Harrison grew up in Crawley, not too far from Gatwick and moved to London when he was 18 to study Maths at Queen Mary University. Despite not always enjoying the subject at school, he admits he hated not knowing how things worked, why they worked, and enjoyed figuring out the logic behind it. And that’s how he ended up studying Maths and joining our Technology, Data and Analytics team after graduating.
“The last three years have been great for me. I currently work with clients in the financial services sector to identify, monitor and mitigate their technology risks. I try to focus on where that technological risk is coming from and deliver solutions to support clients future strategies.”
Harrison’s also part of our Gender Balance Network (GBN), which is helping to raise awareness across the firm of aspects of working life which may be inadvertently impacted by gender roles. As part of his position within the GBN, Harrison organises events to support our people in understanding and working through these impacts.
“I’m very proud of my work with the GBN. I’ve been involved since very early on in my PwC career and my responsibilities have grown. With time, you can see the fruits of your labour and the reach and impact of the network has grown significantly in the last couple of years. I like to think I contributed a little bit to that”.
Outside of work Harrison is a big Chelsea supporter and can’t wait to be able to get back to Stamford Bridge with his nephew. Whilst he's been working from home, he's been based in Canary Wharf where there is an eerie quietness to the sky scrapers.
Describing his career at PwC so far as thought provoking, intense and engaging, Harrison was initially concerned that everyone at PwC would be similar to each other; ‘clean shaven and in a suit’, however his interpretations were soon dismissed as he values the ‘dress for your day’ policy as a way for everyone to be themselves and not feel the need to fit a certain mould.
“Being yourself at PwC is important. It’s identifying what it is about your personality, circumstances, background or character that makes an impact and harnessing those human differences as strengths. It’s not about blending in and doing what others do, it’s about standing out and doing things in your own way.”
One of his biggest challenges when he joined the graduate programme was recognising it’s okay not to say ‘yes’ to everything immediately. It’s common for new joiners to want to impress and take on every opportunity, but Harrison reflects that at times you need to take a step back and ensure you’re not compromising on the quality of the output you’re delivering. Remember you have a team around you that can always support you too.
“I really enjoy the comradery of stressful projects; whilst it’s often difficult in the moment, you end up with a weird nostalgia for certain moments of madness. However, you only get through those projects with the support of others and that's why it's so important to be empathetic towards your colleagues.”
Finally, as part of our Diversity and Inclusion week stories, we’ve asked Harrison what these terms mean to him and as part of his role in the Gender Balance Network:
“To me, Diversity is about bringing everyone into the room and Inclusion is helping them unlock their potential.”
