Helping further expand the capabilities and performance of CMS’ risk management platform
Continuing to expand, CMS is very pleased to introduce the latest new recruit to our development team, Alice Burton, Software Engineer.
Alice is working on our data aggregating risk management platform. A platform that helps keep employees safe, by empowering organisations to be better at fleet risk management.
Beginning work at the very end of Summer, Alice, like Sam, Scott, Valar and Brendan before her, joins CMS while we continue a default policy of working from home.
That said, we are now, like many businesses, starting to have face to face meetings back in the office.
For us that means Central Milton Keynes.
While not all at the same time, CMS’ product development, operations, business development, and management teams are now having occasional team days in our office.
These have been of great use for the projects or BAU work concerned, but also in boosting people’s morale.
Probably not an uncommon situation, and one of the small steps back to normal that many businesses are taking.
What does Alice like to do, out of work?
Run.
As Alice says, “I love to run. Getting to the finish line of a race rewards you with self-confidence and the self-belief that you CAN do what you set out to do, if you put your mind to it.”
This parallels with her role as a software engineer, where the focus is on getting CMS’ expanding and evolving platform to the best it can be.
Although, after Alice talks about the power and mental benefits of running, she goes onto add the lovely caveat of “but I mainly run to make up for eating so much chocolate!”
From those two comments, you can begin to see both the drive, and modesty that Team CMS has already come to associate with Alice.
Before joining CMS, what did Alice do?
As you’d expect for a software engineer joining a growing SaaS company, Alice has close to a half decade of experience in product development using Microsoft based technologies.
(FYI, CMS’ platform is built on Microsoft Azure).
Joining CMS from leisure management software provider, Gladstone Software. Alice’s last project there was the development of a new SaaS product.
However, software engineering was not Alice’s first career choice.
No.
For a few years Alice pursued a career as a weather forecaster.
With a master’s degree in meteorology, Alice worked for a company specialising in forecasts for marine operations (oil and gas rigs in particular). Plus, supporting media companies with local weather insight and information.
While the work was fun and interesting, it involved a lot of weekend and late-night shift work.
So, in a career change, Alice moved into software development. This provides Alice with the mental challenge and stimulus that she got from her meteorological forecasting.
What more can we say about Alice?
Alice also loves to travel and explore new places. With a particular happiness associated with swimming in the warm Mediterranean Sea on a sunny day.
Sadly, 2020’s events have put a dent in her travel plans, but with this wanderlust she’ll be ramping up the frequent flyer miles as soon as she possibly can.
Cherished moments from Alice’s travels include visiting Malcesine and its castle, on the shores of Lake Garda, ascending the nearby mountain and then taking a breath-taking paraglide over the lake.
Plus, kayaking along the Gorge du Verdon in France, and exploring Moustiers-Sainte-Marie.
Further afield, Alice loves Thailand and Thai cuisine (but see below for a striking contrast on that topic).
On the entertainment front, Alice likes a good thriller or murder-mystery to while away the hours on a plane or at an airport.
Plus, she likes a decent SF film. Listing favourites as Tell No One, Unbreakable, Arrival, Lord of the Rings, Gravity, Hot Fuzz, and err, Bruce Almighty.
Food wise, and in striking contrast to the fragrant and varied flavours of Thailand, Alice’s guilty pleasure is bangers and mash drowned in onion gravy, all inside a giant Yorkshire pudding!
Nice.
Pizza comes a close second.
And remember all that running Alice does?
She admits to being a chocoholic, although stridently (and rightly?), declares white chocolate as not being chocolate.
Perhaps we should ask Alice where she stands on the pineapple on pizza topic?
Rounding off the gastronomic side of things, Alice loves a G&T or a large glass of Merlot or Malbec.
Nothing wrong with that.
Welcome to CMS
As with all our recent recruits, Alice is a very welcome and warmly welcomed addition to Team CMS. And as with those before, she is already delivering results for you, our customer.
