Bradley joined Endava 8 years ago as the Head of Digital and soon uncovered his calling to become the Head of Innovation. He has been making the most of the freedom and support that Endava offers to all its people ever since by helping to develop new concepts and business models both for the company and its customers.

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Describe your professional path within the company

Up until 2009 I ran a digital agency part of IMG (The Sports Marketing Company). When Endava acquired the agency, I moved across. I was Head of Digital, looking after a number of accounts as Delivery Manager, then I moved into Head of Innovation about 2-3 years ago, which means I now help clients come up with new concepts and new techniques, and then try to produce a prototype very quickly. We help them develop those prototypes quicker and cheaper.

Endava is the type of company that gives people freedom and autonomy to come up with new concepts. I was working on some innovation projects for clients five years ago when my teams caught the attention of quite a few people at Endava, who were doing similar work. We collaborated and decided to specialise, to promote our way of working and so we created a new division called Endava Labs, focusing on how to do this type of project very quickly inside the Endava delivery model.

Tell us about what drives you at Endava.

I think there are a number of different aspects to this. First of all, I love variety! I love the fact that Endava Labs projects tend to be very quick, usually up to six weeks, so we get to work on a new project regularly and I really like that. We also work outside of any industry vertical, which is really important, as it allows me to work on insurance one day, Financial Services projects the next day, pharmaceuticals the day after and so on. This rapid turnaround fuels my passion for what I do.

Secondly, I have to say that I really like our people. I have been working with lots of people here for more than 10 years. I thoroughly enjoy working with my colleagues and I really like the work environment. There’s no politics or agendas here, just great people collaborating to create something amazing for other people, our customers, and their customers.

My proudest moments in Endava happen every time we win a new piece of work. I love that feeling! I think it’s similar to when a Premier League footballer scores a winning goal! Whenever we get that phone call, saying that another well-known brand has just signed up for Endava, I get very excited, especially when I have directly helped the sales team.

When it comes to what I have learned at Endava over the years, there are two things I would like to mention. First, how our sales technique works; Endava has grown rapidly, even in tough economic circumstances. When asked ‘How?’ my answer is consistently that we have a world-class sales team and business winning processes, underpinned by outstanding delivery – you can name only a very few companies that manage this!

The second aspect is having learned much more about setting up new, high-performance teams and helping them deliver immediately. This is something that every new client comments on. Literally, on the first daily stand up call, we demonstrate the work we’ve done.

How would your colleagues describe you in one sentence?

“Colourful”. Oh wait, A whole sentence? I would like them to say that I like pushing the envelope a lot, that I push extremely hard on quality and proactivity, up to the point where a team comes back and says: `Enough! We are already going at the maximum pace that we can, the maximum quality that we can, given the constraints. Enough`. I really like that.

Name some books/tutorials/speeches that had an effect on your career path.

I read a lot of books. The most recent one is Google Design Sprints, which is about how Google initiates projects, tries new user interface approaches and new products in just one week. Our approach and process in Endava Labs are very similar.

What advice would you give yourself if you were starting work at Endava today?

There are a couple of things about Endava. One is, if you have a good idea, no one at Endava will turn around and say: ‘It’s a great idea! Go for it!.’ Endava is much more entrepreneurial and autonomous than that. My advice would be to stop waiting for the go-ahead and just start doing it.

Tell us more about yourself outside of work

Firstly, I have a nice large family. We have 4 children and they all keep me very busy. I also have lots of hobbies! People at Endava know that I try climbing a major mountain every other year, the most recent one being Kilimanjaro, which was two years ago. I also climbed some mountains in Retezat in Romania with some Endava colleagues. I’ve done loads of mountaineering in the UK too. I’m planning on climbing Mont Blanc next year.

As well as that, I am also a Scout leader. Every Monday night I lead a very successful team of Scouts - 30 kids aged between 10 and 14 and I am really proud of that. I also run 3 camps a year ranging from a weekend to a 8 days long camp in the summer, some of them being international too.

Other hobbies of mine: I am really into cycling, I cycle over 20km to work every day and run about 400 miles a year – a lot of that is to raise money for charity, including the work we did with Beazley on a hackathon last December where we had to run or cycle 200 kilometres during the event. Every year I set some physical and spiritual goals to achieve: 2 years ago I ran my first marathon at the age of 42 and last year I completed one of the stages of the Tour de France called “E’tape” on a road bike - that was probably one of the hardest things I have ever done.

Last but not least, tell us how your passions have contributed to your day-to-day job?

I love what I do; I am totally and truly passionate about what I get to do every day – inside and outside of work. Outside of work I keep a technology blog (https://www.bradbox.com/blog/) that I have maintained for several years. I write about similar Topics that I deal with at work. Obviously, I do not divulge anything that is secret, but I like to share and analyse trends. The blog generates a fair amount of traffic, which is growing all the time. The reason for the Bradbox name is because that is how my grandfather called me, and it just stuck.

We tend to work on innovation projects within Endava Labs, obviously, but I like to personally dabble around with some of those things a few months in advance before they hit the industry.