During 25 years, my career in O.R. has spanned continents, encompassed both the public and private sectors, and allowed me to toggle between practice and academia.

Reconciling personal needs with a career can be tricky, but I have found O.R. to be very robust and transportable. After working for the Government O.R. Service and teaching at several UK universities, I moved to Brazil where there is a very active O.R. community. I first researched in an excellent university O.R. department and then worked for two very different companies. The first was IBM Brazil where I organised employee and client education in several OR-related subjects. The second company was a tiny but brilliant O.R. consulting firm where I applied my skills to Brazilian industry and learnt to market O.R. (not easy!) in the manufacturing, agriculture, and steel sectors. That experience* still informs and motivates a lot of my research.

After returning to the UK, I returned to academia  at UWE Bristol, where I consult for local firms, actively maintain my Brazilian links, and now edit OR Insight, the practice-oriented journal of the OR Society.

O.R. is international and wide-ranging. It opens doors to a rich variety of experiences and poses challenges that develop you both technically and managerially. Go for it - it's the opportunity of a lifetime.

* Do the Right Thing - When clients aren't clear about what they want", OR Insight, volume 11, issue 2, pp 24-27, April-June 1998.