Like many fresh graduates, I didn't know what I really wanted to do when I grew up, but had an interest in the Energy sector arising from the first energy crisis in the 1970s. I applied to the Civil Service to work as an Economist, and was posted to the Department of Energy, as I'd requested. I worked on a pretty interesting set of issues, but didn't enjoy all aspects of life in the Department, as viewers of "Yes Minister" could perhaps appreciate! And so at the start of 1984 I found myself as a junior consultant at Arthur D Little's Energy Practice.

One of my first projects was to work on the renegotiation of the exploration and production agreements in place between a large international oil company and the national oil company of Angola. These negotiations took place over a period of about three years and the location rotated between Luanda, Lisbon, California and London. The several weeks that I spent in Luanda certainly made an impression, as the country was in the midst of a civil war. Over the years, I moved further downstream and began to specialise in the midstream and downstream parts of the energy sector. We built up a team, which reached about 20 people by the mid 1990s, and I was appointed Director. I thoroughly enjoyed my new role as "coach" to a team, and seeing the individuals I had recruited growing in competence and confidence. Their energy and drive fed through into myself, and I was able to set ever-more challenging goals for myself, which kept me interested.

By 1997 I felt I'd taken it as far as I could and I left Arthur D. Little to join another consulting firm. I enjoyed my time there, but that firm had a number of features which were less attractive than Arthur D. Little. Mainly these were the absence of the culture of collaboration, sharing and community which Arthur D. Little has in abundance. Also, the lack of a strong network of like-minded people spread around the world who are willing to help you whenever you ask them. So in September 2002 I was delighted to rejoin Arthur D. Little and work with colleagues whom I remembered fondly from my earlier career.

Joe Place is a Manager in Arthur D. Little’s Technology and Innovation Management (TIM) Practice. He joined the firm in December 2007, having spent four years working on innovation policy for the Regional Development Agency based in his native Newcastle. Prior to this, he had completed an MSc in Physics at the University of Oxford.

Since joining Arthur D. Little, Joe has worked for clients in both the public and private sectors, advising many on innovation and clean technologies, including biofuels. Having the opportunity to undertake a wide range of project-based work was one of the things that attracted Joe to the firm as was the calibre of the Arthur D. Little’s managers whom he had worked with during his previous employment.

Joe appreciates the opportunity his role now gives him to develop a detailed understanding of the technologies he is advising clients on and of the issues they face. This detailed understanding, he says, is fundamental to being able to deliver accurate strategic advice to clients and is, in fact, a hallmark of Arthur D. Little’s approach.

Joe also appreciates the large degree of autonomy he is given in his work and the fact that he is trusted to make decisions based on his own research and experience. As his career develops, he expects to enjoy an even greater degree of autonomy as he manages the delivery of increasingly large and complex projects for clients.

His development at Manager level will be supported by a number of training courses, including a case management course and training in effective writing, a key skill for managers. These courses, Joe predicts, will be of a similarly high standard as the firm’s Core Managing course, which he took shortly after joining. This, he says, was one of the best he has ever attended – closely tailored to practical managing challenges and superbly taught.

Richard Swinford is a Principal in Arthur D. Little’s Telecoms, Information, Media & Electronics (TIME) Practice. He has been with the firm for ten years, having joined as a graduate recruit with an MEng from Imperial College London. He now advises major telecoms and media companies on strategy. This includes providing expert support for transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions, and for regulatory negotiations.

Even at university, Richard had been aware of Arthur D. Little as a strategy consultancy with a deep understanding of technology at the heart of its proposition to clients. This understanding, he says, gave (and still gives) the firm real credibility in the technology space and made it the type of organisation he wanted to be part of.

As a graduate he wanted to travel and see the world and his career with ADL has helped him fulfil that ambition. He has worked extensively in Europe, throughout the Middle East and also in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa and China/Hong Kong. Currently, up to 40% of his work is in emerging markets and he derives great satisfaction from helping clients to deliver communications services to communities that have no telecoms access.

Richard’s development as a management consultant has been supported at each stage by the firm’s regular training events, which bring together ADL employees from across the globe. He has also gained knowledge by working alongside colleagues from the firm’s functional practices, such as Corporate Finance and Sustainability & Risk. Media coaching has helped him to perform effectively as a conference speaker and facilitator, presenting the results of studies carried out by the firm worldwide.

As a Principal, Richard’s role focuses on selling and leading client engagements. He still sees huge scope for personal development ahead, as he takes on the challenge of leading increasingly complex, global projects, for high-profile clients and involving teams drawn from a wide range of cultural and professional backgrounds.