Today’s guest is Rachel, one of my dear friends from KL, whose passions for sustainability, technology, business and the behavioural sciences lead her way to work at both one of the biggest Management Consulting Firms and her co-founding enterprise. What else from this talented girl? No waste your time & let’s start meeting our dear Rachel.
1. Hi Rachel, could you introduce more about yourself to the readers?
Sure, I am Rachel Loh. I am based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. However, recently I have moved to Bangkok for a Business Assignment and will be here for a few months.
Back at university, I pursued a psychology major. At the same time, I was very interested in sustainability which is one of the main reasons why I applied for the Young, Wild, and Living Green Program where we met and had an amazing eco-experience and an opportunity to nurture my lifelong interest in Environment and Sustainability.
Also, I had the chance to explore the world of entrepreneurship. I have always wanted to start something impactful. And to do so, I needed to sharpen several skills related to business, problem solving and communication, which led me to joining BCG as a management consultant.
To be honest, a consultant’s life can be demanding, but when I do have some time off, I spend a lot of my time running AgriMatch, reading, running, trying new food places and watching k-dramas!
2. Now we shall discuss further about your role. Which were the key factors that led to your decision to work in your current role as an Associate at BCG?
I really wanted to immerse myself in a fast-paced environment that delivers high impact to the community. At BCG, I have had the privilege to do so with incredibly driven, intelligent and humble people. We have a purpose of ‘unlocking the potential of those who advance the world’, and I firmly believe in that too.
- Ok. Let dive deep in your work. Could you share further about your work? What does your role cover?
We work with a diverse set of clients to solve some of their most complex problems – from M&A restructuring, to designing government policies, to increasing sales for retailers. My main scope of work currently encompasses qualitative and quantitative analyses, and communicating ideas and data effectively.
3. What do you like and don’t like the most about your work?
This job may sometimes require long hours, like with many other jobs too! With that said, I don’t always get too much time with family and this has taught me the importance of prioritization and time management.
Aside from that, I truly enjoy tackling complex problems, having the exposure to different fields of work (e.g., energy, retail), and working with the amazing team at BCG. The learning curve has been incredibly steep which helps me to constantly improve and evolve.
4. Besides your work at BCG, I do know that you are also a co-founder at AgriMatch. Could you share with others more details about this enterprise?
AgriMatch is a digital platform aimed at democratizing and optimizing the agri-value chain by matching farmers with each other and to middlemen ethically. I co-founded AgriMatch with my Team under the Telenor Youth Forum in collaboration with the Nobel Peace Foundation and we were awarded USD 15,000 (RM 63,000) in seed funding. Normally, other enterprises may have a similar purpose of helping farmers but try to exclude the middleman. However, we aim for an inclusive approach that benefits both farmers and middlemen.
5. How do you balance between your role at BCG & working on AgriMatch?
Well, to be honest, for the first few months at BCG, I did not have much time to work on AgriMatch. I am really thankful to my team who were very understanding & supportive. We had each other’s back and had schedules that moved like clockwork – if one of us was busy, someone else would try to cover, and vice versa.
I had also learnt how to prioritize better and to say “NO” to other less important things. This helps to ensure we’re on the right track to our goals without being distracted by other to-do’s.
6. What are the key turning points/the key milestone/memory which you are most proud/happiest about your career?
There are several turning points (laugh).
One of the key milestones was when AgriMatch won the Telenor Youth Forum (TYF) prize and our team had the funding to grow our enterprise. I’ve always wanted to start something of my own that truly delivers impact, and winning the funding with my team helped me realize this goal.
7. What would you wanna share with others besides your work? Interest/long-term passion/sharing/quotes and so on. Some ending words for our readers.
I think it’s important to have a mindset that every problem can be solved. It’s a mantra that has worked well for me so far and I hope that it’ll help you too!
thank you Rachel for your sharing with me today
Check the link: https://trinhthai.com/category/digital-career-talk/ to find out more article
