The Pocklington School Foundation Careers and Business Network held its latest event recently, in the sumptuous surroundings of York Mansion House. The main focus for the evening was working within global teams, and the impact of technology on modern working practices. The guest speakers for the evening were former pupils Sam Moore (OP 89-00) and Matt Atkinson (OP 85-93).

Sam studied Economics at Durham University and joined PwC on their graduate programme. After four years at the London offices, he transferred to their Sydney operation, becoming Director in PwC Australia's tax practice. Sam moved back to the UK with his family in 2019 and is now Managing Director of his own company, BurtonWeston Ltd, providing consulting services to leading professional services firms.

Matt studied Industrial Chemistry at Sheffield University before starting his career in business development and sales in the IT and digital sector. He has held several senior roles across BT, Cisco, TiVo and Amazon Web Services (AWS), working with clients to deliver their business challenges with digital solutions. Matt leads the UK business which helps clients migrate to AWS delivering modernisation services to innovate their business challenges with digital solutions.

At the event, Pocklington School Headmaster Toby Seth hosted a Q&A session with Matt and Sam to discover their career journeys and the lessons learnt along the way.

Toby commented: “We are delighted to host our latest Careers and Business Network meeting in the magnificent surrounds of York’s Mansion House. What better place to hear Sam and Matt’s career experience! I know that our guests, including our Sixth Form students, were fascinated to hear how, although working in very different sectors, their anecdotes of organisational culture and how Covid has impacted working practices, had much in common.”

Matt said: “I thoroughly enjoyed the evening, sharing some of my experiences and how my degree in Industrial Chemistry was the gateway in to my career in sales and business development. After the formal part of the evening, I thoroughly enjoyed chatting to the pupils, teachers and Old Pocklingtonians, and found the opportunity to network a very useful one.

Sam added: “Thank you for the opportunity to be part of the Careers & Business Network meeting. It’s great as an Old Pocklingtonian to be able to give something back, and I’m happy to take any questions or to help offline. I also really enjoyed sharing the stage with Matt. From graduate management schemes to the competitive nature of working for international corporate organisations, it was fascinating to discover that, although we have had very different routes, our careers have had many similarities.

A mix of current and former parents, Old Pocklingtonians and students attended the event, which is one of three organised by the Network every year. Launched in 2017, the PSF Careers and Business Network is open to everyone in the wider Pocklington School community, and it aims to help Pocklington School students, and each other, thrive in a highly competitive world. The Network has its own LinkedIn group, which has over 530 members across the world and is a valuable career networking pool for members to draw on.

For more information, and to join the Careers & Business Network, contact Jenny Preston, Development Officer, development@pocklingtonschool.com .

Photo: L to R: Sam Moore, Managing Director, Burton Weston Ltd, Joan Gough, President of the Old Pocklingtonian Association, Matt Atkinson, Principal Sales Manager, Amazon Web Services, Sheena McNamee, Director of External Affairs, Toby Seth, Headmaster.