μεταcole

Much has happened in my working life this past year, despite my lack of updates here.

A key event was when I left Digital Boomerang. I’d been there for 4 and a half years, and it was one incredible journey of growth for me. It pushed me to my limits, beyond my limits, and expanded my limits.

The people I’ve worked with have been simply extraordinary: Pam, Sam, Jenny, Nat, Cindy, Yanling, Lala, Alexis, Yusuf, Sarah, Jose, Reg, Yuen, Jinyu, Jiayi, Vishal, and the stalwarts Elaine and Colin. Even Rupert, the cuddly office corgi who accompanied me in the office countless nights when I had to work late and needed some stress relief. And of course Charlotte (CEO, or Chief Entertainment Officer), who catalysed my growth spurt especially in the EQ side of things.

That journey drew to a close a year ago at the end of 2013 when I felt it was time for me to move on. Move on to what? I had completely no idea then. I was exploring different options and ideas, thinking of joining different companies or even venturing out on my own.

One fateful afternoon, I met with a friend to talk about an opportunity where she worked. We talked about their challenges, and where I could help. I sent my resume to her boss soon after.

Her boss called a few weeks later.

“We’d like you to work with us on a 3-month contract,” he told me, and gave me some details on the work.

“When do I start?” It didn’t take long for me to decide. I was, afterall, jobless looking for opportunities, and this was one. Besides, it would only be 3 months as an independent consultant.

The 3-month consulting gig eventually led to a permanent position there in Asian Mobile Banking, part of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

It’s been almost a year there already, and I’ve had the privilege to do many things, including:

• talking to scores of small business owners in different cities of Indonesia and Vietnam to really understand their needs as our customer
• coming up with innovations for a lending app (BizLoan), including some very compelling features (some not launched yet)
• conceptualising the app, its screens and interactions
• directing the user experience and design of the app
• working closely with fantastic team mates in Singapore, Jakarta, and Ho Chi Minh city, including customer experience people, designers, app developers, testers, analysts, and many other banking stakeholders to make the app possible
• setting up processes to continually improve the customer experience of all our apps
• guiding and coaching customer experience colleagues in Indonesia and Vietnam in user research

Overall it’s been an incredibly fun and fulfilling ride, particularly with the successful launch of the BizLoan app in Ho Chi Minh city last month – in our first week, there were already more than 100 downloads every single day.

It’s now 2015, and while much has happened last year, much will also be happening this year.

Watch this space.