Name: Caitriona Mulhern
Role: Data Analytics Manager, EY Ireland
Biography:
Caitriona is a Manager in the Data & Analytics practice at EY Ireland. After studying Actuarial Science and Risk Management in Queen’s university Belfast, she made the move to Dublin to work at a Life and Pensions company. After many years, she sought a challenge and returned to Belfast to explore other opportunities. After taking up a role in an Advanced Analytics team for a global insurance company for a number of years, she was in the search for a more challenging role. She was offered a manager position within EY in their analytics practice.
Since beginning her journey with EY she has gained extensive experience in the areas of analytics, predictive modelling, data quality assessment and improvement, data migration and automation. Using this experience and her passion for embracing new innovative technologies, Caitriona has been able to leverage data to gain insights that solve client problems and allow them to adopt to a more forward thinking approach to problem solving.
What does your typical day look like?
One of the benefits of working in consultancy is that every day is different. Every day is a new challenge, whether it is working on a different national or global client or using a new piece of technology to solve a client problem.
What are you currently working on?
I am currently working with one of the largest Pharmaceutical companies in the world to help deliver a risk management program that allows the company to respond to changing market demands and technologies. Combining data, innovation and technology, we are delivering intelligent insights to support the business in proactively managing and mitigating their risk in real time.
What inspired you to join this company in particular?
Before joining EY I trained in actuarial science and worked for a life and pensions company for many years. After becoming more interested in innovation and technologies, I began searching for a new challenge and found myself moving into the data analytics space.
In previous job roles, I’ve always found it quite difficult to find the right balance between being a mum and being career driven. EY offered me the opportunity to be based in Belfast, where I'm close to friends and family, but still work on a global level and have an extensive range of career opportunities. It has been refreshing to still be able to put my family first, without sacrificing my career progression.
Did you always want to work in this industry (tech)?
As I studied Actuarial Science and Risk Management in university, my natural progression was to move into the actuarial industry. Although I was given the opportunity to use a number of technologies in this field, there were always a number of rules and regulations on what could be used. This drove my interest in finding an industry that suited the skills that I developed as an actuary but that allowed me to be more creative and innovative, which I have found to be the case with the tech industry.
What’s your favourite part about your work?
For me, the team that I work with is as important as the nature of the work itself. From day 1, EY have been so welcoming and encouraging. I enjoy coming into work and being able to learn from people from a range of technical backgrounds whilst also having fun in the office at the same time!
What would you say to other people considering a job in this industry (tech)?
If you want to be challenged every day, be creative and innovative then this is the industry for you!
I would recommend getting involved in the large number of tech and women groups that are available. I have found these groups invaluable in my transition from the actuarial industry to the tech industry- from providing support and advice, networking and most importantly learning about the new up and coming technologies.
How do you see this technology impacting on our lives?
Technology has made information very available which has inevitably made a very big influence on our day to day lives, from how we shop, work, travel and communicate. In the last number of years, we have seen numerous examples of innovative technologies, including AI and Machine Learning, that have been both exciting and life changing, however I believe the best is yet to come!
Who inspired you to work in this field?
Since beginning my role in EY, I have come into contact with numerous women who have inspired me both professionally and personally. It has been a breath of fresh air to see so many professional women excelling in their area of expertise whilst also managing families and other personal commitments. They have instilled in me the importance of networking and building my profile and have inspired me to always push to excel further in my career.
What do you consider to be the most important tech innovation or development in recent years?
Technology moves extremely quickly- it seems like there is a new innovation produced nearly every day. However, in my opinion the most impressive piece of tech that has come out in recent years is the practical application of AI and machine learning. Whether it is modeling data, analyzing speech or driving a car, we are starting to see real-world applications of these technologies. It has changed the way business is done and has enabled many people to reach goals and try new things that they've never done before.
What tech gadget could you not live without?
As with most people, it would probably be my mobile phone. Although many of us could do with putting our smartphones down once in a while, there is very little that we can not do on this small, powerful gadget.
