‘Build it and they will come!’ – a quote I have lived by since the good old days of my middle school’s house competition to where am I now, an Account Executive at a newly formed company, Kabeelah . I guess my ‘build it’ journey began at middle school, forming Thatcher’s House chess team, to compete against the other three houses. A simple task, although the organisation for the school’s sports day proved more challenging. However, I look back with fond memories knowing we were able to build a side that competed for the first time in several years and, despite the obvious, I will forever claim we finished just outside the medal table in 4th place.
Throughout my life I joined organisations and represented institutions where I felt a sense of belonging which complimented the opportunity to build something greater than oneself. My own sporting playing career came to a close at the age of 23, as my ankles succumbed to the motto ‘Build them and they will roll’, and my attentions turned to leadership positions within sporting organisations. I feel a great sense of pride reflecting on what we built for a variety of people, such as creating one of the top University basketball programmes in the United Kingdom, to representing 13,500 students at Brunel University and drastically changing the sporting landscape. Developing the respective programmes, reputations, and partnerships proved extremely satisfying, as was the knowledge that such experiences and opportunities would continue beyond my time at the institutions.
With over ten years working in the sporting and educational sector, the ability to communicate, organise, build meaningful relationships, and be proactive, developed consistently. For many years I have been interested in joining the new world I now find myself in. The skill set necessary, to be successful, was clearly similar to that required in my previous roles. Multiple possibilities were presented, but none aligned with my desire to continue building projects, until Kabeelah came along.
The very definition of Kabeelah (meaning ‘Clan’ or ‘Tribe’ in Arabic) aligned with my key operational values of being a team – one team. Although I have only been with the company for two months, I have experienced first-hand the close-knit nature of the group, and the desire to see our partners and customers benefit from that bond. Involvement in the organisation is incredibly motivating, and I am surrounded by highly skilled and accredited people who are caring, knowledgeable and passionate. When I first met Paul Render, the Chief Sales, Commercial and Marketing Officer and he mentioned the quote ‘Build it and they will come!’, I knew I’d found a new home, in a different field, where my passion for organisational development would be cultivated. I am excited for what the future holds with current and future customers as well as our newly formed partnership with Anaplan.
