Rulesware is thrilled to welcome Molly Eddington to the team. Molly has had a long and interesting career with Pega and brings deep expertise with Pega applications. We chatted with Molly about her career to date, her recent trip around the world, and what she hopes to achieve in her new position at Rulesware.

RW: Welcome Molly! You’ve done a lot in your career so far—can you tell us a bit about it?

Molly: Sure—I started with Pega as a System Architect in 1998, back when they were still on their C++ platform. Right off the bat I fell in love with the work, I think it comes very naturally to me because I’m very process oriented. One of my favourite things during this period was being involved with implementing automated solutions for client’s who are dealing with manual processes with paper, file folders, excel spreadsheets pen and paper—it was transformational.

I worked with Pega until 2004 and during that time I saw them really get their Java based architecture out the door. Through those six years it was mind boggling how many projects I worked on. From call center to healthcare to banking, I worked in so many sectors and learned so much. Needing a break for the “road warrior” life, I “retired” from Pega, but was very happy to return in 2006 as a Service Delivery Manager. During this second stint at Pega, my focus was really about project success from mentoring new hires to providing guidance on best practices to clients, jumping into any role that needed filling to ensure Pega and their clients were successful.  In 2012, I decided to pursue a lifelong dream to travel around the world, which took about 16 months.

RW: Wow—that sounds amazing. How was the trip? 

Molly: It really was incredible. The trip took about two years to plan—one year to convince myself I could do it, then another to get the logistics in order. I packed up my house, put it all in storage, rented the house out, sold my car and took off. I decided I would spend three months in each major continent and I would follow the sun. I started with a 3-week volunteer stint in Kenya, which was amazing. I decided to go work hands on at a medical center, which I have absolutely no experience in. I arrived and 6 hours later I was in the theater room helping deliver a C-section. There were frequent power outages, and one night when the lights were out I held a lantern for the doctor and assisted with a natural birth. The mother knew very little English but we had a real connection. Once her baby was born, of everyone in the room, she singled me out and said, “Bring me my baby.” I carried that five-minute-old baby to her and helped her get settled in to nurse. That was the beginning of the trip, and it only got better from there. The whole thing was a magical experience, with the possible highlight being a 45-day overland camping trip from Nairobi to Cape Town.

RW: What an adventure. Were there skills you honed while travelling that you think you’ll bring back to work with you?

Molly: Traveling for that amount of time, with a budget and only a 20kg backpack, requires you to be flexible and adaptable, very good at communicating (even if you don’t know the language), and to be very creative in problem solving. I can see many parallels between the skills I used and honed during my travels and the type of work that I do. I definitely feel that I will be even more intuitive and creative as I work with new clients on providing value-added BPM/CRM solutions.

RW: You’re attending PegaWORLD 2015 in June. What are you looking forward to most?

Molly: I’m so looking forward to networking with old colleagues and clients and learning about what’s new for 7.17 and what Pega’s plans are for the future. I attended last year’s event and really enjoyed the talks regarding the need for businesses to focus on customer experience; they provided me with lots of food for thought. It’s great how the trend seems to evolving from only focusing on business processes that improve the bottom line for businesses, to now having to think about their customers too. More and more the whole customer experience seems to be coming into play. I’ll be watching for trends and new ideas in this space at PegaWORLD 2015.

RW: We feel lucky to have you. What attracted you to Rulesware?

Molly: I like the Rulesware philosophy a lot – do it right the first time. There’s an attitude of collaboration and teamwork that’s pretty special here. No matter anyone’s role, they’re ready to jump in, roll up their sleeves and help colleagues out. I’m really excited to be a part of the Rulesware family and to be involved in implementing world-class PRPC solutions.

Want more? Read Molly’s Travel blog here