The Seequent Quarterly - vol. 2 | qtr. 1

A quarterly publication about what’s happening in and around our global teams, and putting the spotlight on our people.

Seequent, a Bentley Company

Contents 03 Introduction with Lisa Wall, Chief People Officer

04

Welcoming New Colleagues

05

Celebrating Our Women

09

Regional Spotlight – Europe, Middle East, & Africa

10

Regional Spotlight – North America

11

Seequent Celebrates – Founders Awards

06

Earth Day

12

07

Warm Fuzzies – Adoption Story

08

13

Seequenteer Spotlight – Stephen Turnbull

Seequenteer Spotlight – Sam Law

Pet Corner – Seequent’s fur babies

Introduction with Lisa Wall, Chief People Officer

03

with Lisa Wall, Chief People Officer

Seequenters,

You’ve all adapted to the ongoing change and growth incredibly well and we, the Seequent Leadership team, appreciate it has

Welcome to another edition of The Seequent Quarterly. In this

been frustrating and uncertain at times. A part of our internal

publication, we’ll take you on the journey of what’s happened at

communications review will be about the way we engage the

Seequent and for our people during Q1 of this year.

business on what’s changed, as well as what’s coming up.

I have to say though, I really noticed over Q1 that we’ve started

Before we get into it, I’d like to note we’re in the process of

to find little moments here and there to pause, take a breath, and

reviewing how we manage our internal communications. You

look over our shoulder at how far we’ve come. An excellent sign

can expect some changes in the coming months to the way we

we’re moving towards completing the changeover process that

communicate announcements, system and process changes, and

comes with a major acquisition.

various business updates. I’ll be interested in your feedback as to how this all lands. So, stay tuned...

Updates to expect from Q2 onward include our teams in many locations around the world being able to gather in person following

Q1 of 2022 was much the same in nature as our end to 2021; fast

the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m hoping to fill a few pages

paced, transformative, ambiguous, and never a dull moment. On 17

of each newsletter with office antics and photos of teams together

June we’ll mark the one-year anniversary of the Bentley Systems

again. In New Zealand, our office pictures are guaranteed to

acquisition and our two world-leading organisations joining forces.

feature dogs and cake!

By the end of Q1, we made significant progress in integrating several Bentley Systems processes into Seequent, completed

That’s all from me. Remember you’re welcome to touch base with

our new annual performance and salary review processes, and

the Seequent Newsletter team at any time with content for the

migrated many of our people onto Bentley Systems employment

newsletter, by emailing hr@seequent.com.

agreements.

Sincerely, Alongside the acquisition, Seequent has continued to scale-up and grow. To put this into perspective, between 1 January and 30 April of this year we hired 55 new Seequenteers (including several interns), promoted 41 of our people, and supported 8 people to take on new roles within the company. It’s important our teams are supported to accommodate change through adequate resourcing and giving people development opportunities. Keep an eye out on Slack for (almost daily!) introductions of our newest team members.

Lisa Wall Chief People Officer

Welcoming New Colleagues

04

We have welcomed 55 colleagues around the world into the Seequent team:

Toon Lim – Customer Solutions Specialist, Partners, Perth

LAM

Carly Thorpe – Senior Project Geologist, Perth

Rebecca Walton – User Experience Designer, Christchurch Brendan McDermott – Intern, Christchurch

Bastian Andres Rojas Espinoza – Technical Project Assistant,

Rebecca Phillips – Commercial Manager, Christchurch

Santiago

Gagandeep Kaur – Software Tester Leapfrog, Christchurch

Alberto J. Onetto – Inside Sales Representative, Santiago

Anthony Stephens – General Counsel, Christchurch

Fernando Borsi – Intern, Rio de Janeiro

Ann Lee – UX Designer, Christchurch

Mariana Magalhães – Marketing Analyst, Brazil

Anton Wu – OpenGround Solutions Specialist, Melbourne

Aranzaxu Dimter – Intern, Marketing, Santiago

Claire Sheperd – Channel Operations Manager, Christchurch

Rafael Soares – Regional Sales Operations Manager, Sao Paulo

Ed Sanders – Senior Software Tester, Christchurch

EMEA

Gareth Richards – Corporate Communications Manager,

Sudur Roy – Customer Solutions Specialist, Marlow Luke Giordanelli – Customer Success Manager, Marlow Vaiva Cypaite – Customer Solutions Specialist, V-Connected Spain

Christchurch Vidette Hunter – Product Owner, Christchurch Vladimir Rodnyanskiy – Senior Software Tester, Christchurch

Tshego Majane – Customer Success Manager, Johannesburg

NAM

Elisabeth O’Brien – Solution Marketing Manager, Geophysics,

Khalid Bashir – Customer Success Manager, Toronto

V- connected Ireland

Christina Ma – Student - Automation/DevOps Developer, Toronto

Max Campbell – Regional Segment Manager, Civil, V-connected UK

Porom Kamal – Intern - Software Developer, Toronto

Edgard Uijttenbroek – Regional Segment Manager,

Ade Oyekunle – Cloud Operations Specialist, Calgary, Kensington

V-connected, Spain

Simba Muchineripi – Customer Success Manager, Toronto

Mark Butcher – Customer Solutions Specialist Data Management,

Liva Randrembason – Regional Sales Operations Manager, Toronto

Marlow

Angelina Monteiro – Senior Office Administrator, Vancouver

Andrew Fursedon – Regional Sales Operations Manager, Marlow

Omar Aguilar – Project Geologist, Data Management Specialist,

David MacPhie – Talent Acquisition Specialist, V-connected UK

Vancouver

Sanjeev Reddy – Software Developer, Marlow

Chris Doucette – Software Development Manager, Calgary

APAC

Vitalii Azarov – Mobile App Developer, V-connected Canada

Yuyun Nirmala – Sales Administrator, Perth Cameron McCabe – Cloud Operations Specialist, Christchurch Matthew Bridle – Software Engineer, Christchurch Vicky Bevilaqua – Sales Director, Mining, Perth Phil Styler – Senior Software Tester, Christchurch Joshua Yee – Software Engineer, V-connected New Zealand Hina Hammad – Software Tester, Christchurch Nicola Davis – Senior Manager, Brand and Corporate Communications, Christchurch

Alex Shevaldin – Senior UI Designer, Toronto Dmitrii Shcherbakov – Full Stack Web Developer, V-connected Canada Eric Romagna – Software Developer, Toronto Andrea Benavides Aguirre – Software Developer, Intern, Calgary, Kensington Pio Claudio – Software Developer, V-Connected, Canada Willis Kneeland – Software Developer Intern, Calgary Wilson Thai – UX Designer, Toronto

Celebrating Our Women

05

March 8th was International Women’s Day, a dedicated day to acknowledge all the inspirational women in our lives.

In honor of this, three wāhine toa (women leaders) from our Christchurch team presented at a local all-girls high school.

The purpose was to inspire the next generation by sharing their individual journeys in the tech industry and the opportunities it has brought them. A special thank you to Rachel Carpenter, Narmadhaa Palanisamy and Rachel Murtagh for sharing their journey’s.

confident future female leaders. The high-impact program that Mentor Walks has developed is a great way to do this both for our people and all aspiring women locally. We’re proud that Seequent has helped make this a reality in New Zealand” Adds Lisa.

The Women’s Leadership Circle, founded by Jo Knight and Lorraine Godwin, is an empowering community to create meaningful relationships, expand leadership skills and career paths, and provide mentorship, allyship, support, and inspiration to improve diversity, inclusion, and equality.

“

The WLC is such an empowering force!

The workshops and connections you provide with our wee community are invaluable.

Six Mentor Walks events will be held in Christchurch over the next 12 months.

- Amy O’Hare, WLC member

More than 5000 women have since participated in the program, including more than 400 volunteer mentors, read more here.

“

Check out Bentley’s dedicated group, Women at Bentley, for more resources for women of all organizational levels and regions.

We have proudly helped bring Mentor Walks to New Zealand, launched in Christchurch, 19 May! Lisa Wall, Chief People Officer says, “When one of our team members reached out about Mentor Walks, we jumped at the opportunity to partner with them.” During the ‘Walk and Talk’ with inspiring women in leadership, mentees from all over Christchurch get clarity on career and business challenges and build their networks.

“We want to provide our aspiring women with the opportunity to connect with local experienced female leaders who share their experiences, encourage new ways of thinking, and help foster

Entrepreneurs Bobbi Mahlab and Adina Jacobs started the idea in Sydney in 2016.

Thank you to Narmadhaa Palanisamy for suggesting this initiative.

Earth Day

06

On 22nd of April, we celebrated International Earth Day with a company-wide competition where colleagues were tasked with sharing either their sustainable household practices or how they positively impact local communities.

Grand winner:

Four regional winners were awarded value up to $150USD and the grand winner value up to $500 USD towards a sustainable practice.

My partner works for GOALS, a local Colorado nonprofit that takes kids on multiday river trips with the goal of them learning something about themselves and the environment, in hopes they will find a passion in protecting these places.

The fundraiser leading up to the South Platte River Cleanup on April 23rd was focused on raising money to sponsor kids to join their trips. “We believe that ALL kids need GOALS, and wild places need ALL kids to feel connected to them.”

Regional Winners: NAM: Or Grunebaum APAC: Ryan Lee EMEA: Igor Danilov LAM: Andrea Pinheiro

Jessie Woodruff Jessie’s story:

Attached is a photo from the river cleanup with some of the 6,000 pounds of trash cleaned up from the South Platte River in Denver, CO. I’m on the far-right end in the photo!

Seequenteer Spotlight – Stephen Turnbull

07

Seequenteer Spotlight - Stephen Turnbull, Software Engineer, Perth

What are your hobbies?

I play 2nd Trombone in the Metro Big Band in Perth WA. Metro big band is a 17-piece big band consisting of 5 saxophones, 4 trombones, 4 trumpets, drums, piano, guitar, and bass. We are also accompanied by 2 or 3 vocalists that come on and off throughout the evening. The band plays classics like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Nestico, Count Basie, and Ella Fitzgerald but also likes to liven it up with Michael Bublé and charts like Proud Mary and Chain of Fools.

Think of the great Jazz decades – the 30s, 40s & 50s.

Consider some of the classic songs from the Motown era known as the “Swinging 60s”. Supplement this with the occasional torch song, a few blues and soul numbers, and spice it up with some catchy contemporary dance tunes.

How often do you perform/practice?

Now picture a 17-piece big band, immaculately presented, and fronted by three of Perth’s in demand vocalists delivering all the above in a package of glamour, fun, and excitement … and you come close to imagining just what the Metro Big Band is all about! This show is sure to leave you wanting more.”

Why would you recommend someone to take up the same hobby?

How long have you been doing this for?

I’ve been with the Metro big band for 3 years now, but I’ve been involved in music my entire life.

The band rehearses every week and only takes a break during the Christmas holiday. It’s just a 2 hour session but is required for learning charts for the upcoming gigs.

Yes, absolutely. I won’t lie, it is difficult especially if you’ve never read sheet music. The key to success really is getting into to habit of practicing your instrument. Several times a week would be ideal. But there really is no better feeling than the round of applause and cheering after smashing out an epic performance.

Seequenteer Spotlight – Sam Law

08

Seequenteer Spotlight – Sam Law, Senior Manager, Technical Marketing, Christchurch

What are your hobbies?

Aerial arts generally – this includes Corde Lisse (Rope), Hammock, Lyra (hoop) & Silks (my preferred) How long have you been doing this for?

For close to 2 years Why did you start partaking in this activity?

A good friend of mine took me to an open day for a new studio opened by her friend – and after watching some people I gave it a try myself. I found it fun and an interesting alternative to going to a gym. Aerials is an awesome mix of being physically challenging, improves flexibility, and requires you to be creative.

How often do you perform/practice?

I do 2 classes a week + 3 open trainings. So, in any given week around 8 hours of training. I haven’t performed in public yet!

Why would you recommend someone to take up the same hobby?

I’d recommend it because everyone is really welcoming and comes from diverse backgrounds, it’s physically challenging but super rewarding, and of course, it’s unusual enough that you’ll end up with fun pictures for social media. Because the apparatus is diverse you can focus on beauty, strength, flexibility or just have fun.

Regional Spotlight – Europe, Middle East, and Africa

09

Europe, Middle East, and Africa

The EMEA Gala Dinner Event, held in March, was about coming together in person to celebrate EMEA’s successes as a region and as a team.

The event had been cancelled previously due to Covid, but with restrictions easing, we were able to pull it off in March this year. It was a black-tie-themed and the team did not disappoint with red carpet-worthy attire!

The venue, Danesfield House in Medmenham, near Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England is a luxury country house hotel with a charm and character that cannot be compared.

Fun fact - George Clooney got married here!

Safe to say, from the photos, the event was a great success!

- Sheila Duane, Commercial Assistant, EMEA

Regional Spotlight – North America

10

North America

After a long period of time away from the Toronto office due to Covid, what better reason to have a team lunch then to celebrate Lorraine Godwin’s 25-year anniversary with Geosoft and Seequent. To celebrate this great milestone, some of the Toronto business team got together in the Toronto office for lunch; a bit of business was also discussed! Added bonuses of this long overdue reunion?

Stephanie Vanos walked the team through an overview of Central!

The team hopped on the Christchurch cake trend with some delicious celebratory cake.

Seequent Celebrates – Founders Awards

11

Founders Awards

A Bentley initiative, the Founders Awards recognizes those colleagues who are regarded as top performers and leaders in their organizations. Founders’ Award recipients have a consistently positive attitude that sets a standard to which we can all aspire. Their unfailing commitment, dedication, and drive for greater results throughout the year help Bentley and its users reach their goals.

This is the first year that Seequent has had the opportunity to participate in this excellent recognition program. Read more from the winners here.

Congratulations to the below recipients of the Founders Awards, Product Advancement: Seequent, 2021.

Elliott Chow

Aleksandr Frolov

Ashleigh Carlogridis

Customer Solutions Team Lead

Global HR Operations Manager

Corporate Development Business Partner

Fiamma Giovacchini

Helena Casals Fabregas

Jo Knight

Customer Solutions Specialist

Sr. Account Executive

Chief Customer Officer

Julia Oliveira

Karl Howley

Senior Technical Leader

Executive VP, APAC

Louis van der Walt

Miquel Lahoz

Developer Team Lead

Product Manager II

Neha Saxena

Pat McLarin

Product Owner

Segment Director, Civil

Taronish Pithawala Product Ownership Management

Lorraine Godwin Director, Sector Business Development

Nate Hekman Director, Software Development, Geoslope

Rob Ferguson Segment Director, Exploration and Resource Management

Warm Fuzzies – Adoption Story

12

Adoption story – Aline Alca, Customer Success Manager, LAM

What is your pet’s name?

“Mel” in Portuguese means “Honey” because she is sweet like honey.

Any nicknames?

Meli and her alter ego is Melissa Roughly how old is Mel? I’m not sure of Mel’s exact age, as she was an adult when I adopted her, but I estimate she is around 9 years old.

When did you adopt her?

Summer of 2016.

How did you find Mel? Mel was a blessing and I found her on the street in downtown of Santiago, Chile.

I was walking and saw from afar a very skinny dog in my way. When I got close to her, she looked at me with her sad, honey coloured, sweet eyes, like an angel that fell from heaven, abandoned and suffering in this world. Our connection was immediate, and my unique feelings and thoughts were to save her and take care with love.

Since that day Mel has been my baby angel and I am lucky to look into her eyes every day, full of love and sweetness.

Was it difficult to adapt to a new lifestyle?

Like most abandoned dogs, Mel feared many people and environments, so when she felt my love and unconditional protection for her, she knew she now had a mum that would protect her.

From day one she never took her eyes off me, and I never took my heart from her.

Our daily life was simple with early morning and evening walks, so she naturally understood that was the time to mark her territory outside. She is an amazing runner, loves to play and spin around and around. At home she is a baby, she sleeps all day long and enjoys the sunshine. Her favourite place in the world is my bed, she loves to stay there when I’m not at home and she feels on cloud nine when I give love and affection to her.

What is their favorite thing to do?

She loves to sleep in my bed with me and run in grassy areas.

Pet Corner – Seequent’s fur babies

13

Pet Corner – Seequent’s fur babies

Seequent’s fur babies Rog

Ilya and Luna

(Luke Robb)

(Graham Andrews)

Bruno

Cyrus

Flora

Sesame

Max

(Luka Bartolec - 15 weeks)

(Sid Rains)

(Lisa Sarazin)

(Yolanda Huang - 6 months)

(Imogen Idione-Dunn - 10 wks)

Matia

Miss Maggie

Teddy Bear

Arlo

No name

(Marta Dratwa)

(Toby Meyer)

(Shabinski Swords)

(Neha Saxena)

(Abbey Wilson)

Hudson

Beau and Kirby

(Kristy Marshall)

(Jean Barendse - 1 year)

Tui

Winston

(Steph Beaumont)

(Victoria Berryman)

Seequent, a Bentley Company