have a job that changes every few months."
Meanwhile, the desire to make the work experience better for those that I work with and those that I work for continues to motivate him, he says. "Technology is the great enabler to a better work environment, providing us with tools to be better, smarter and more effective. Everyone deserves the best that we as consultants have to offer."
When it comes to winning Consulting's Top 25 Award, Andrews says it's a humbling honor and he's still trying to wrap his head around it. "I am in amazing company with both colleagues here at Point B as well as from around the world," Andrews says. "All I can say is 'thank you' to all of those that I work with and for since a recognition like this is only possible through partnership and ultimately friendship."
Q&A: Professionally, what are you most looking forward to over the next 12 months?
Andrews: Oh, how this answer would have been different five weeks ago… The world is facing an unprecedented upheaval in both our business and personal lives. Workers around the world are being thrust into new ways of working and we are witnessing new levels of creativity and perseverance as employees cope with remote work. These behaviors must be understood and then applied to the "new normal" that will take hold in the coming year. I look forward to helping companies take those lessons and transform their organizations and ways of working for the better.
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