STRATEGIC PROBLEM SOLVING Ada Yin

Ada YIN (2014)

From a Bachelor of Commerce to cognitive science, Ada Yin has channelled her problemsolving capabilities to deliver tangible solutions for business clients. Acknowledging the importance of emotional intelligence in her field, Ada tells us how debating and public speaking at SCEGGS provided her foundational skills to communicate effectively.

Can you tell us a little bit about what you have been up to since graduating in 2014?

I studied a Bachelor of Commerce (Liberal Studies) at the University of Sydney majoring in Business Information Systems and Finance.

I used the liberal component of my degree to follow my interest about how people and technology intersect. Through this, I attended the University of California San Diego as an exchange student where I studied cognitive science, took a coding class and gained a minor in Economics.

My first corporate role was at Microsoft where I worked part-time for just over 18 months while continuing with my studies. At Microsoft, I fell in love with technology’s ability to help people solve problems in innovative and simpler ways. In this role, I started by working in technology strategy in enterprise sales (FinTech), moved onto building solutions with our partner businesses (Education) and rounded out my time in the more deeply technical space of Data and Artificial Intelligence solutions architecture.

My desire to understand all the levers that drive a successful business in an industry agnostic way led me into management consulting, which I have now been in for two years. I started in pure strategy at EY-Parthenon (now EY-PJP) but was drawn to the mixture of high-level strategy and complex operational problems Partners in Performance excelled at solving. Since joining I’ve tackled problems across a range of industries and operational areas including Government, Financial Services, Heavy Industry, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and Private Equity. Some of the most memorable of these include conducting the vendor due diligence of an ESG company that sold for $500m, developing emission reduction strategies for heavy emitters, and being on the ground delivering $18.4m in benefits for a mine by optimising their resourcing levels.

What led you to your current role at Partners in Performance? Was this something you always wanted to do?

I joined Partners in Performance as a Business Analyst a year ago because I wanted to work more

collaboratively with clients to guide them in solving dynamic problems. Through my work in the field of pure strategy, I realised there was a gap between developing a strategy for a business and presenting the strategy in a way that the business could execute it in a tangible, successful and sustainable manner. Businesses are built on and for people, so understanding this piece of the puzzle was important to me. I admired Partners in Performance’s results-focus and thoughtful approach to developing people (both clients and internally) and was quick to apply for a role with them. This philosophy is what excited me the most and I saw it as an opportunity to learn and grow. From day one, I’ve had incredible support and mentorship from all levels of leadership and a work environment that encourages me to be curious, challenges me and pushes me to step outside my comfort zone. Since being promoted to Associate, it’s been a rewarding experience to pass-on the knowledge shared with me as I coach my own apprentice!

Your company thrives on “rolling up our sleeves and working alongside client teams”. How did your SCEGGS education help you tap into that philosophy?

The skills I’ve found most helpful for being on the ground working with clients are emotional intelligence, effective communication, humility, and a desire to learn from others. The analysis is frequently the easier part. The more difficult yet rewarding aspect of my role is taking the client on the journey so they can own the problem and solution.

I think SCEGGS has a value system and curriculum that supports the development of confident, articulate, compassionate women. This leans well into “rolling up our sleeves and working alongside client teams”. Studying terrific texts by authors such as Virginia Woolf is one example that comes to mind. Another example is participating in public speaking and debating with Mrs Carter. As quite a shy and anxious student early in high school, I found these activities extremely valuable as they helped me learn how to communicate my thoughts in a structured and impactful way. To this day, I think learning from Mrs Carter and completing her Certificate of Communication were some of the best things I’ve ever done for myself.

While completing your Bachelor of Commerce (Liberal Studies) at the University of Sydney, you were a Student Ambassador. What did that entail and how did it prepare you for the workforce?

Being a Student Ambassador involved working for the student recruitment arm of the University. We would help operate stalls at high school career fairs, run workshops, deliver presentations about the University’s student experience and the degrees they offered future students not only in Australia, but internationally too. I became well-practiced in three key skills that have been useful for relationship building and presenting in the workforce: effective storytelling, how to rapidly build rapport, and how to ask questions that generate meaningful insights.

Tell us about the most challenging problem you have solved or a process that you have helped to improve for a client?

The current project I’m working on is up there! I’m part of a global team across South Africa and Australia tasked with developing the emission reduction

strategy and implementation roadmap for an international Heavy Industry company. This involves assessing the economic and emission values that can be achieved by applying different technological solutions such as ways to decarbonise the company’s energy source and electrify their operations. What has been particularly challenging about this project is co-ordinating the analysis across multiple countries, the many unique characteristics that need to be modelled for each country and tailoring the technology specifications accordingly. To accommodate these challenges, we are problem solving and validating our analysis with the client every second day. We have adopted this detailed and highly engaged approach to increase the likelihood of success.

What advice would you give to current students wanting a career in consulting?

My top three tips are: 1. Seek to gain practical experience and demonstrate the impact you can make early on your journey, whether it be in your casual job, volunteering or building a passion project on the side. I think anything that allows you to practice accountability, responsibility and teamwork can really help you build your skills in resilience, adaptability and awareness which are useful in the workplace. While at university, look out for case competitions or organisations like 180 Degrees

Consulting that host student-run projects for non-for-profits as well as consulting-related clubs and societies. 2. Aim for at least a Distinction average if you’re looking to enter consulting as a graduate. But remember, that many people enter the industry through other pathways and marks are not necessarily a deal-breaker. 3. Aim for an internship by your penultimate year. Research recruitment cycles (when applications generally open and close for firms) and plan for these.