Interview with Jimmy Darragh

How did Luza come into your life and why did you choose us to develop your career?

Having recently moved to Lisbon, I wanted to integrate myself both professionally and personally with Portuguese life and culture. After a short time looking for possible businesses to collaborate with, that complimented my own business, I found Luza. Very quickly there seemed to be excellent symmetry for how technical services can support real growth and development for businesses - all through very personable and people-centric ways of working. For me, these were perfect qualities!

What do you most value in the company and how do you expect to contribute to joint growth?

I would say the number one thing I value already across Luza are the people. Not only are they incredibly talented and capable people (for whom I am already learning a lot!), but they have been very welcoming immediately towards me, and it is a real pleasure working on projects with everyone so far. As much as I am learning from them, I hope that with my experience implementing and developing BI teams, that I can support the further growth and development of my colleagues too.

What is your opinion about remote work and why do you think it is a good option?

I think there are definite benefits of working remotely - firstly that a lot of the projects I work on couldn't exist without it! The flexibility to work on various projects, with stakeholders based all over the world, is a huge benefit and opportunity to learn at a scale we couldn't possible do before. That being said, having the opportunity to meet colleagues in person, share lunch and hold workshops also has value, so it is great that Luza provides these opportunities also.

What are your main functions and skills?

Having led BI teams and built data strategies for large retailers across Europe, I see my key strengths in being able to shape technical solutions and services to meet specific business objectives, that deliver real value to clients. I do this primarily through data visualization (dashboards and reporting) in Power BI and Tableau, but my processes extend beyond this - discovering and framing the real purpose and objectives of our clients, whilst supporting them with driving real value from our solutions. Being able to demonstrate the value of being data-driven and supporting clients through change on a personal-level is something I value very highly, so I am very happy to have the chance to demonstrate this with Luza.

What project are you involved in and what do you do?

I am currently supporting partners in the UK with several projects that include optimizing data models, enhancing front-end visualizations and delivering on process efficiencies that will mean faster delivery, higher quality and better engagement of our solutions to our clients.

Where do you live and what do you like to do in your free time? Is there any curiosity about you?

I recently moved to Lisbon, but am originally from Manchester, UK. As such, it comes as no surprise that I am a big Manchester United fan (definitely not City 😉), but very much enjoy exploring our new home city with my wife and trying all the delicious foods! I also really enjoy running - although the hills prove quite the challenge! 🙂.

What do you expect from the future?

I want to continue developing my skills and delivering on really impactful projects, whilst working with and learning from everyone here at Luza. Being exposed to numerous clients, numerous stakeholder groups and tackling new challenges every day is exactly what I look for in a partnership - long may it continue!

Do you consider that we are fulfilling our claim of “We make work a positive experience? 😊 Why?

Absolutely! The immediate welcome and introduction I received since starting here has been incredible - everyone is here to support each other, to learn from one another. The fact that everyone does this with a smile and shows real interest in getting to know each other on a personal level, for me this is a very positive experience to work in!