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Meet Hector, Manager in Sustainable Supply Chain Consulting
- maryhartley19
- Nov 10
- 3 min read
Name: Hector Palmer
Degree: Spanish with Geography and proficiency in Portuguese at the University of Exeter
How did you spend your Year Abroad?
I spent my year abroad working at PwC in Santiago, Chile. I worked in the 'International Assignment Solutions' team where we helped expats living in Chile with any tax requirements. Despite having very little knowledge of tax, it was a really great experience to get accustomed to a professional environment at a large company and get integrated into a team of Chileans, which meant that my Spanish improved in a professional capacity but also, just as importantly, in day-to-day communications. In Chile there are 10,000 slang words that are unique to the country, and they speak very quickly and miss the endings of lots of words, so this was certainly a challenge!
Briefly outline your journey from graduation to now.
Straight after university I worked in business development in London for around 7 months, selling a business intelligence platform to government trade organisations. I then got accepted onto a graduate scheme at KPMG in Management Consulting. I soon sought to pivot to a more sustainability-focused role at the company, and enrolled on a two year secondment in KPMG's internal ESG Central Team, where we were responsible for developing KPMG's ESG go-to-market proposition - this involved upskilling colleagues on ESG, developing strategic partnerships, distributing internal communications, and generating ESG insights. 2.5 years ago I then moved back into a client-facing role in KPMG's Sustainable Supply Chain consulting team.
What is your current job?
Manager, Sustainable Supply Chain Consultant at KPMG
What does your current job involve day to day?
I work with clients across a range of sectors (predominantly consumer, retail and leisure) to identify, assess and manage sustainability risks across their value chains, covering topics such as human rights and deforestation. Consulting is a very fast-paced environment, working to tight client deadlines and managing competing priorities. The work is very varied on any given day, involving anything from conducting research, writing reports/presentations, presenting to clients, analysing data, or hosting workshops.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I enjoy several elements of my job - I find the subject matter really interesting, it requires collaboration within teams and with the client, and is varied. However, the thing I most enjoy about what I do is the potential to create a positive impact. Our clients' supply chains are global and can both adversely and positively impact the planet and people - we can play a small role in trying to make a difference for the better.
What advice would you give to someone interested in this job?
Learn as much as possible about different sustainability topics that interest you, meet others that work in the field, and remain curious.
How has your languages degree been useful during your career so far?
I haven't used my language skills much during my time in consulting, however recently I did have the opportunity of speaking Spanish when running a series of interviews with my client's suppliers that were based in Latin America.
Aside from this, there are certainly transferable skills from studying languages that are really valuable. Speaking a foreign language requires an ability to verbally communicate in a clear way, which is definitely helpful in my role. Meanwhile, I feel non-verbal communication skills are definitely developed when living in a foreign country, given that at times you will not be able to verbally communicate as you may wish to and need to adapt.
Having a global perspective, being open-minded, and having the ability to build rapport with people at short notice are all certainly required when living abroad, and are all really important when working within different teams, as we do in consulting. Getting used to being out of the comfort zone and challenging yourself, as anyone who speaks a foreign language is likely to feel at times, is also really important in ensuring you develop your career.
Do you use or practise your languages outside of work?
I mostly try to keep my Spanish up by travelling to Spanish-speaking countries and meeting travellers, however I also still speak Spanish when I meet with my friends from my year abroad.
Thanks very much to Hector for sharing his journey!
Did you study a language at university, like Hector?
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