Meet Craig.
What makes you excited about digital transformation?
From my experience, it is the positive change that I've seen in people that gets me most excited about the potential of digital transformation. I am optimistic by nature, so I look at digital transformation as an opportunity for me to learn and evolve, and for us all to build towards a fairer society. I know that that's much easier to say than it will be to do, but my excitement comes from watching savvy, curious, empowered people create new things, in the right way. That gives me a real buzz.
What do you bring to the Sona experience?
I would mostly say, experience, enthusiasm and excitement. I've been around technology for most of my career and have led people through digital transformation, so I've seen the difference between the theory and practise, and the truth is, it's a combination of the two that will make you successful. I've also really interested in people and how they fulfil their potential. So with Sona I'd like to create the environment that I wish I had when I was starting on my digital transformation journey. Back then, what I wished for was to be able to surround myself with clever supportive people that would challenge me, and encourage me, and give me the confidence to believe in myself and the skills to make it happen. Sona is all about doing this in a joyful and enthusiastic way, because I've seen that when learning is delivered in that way, it has a lasting impact and people go on to surprise you with what they can do with their newfound confidence and capability.
When your daughter asks you what you do for a living, what do you say?
This will sound a little bit cheesy, but I usually start by saying I do really fun things, with fun people that I rate. Right now, from a work perspective, what I find the most fun is digital transformation and mentoring. And Sona is right in the sweet spot of that. But then my daughter will probably follow up with, “yeah, but what do you actually do?”, to which my answer would probably be, I help people to start using new technology in interesting ways.
If you could travel back in time, what career advice would you give your younger self?
I would definitely say to my younger self, be a lot more selective about whose advice you take on board, and to be a lot more confident in your ability to make a living from the things you love doing. If I'd known that back then, I think I would have been having fun a lot earlier in my career!
Is there anything you would like to highlight about Dave?
Dave is an awesome collaborator. I don't think I've met anyone who is so open to exploring new ideas in such a collegiate way. Every conversation with Dave leaves me feeling smarter than I was previously. His inclusive style just draws you in and allows you to explore ideas in a safe and creative way. With Dave it is not just ideas for the sake of ideas, there's always a call to action that emerges at the end. It is an absolute joy working with Dave (and believe me, I'm not the only person that thinks that).