Employee Spotlight: Vicki Humphrey – Senior Manager of Technology Consulting
Welcome to another edition of our Employee Spotlight blog series. In today’s interview, we are proud to share Vicki Humphrey’s story. Vicki is a Senior Manager in Bridgepoint’s Technology Consulting practice and has worked with Bridgepoint for eight years. She currently leads our Cybersecurity Advisory and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) services, and is a graduate of Bridgepoint’s Leadership Academy program. I recently sat down with Vicki to find out about her role, what she finds rewarding about being a consultant and why relationships have been key to her success. Here’s what she had to say.
GETTING TO KNOW…
- Name: Vicki Humphrey
- Title: Senior Manager of Technology Consulting
- Department/Practice Area: Technology Consulting
- Time at Bridgepoint: 8 years
- Hometown: I was born in Seoul, South Korea, but have been living in the United States since 1981
- Education and Certifications:
- Case Western Reserve University: Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering
- Certification: CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor)
- What is your role at Bridgepoint? I am a Senior Manager in Bridgepoint’s Technology Consulting practice. My primary focus is leading Bridgepoint’s Cybersecurity Advisory and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) services, which helps organizations address their most complex, high-priority security challenges.
- How did you decide upon a career in consulting? What attracted you to Bridgepoint? I decided to leave IBM after twelve years of service when I had my second child. With two small children, I was looking for a more flexible and stimulating career. I was introduced to Bridgepoint’s founding partner Bob Smith, and felt like Bridgepoint was the place for me. As a part-time employee, I found that I could work in a great environment and take care of my family. I became a full-time employee in 2014 when my kids went to college, and have now been here for eight years. Bridgepoint is such a great place for someone who is looking for a job that offers work/life balance!
- What’s your favorite aspect of your job? I really enjoy working with many different organizations and building long-lasting relationships with clients. I love to meet new people and and enjoy figuring out the best way to help them solve their business challenges. Since every client environment is different, the work never gets boring.
- What is the toughest part of your job? Working on projects for multiple clients at the same time can be tough at times. While I love that aspect of the job, it can sometimes be challenging to be efficient while switching from one project to another. Regardless, I always commit myself fully to every project that I oversee.
- What is the most memorable client engagement you’ve had so far? While performing an ERP system selection project for a recycling management company, the client was giving us a tour of the facility, and the recycling pile smelled horrendous. I had to discreetly breathe through my mouth throughout the entire tour.
- What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? I have received a lot of great advice over the years, but the words that have stuck with me the most are “respect others and treat them as you would like to be treated.” I know it may sound corny, but I’ve always practiced it and encourage my fellow teammates to do the same.
- What would people never guess you do in your role? My job has so many different responsibilities. Sometimes I need to review scripts or software codes to validate the system setting or reports. In those cases, my computer engineering degree and past work experience as a programmer at IBM come in handy!
- What do you like to do in your spare time? I love to cook, but more importantly I LOVE to dine out and try different restaurants. We have so many amazing culinary choices in Austin, but I tend to go back to the same few places—I need to learn to take a risk.
- What is one fun fact that would surprise people? I love watching sports, especially football. I love hard hits! My fall weekend is actually scheduled around all of the UT football games—hookem!!!
- If you could provide a few words of advice and encouragement to someone looking to go into the field of consulting, what would you say? Here at Bridgepoint, we believe in building long-lasting relationships by keeping our clients’ best interests as our primary focus. If you get satisfaction from helping clients and seeing their organization succeed, then consulting is definitely the right path for you. Organizations usually reach out to a consulting firm because they can’t figure out the solution, their organization isn’t robust, or they don’t have the appropriate staff to handle issues in-house. If projects were easy, clients wouldn’t need us. My number one piece of advice—embrace the challenges!
Check out additional Bridgepoint Employee Spotlight stories here.
