Hi, I’m Rachel Patterson. Based in Formby, on the coast north of Liverpool, England, my passion is to help companies use software successfully to support their growth.
Do you want to take your business to the next level? Are you worried about the digital transformation? What works in a micro company needs to evolve as you expand, and you need new skills and a clear focus to succeed long term.
I specialise in software and project management alongside strategic leadership and commercial analysis. I love learning and extending my skills to better serve my own business and other people’s companies. As a business leader you want the best people for each function. But sometimes the best option is an independent expert.
My background
I started as a techie in a FTSE 100 company – graduate trainee, software developer, support manager, business analyst, project manager. After being outsourced to an even bigger company, I learned to judge the commercial value of projects and to manage offshore teams as well as local ones.
Then I downsized into a B2B software business with only 14 people. Within a year, I was promoted from Implementation Manager to Managing Director. Suddenly I needed to:
- manage and improve the commercial position of the company
- fight the current fires but also make time for the bigger picture thinking
- create a vision and the strategy to give us a long-term future
- increase our sales, market visibility and customer retention
- track performance and set targets for each department, including sales and marketing
- manage the direction and roadmap for our software
- Aargh!
Cue a crash course in strategic and financial concepts…and then years refining what really matters and training up a newly promoted management team to understand the impact of their decisions. Resulting in Investors for People Silver award at the first attempt, and nomination for the Wirral Business Award for People Development.
This matters because…?
Digital transformation requires a wide range of skills. Good product managers will keep a focus on the business value of your projects and analyse how to get the best return on your investment. They will help your marketing and sales teams clarify the proposition for selling your products. They will understand the pains of your operational teams and help shape the technology to underpin process improvements. And they will be comfortable talking to your developers and assessing technical risk.
My 25 years of experience spans multiple business sectors across IT development & support, business analysis, project management and commercial product management, and into strategic leadership and operational management for both internal teams and outsourced partners. I will reduce the risks inherent in any major change – either hands-on or training your own teams for success.
Connect with me on LinkedIn or send me a message to start a conversation.
Don’t just take my word for it
“Rachel has always shown an exemplary level of professionalism and dedication to her job and I and the staff have enjoyed working with her. She has laid solid groundwork for growth for the business and the company is now undoubtedly better positioned to meet the demands of a changing market than it was when she took over.”
PIMSS Data Systems
Qualifications include:
- Institute of Directors Certificate in Company Direction
- PRINCE 2 Practitioner (2010)
- ITIL Foundation
- IAB Level 3 Certificate in Accountancy & Bookkeeping
- QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor