Meet Alex, Business Consultant

Background

I began my journey in the hectic world of finance at the Amsterdam Options Exchange during its Open Outcry days. The energy there was palpable. Later, I had the privilege to work at Beursplein 5, the historical heart of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange since 1911, a legacy dating back to its founding in 1611.Since then I have had the opportunity to work at several Banks, Insurance and Pension Funds, Asset Managers as part of Family Offices like C&A and IKEA in different financial roles up to the senior level. Even though I have a strong accounting background, I feel like I have always worked on the intersection between accounting and IT. Often being the youngest member of the Finance team and the most flexible to learn and adapt to new developments I found myself regularly in the middle of selecting and rolling out new ERP systems and other systems and integrations. I have worked with Peoplesoft, SAP and NetSuite systems often as a superuser or administrator. I have always had a passion for technology and a big interest in IT. This has helped me in my career to improve the way of working by leading digital transformation and optimization of processes and systems. Selecting and correctly implementing the right ERP solution can make a tremendous difference. Saving on costs, eliminating errors, improving compliance, and cutting back on time to report. In many of these roles getting the data from different systems, preparing and entering and finally reporting took too much effort from the finance teams. Besides that, I have also been the treasurer and board member of a non-profit organization The Dutch Association for Forsterfamilies (in Dutch ‘de NVP’) for 7+ years now. Recently we changed the structure and I am now part of the Supervisory Board. It is a cause very close to my heart being a foster parent myself for many years.

Why Novutech?

I had been working with Novutech for four years before making the step to join them and felt a great match. Still, I had to make a decision, do I want to stay in accounting or transition to IT? Novutech provided me with both by offering me a position as a NetSuite consultant. They were very supportive when I told them I first wanted to make sure I had a solid foundation in IT by going back to school for a year. Without their support, I could not have taken this step. Knowing I already had a job waiting for me made it possible to start this new chapter. That is why I joined Novutech in October of 2022.

Novutech's Journey

As a Functional Consultant, I assist the different customers on the functional part of Netsuite. This can be an implementation of NetSuite, support by training users, installing and configuring new features or helping them to solve problems they may encounter. Navigating all the extensive capabilities of NetSuite was initially challenging, given the software's vast scope. However, with the unwavering support from my team, the comprehensive resources from Novutech, and the training documentation provided by NetSuite itself, I rapidly advanced to a level of self-sufficiency.By the start of 2023, I had the privilege of starting my first implementation project together with a seasoned senior consultant who showed me the ropes, keeping away from any pitfalls. This while getting a good handle on the Novutech methodology to ensure that our client would have a timely and successful go-live. Currently, I am leading the finance part of a large implementation in the retail business. Continuous learning is part of the company culture and vital to our growth and development. Getting to work as a consultant with different companies in different industries alongside finance teams, often in different countries, really expands my knowledge and learning curve exponentially!