Looking back at 2022 with three Valcon consultants

For pan-European consultancy Valcon, 2022 was the first full year of operation under the new Valcon brand. To find out how Valcon consultants have experienced 2022, we sat down with Anne Bang Sommer (Denmark), Anne Jenkins (United Kingdom), and Carl Laudy (Netherlands) to discuss the highs of their past year.

Anne Bang Sommer is based in Denmark and has worked at Valcon since 2018. She focuses on projects related to agile transformations, change leadership and leadership development. As a project lead, she often works on several projects at the same time.

Anne Jenkins is based in the United Kingdom. She started working at Valcon in March this year, mainly focusing on helping clients with conversational AI. Carl Laudy has been with Valcon in the Netherlands for three years. He is a member of Valcon’s data capability and has mainly been working on Covid-19-related data projects since his arrival.

Describing 2022 in one word

Reflecting on 2022, Anne B.S. says the year was “an interesting journey”. In the Nordics, Valcon is developing from a traditional management consultancy to also having strong capabilities in data and technology. “This enables us to even better support our clients with becoming future-proof.”

Meanwhile, “a lot of new young people joined the company in 2022, which has made the workplace more diverse. I’m delighted to see the new perspectives that this diversity in people brings to the firm and culture.”

Anne J. gives 2022 at Valcon one simple description: “awesome”. “Joining the firm was the best decision I ever made. I really enjoyed the work, vibe, and collaboration with colleagues over the past months.”

Having been a Valconeer for longer, Carl describes 2022 as “eye-opening”. During the course of the year, he grew from his role as a data engineer into a role as project lead and product owner, which requires new skills.

In his client work, his engagements have shifted their focus from Covid-19-emergency work to transitions with a longer-term horizon. As a result, the pace of the business regarding decision-making and setting goals has changed. Carl and his team are currently helping the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) with enhancing the data maturity of its Logistical Coordination Centre.

Biggest milestones of the year

In 2022, various internal groups were active within Valcon in the Nordics, such as the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion community, and a group aimed at improving the firm’s commercial capabilities by building strong client relationships across all levels of the team. Anne B.S. sees the efforts of these groups as a major milestone for 2022.

For Anne J., her contribution to helping the 2023 go-live of a new chatbot for a Valcon client was her biggest milestone. “Besides that, I really enjoyed the contact with colleagues from the Nordics and the Netherlands who helped realise the project.”

Taking things beyond life at Valcon, Carl points at his new apartment. “Moving into the apartment was definitely my largest milestone,” he says with a smile. “Obviously, being able to settle into my new role as project lead was also very fulfilling.”

Plans for 2023

After rounding off her current project portfolio, Anne B.S. will take some time off in 2023 to pursue a backpacking adventure in South America. “I’m very much looking forward to the adventure and am curious about the lessons it will bring.”

Anne J. looks forward to continuing the role she currently has. “My objective is to show the benefits of conversational AI to as many clients as possible worldwide.”

Alongside gaining more experience as a project lead, Carl aims to broaden his skillset – among others by gaining expertise in the field of data engineering.

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