International Women's Day Feature: Eirini Katsampa

We’re celebrating International Women’s Day all week, putting the spotlight on some of the top female talent in TSG.

Our last, but by no means least, interview is with our Senior Applications Consultant (NAV) Eirini Katsampa. Eirini has been working in the NAV consultancy space for around 13 years, after moving from an accountancy role.

In her accountancy role, Eirini used NAV as a consumer, which allows her to understand our customers’ use of the programme and deliver an exceptional customer service.

Eirini travels to customers across the UK to understand how they work and enable them to use Dynamics NAV to its full potential. Eirini takes the lead on Dynamics NAV projects, scoping out the customer requirements and working closely with our NAV developers to ensure the customers’ needs are met. Eirini is also heavily involved in the testing design of our NAV solutions and provides training to our customers.

What was your first job?

I worked as a part time Receptionist assistant in a small commercial company while I was at university.

If you could pick up a new skill in an instant what would it be?

Technical skills would be the one thing I would like to pick instantly. People believe that if you work in an IT company you know how to build a pc or a server, where my job is more of understanding business’s needs and analysing their way of working in order to suggest the best way to use our applications.

Who’s someone you really admire?

Growing up in Greece, it didn’t take long to start admiring Socrates from a very young age. He was an amazing philosopher and his views on life are still valuable. He believed that philosophy should achieve practical results for the greater well-being of society. Interestingly Socrates believed that governments could work better when ruled by individuals who had the greatest ability, knowledge and possessed a complete understanding of themselves.

Who had the most influence on you growing up?

I was really lucky to have some great teachers during my school years that didn’t only cover the basic curriculum, but also taught us how to think and how to focus on the things that really matter.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever heard?

To follow my instincts and only make choices that feel right.

Why TSG?

Passion, Quality and Ownership are TSG’s values and they 100% represent my professional personality. For me TSG it is not just another firm, it is all about people working with passion to deliver the best to our customers!

How can we improve the representation of women in tech?

Some young girls nowadays are ignoring how creative technology can be. Developing, analysing data and being part of new technology that is being continually released is really fascinating.

What does a typical day at TSG look like for you?

My days are never boring! I may be traveling to a customer appointment in London, Wales, Newcastle or staying home preparing a business analysis or testing development for a project. During the day I will be helping my colleagues, my customers and preparing for future appointments.

What will be the number 1 technology trend in 2018 and why?

Office 365 are already in our lives however we will see more applications added in the near future and being the number one choice in the market from a small business to a big organisation.

What advice would you give to a young woman looking to make it in the technology sector or succeed in business in general?

If you have ideas, speak clear and loud! If you have questions, ask! Don’t hesitate to express your ideas even if they are very different and even if you get negative feedback don’t stop, use the negative feedback to improve your ideas and go back again and again. This is how we develop as professionals.

How would you describe yourself in one word?

Diligent

What is your differentiator in the business world?

I care!!! I care about my projects, I care about my work! I work with passion and I am trying to give the best quality every single day. I think this is what my colleagues and customers find positive about me.

You’ve been successful in business, what has motivated you to get to this point?

Knowing myself and knowing what I want motivates me to go for it!

Tell me something that’s true, that almost nobody agrees with you on.

Nobody believes me when I say that in some places in Greece winter can be very cold, colder than England’s. Greece is not only sun and beaches, it is also mountains and snow centres.

What has been the main barrier or opposition you have found being a woman in tech?

Sometimes in my career I felt that I needed to work harder to prove who I am just because I am a woman. Nowadays, things are getting better for women and we are recognised for our hard work.