Matching ambition and opportunity: Milo’s career story

When our colleague Milo graduated, he stood at a crossroads familiar to many ambitious students: pursue a PhD, start a corporate career, or dive into the unknown world of consulting? Now, as one of our Addestino consultants, Milo reflects on how his previous work experience in a different sector has shaped his thinking and what perspectives his current consulting role provides.

Milo’s passion for maths and physics led him to pursue a degree in engineering physics. While about half of his graduating class opted for academia afterwards, Milo was drawn to the more practical nature of the business world. “I felt motivated by a desire to apply my analytical skills and theoretical knowledge in a business context – and the chance to grow across different industries,” he explains.

Milo’s first professional step was a management traineeship at a leading telecommunications company, he says. “Over two years, I rotated through three assignments in different departments. These provided me with plenty of exposure to different business aspects, and they improved my understanding of the industry.”

While the traineeship and structured environment provided a solid foundation for development, Milo began to question whether a traditional corporate trajectory was right for him in the long term. “I realised that my long-term aspirations lay beyond focusing on a single sector. I wanted to broaden my experience by working across different industries and companies,” he clarifies.

As Milo considered his next move, he started to think about the idea of consulting. “I’d connected with several team members at Addestino during my graduate job search,” Milo explains. “When I reached out to Addestino co-founder Dominique to learn more about the consulting world, we had an engaging discussion about strategy and personal growth. My priorities were clear: learning and continuous challenge. After speaking with various team members, I felt confident there would be plenty of opportunities for both. Additionally, Addestino’s management team proactively reached out to my employer at the time to make sure everyone was on the same page, as they’re also a valued client of ours.”

Since joining Addestino, Milo has been assigned to a long-term client. “The project builds on our previous work and involves developing a go-to-market and sales strategy for a telecom client in Eastern Europe. This role combines deep data analysis with strategic thinking and requires me to turn our consulting insights into a cohesive framework and compelling action plan.” To support his head-first start, Milo attended the monthly training sessions for new hires. “What helped me a lot, though, was our in-house mentoring program,” he notes. “My colleague Karel, who serves as my mentor at the company, even worked at the same company as I did previously. This shared background has helped me feel more comfortable during informal discussions about current projects and my career at Addestino.”

Milo can draw on his skills in data analysis, product management and project management to enhance his consulting work. “Previous experience in a fast-paced, data-driven environment definitely helps me to tackle the complex problems I work on at Addestino,” he clarifies. “However, it’s the methodologies and mentorship here that have truly taken these skills to the next level. One of the key things I’ve learned so far is the importance of crafting a narrative flow and storyline in presentations and workshops. Fitting our recommendations into the bigger corporate picture helps secure buy-in from stakeholders and ensure alignment across teams – something which I’ve come to realise more and more as I’ve grown into my role as an analyst.”

Milo feels he has found the balance he’d been searching for. “Addestino’s flat hierarchy, regular wellbeing and career check-ins, and strong sense of community create an environment where ambitious minds can thrive. The steep learning curve is a major draw for new hires eager to dive into some of consulting’s most challenging puzzles from day one. Everyone who works here loves our ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality.”

As for his future, Milo prefers to keep his options open. “As long as I can work in a diverse environment while growing and learning, I’m confident I’ll be able to shape my career path and contribute to meaningful projects.”