PHILIP ADAIR

CLASS OF 1999

IT Program Manager

I left BHS in 1999 – having loved my time there. My siblings and parents all attended so it’s been a significant part of our family’s life. I got involved in many things which the school really catered for. Whether it was sports, music, ski trips, Duke of Edinburgh expeditions or more – the school always offered opportunities to explore something new alongside the studies. I also really appreciated the culture within the school – I always felt both encouraged and supported which was invaluable during those formative years.

After BHS I went to university in York and studied IT, Business Management and Languages (ITBML). I chose this knowing I wanted to continue with foreign languages but didn’t exactly know what else. I felt it was a good vocational option, particularly as it offered the chance to do a one-year industrial placement as part of the degree, which I hoped might help pinpoint the direction I wanted to take or at the very least would allow me to leave uni with one year of professional experience. Through a bizarre chain of circumstances, I ended up doing my placement year in Basel, Switzerland where I was lucky enough to work providing IT support for the VIP/Executives at the global headquarters of an agri-chemical company.

Although Basel is a smallish city, it’s hugely international – which also allowed me to work on my languages. I quickly realised that an expectation of English speakers speaking foreign languages is significantly lower compared to other nationalities. Speaking one therefore can make quite an impact as people generally are positively surprised and then interact very differently. So in a way it’s a very unfair advantage that we English speakers have – but I wasn’t shy to use it!

I felt very at home in Basel and enjoyed everything Switzerland had to offer, so once I finished my degree in York I looked for opportunities to return. I ended up working for a global healthcare company where I have been now for 20 years. I started in more technical IT engineering and architecture positions and have moved via other roles to now coordinate IT activities required to enable merger, acquisition and divestiture deals as the company evolves. I can’t say that I ever really had a clear path identified but have looked to take steps sideways as well as forward to broaden my experiences. One constant has been the global context and working across so many cultures and influences which can make things very complex and challenging, but learning from such varied perspectives has always been very interesting.