After working multiple deals with Perficient as the Cloud Applications Manager for Oil & Gas at Oracle, Alaster Love made the move to join the Perficient team in early 2020.
Alaster Love, Director of Energy Strategy at Perficient
As the Director of Energy Strategy, he leads our energy practice by providing business optimization strategy, thought leadership, and accelerators for Perficient’s systems implementation and consulting projects with a specialized focus on Oracle ERP, EPM, SCM, and Analytics, enterprise applications integration, management consulting, and innovation.
“I decided to come to Perficient for several reasons, but first and foremost, having worked at Oracle, I was party to multiple deals where I got the chance to work with Perficient and saw the incredible work that Perficient was capable of doing.”
LEARN MORE: Explore Perficient’s Energy Practice.
Arriving Fully Charged
Already being familiar with Perficient and the work we do for our energy industry clients, he was brimming with Perficient pride when he started.
“That pride comes from a couple of different areas. I’m proud to be part of an organization that embraces the culture and norms that I see Perficient: inclusivity, doing the right thing by the environment, and, certainly, by social standards on a global basis. I’m proud to work with the team members, who I can see are obviously just best in class and what they do, really the best and the brightest. And I’m proud to have an opportunity to contribute. Perficient already has outstanding growth, which I believe will continue to grow exponentially.”
Alaster Love, Director of Energy Strategy
Between the business operations, ongoing growth, and stellar reputation, there was another reason Alaster is proud to work at Perficient: the people.
“My favorite thing so far is that I’ve just met so many people from so many different disciplines and parts of the world. I’m looking forward to continuing to learn about them individually, their cultures, their experience, the industries they’ve worked in, et cetera.”
Perficient Puts the Spark in Onboarding
Coming onto a new team (no matter what job level you are at) can come with its own set of challenges. With the breadth of services Perficient offers, there is an anticipated learning curve for everyone, but the good news is you’re never in it alone and we have many tools to help our leaders succeed.
“I knew Perficient as an extremely accomplished systems integrator, but I did not have an idea of the depth of different services and solutions Perficient offers. Onboarding has been a really pleasant experience, mostly because of the fact that everybody at Perficient is so accommodating, and it’s given me time to learn what they do as an example.”
He cites examples from that very morning, being on phone calls with leaders of other practices within Perficient discussing ways they could complement each other. He also spoke of discussions with our Chief Strategists, who support our different business units with specialized levels of expertise on a variety of subjects from Digital and AI to Big Data and Change Management. These kinds of supportive relationships are not “nice to have”, they are a critical component of how we innovate for our customers in the rapidly evolving field of digital transformation.
Driving High Voltage Industry Success
Driven by customer satisfaction and the chance to solve bigger challenges, as Director of Energy Strategy at Perficient Alaster hopes to “continue to build on the magnificent credentials and experience that Perficient has in the energy industry” and to collaborate in the different ways that only Perficient offers.
“I’ve already seen customers benefit from the work that they’ve done with Perficient. For one, the experience level is so rich here and that translates to a faster, more expeditious systems implementation experience. I’ve seen customers benefit from the strategy and the know-how. And I’ve seen customers benefit from an agile experience with a partner who they’re surprised to know can offer more than one technology, can provide world-class strategy, management consulting, and more.”
READ MORE: Oil & Gas Industry: Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting for 2020
Advice for Generating Your Own Powerful Experience at Perficient
Success comes from a team, not one person. “As a team leader, you should always have a goal, or set of goals, for the project. Being an outstanding team member comes from communicating clearly and the teamwork comes from being capable of sharing the experience and the credit.“
As Perficient continues to grow, Alaster offers a few words of advice for joining the team.
“First, I’d say to keep your mind open and that there are multiple layers and offerings within Perficient.
“Second, the organization is in a very exciting place and that there are less boundaries than there might be at some places like the Big Four. You have a real opportunity to grow both your personal brand and the Perficient brand.
“And the third thing that I would add, that I’ve heard multiple times now from my management, is we’re not necessarily interested in the way we’ve done it; we’re interested in the way you and others can come up with what is the future. You are not bound by lots of rules and protocol.”
And this advice doesn’t just matter for those joining a new team; there are always going to be changes as digital transformation occurs.
“Especially in technology and strategy, one has to come to the conclusion that that change will be the constant. There is nothing such as, ‘we’ve done it this way, and we will continue to do it this way,’ so, you have to have an open mind. You have to have the ability to work with others and contribute to a point of view, but to also listen to a point of view.”
READ MORE: 8 Pieces of Advice for Starting a New Job at Perficient
Staying Plugged In
Speaking to Alaster, it’s easy to see he is both incredibly knowledgeable and deeply passionate.
“First and foremost, I’ve always been interested in energy. I’m a native Texan and oil and gas is very much a part of our state ethos and history. But as I got further into it, what’s kept me interested is that it’s an industry made up of people from all over the world; it’s provided me the opportunity to travel, meet, and work with people from different cultures that I might not have had if I had chosen another industry.”
A self-described “avid reader” who regularly focuses on innovation strategies, he pinpointed he learns best from other people internally, when there is designated time to process the information. By stepping away from the computer and giving himself time to digest and ponder ideas, he’s able to connect the dots of possibility for his customers.
LEARN MORE: See Alaster’s Perficient articles here
The Best Alternative is Focused Energy
That type of innovation doesn’t just happen, it’s a learned, disciplined practice. The secret to achieving it starts with simply making the time for it and starting.
Finding that time is easier when you understand your motivations. “We have some big success stories in energy to share,” he explains. Alaster cites creating resizable opportunities for Perficient and the ability to deliver on them alongside other enthusiastic leaders and their talented teams as his motivating factors, comparing the experience to winning a team sport.
“I’m motivated by the ability to be involved in the biggest and most challenging projects. I’m motivated by the desire to contribute to the company and my team. And I’m motivated by doing the right thing internally and externally for Perficient and the customer.”
We are very proud to welcome Alaster to the Perficient family.
At Perficient, we continually look for ways to champion and challenge our talented workforce with interesting projects for high-profile clients, encourage personal and professional growth through training and mentoring, and celebrate our people-oriented culture and the innovative ways they serve Perficient and the community.
Learn more about what it’s like to work at Perficient at our Careers page.
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