From Credera UK to Credera U.S.: A truly global boutique

Looking out over the mountains and beaches of California as the plane began to descend, it really hit me—I was finally coming back home. I have Credera to thank for enabling this return, as I have been lucky enough to have the company’s support in transferring from Credera’s Leeds office to our office in Los Angeles. I have been able to move halfway across the world and keep hold of the job I love.

Joining Credera: The backstory

I was born and raised in Northern California to two British parents, so I have always been a bit of a hybrid American-Brit. When deciding on where to go for college, I applied to a handful of universities in the UK on a bit of a whim. Eventually, I made the decision to move over there for my studies. Although it wasn’t my initial intention, I ended up studying and working in the UK for nine years. 

For the last two years, I had worked in Credera’s Leeds office. Upon joining the company, I immediately noticed that it is a people-focused company full of entrepreneurial, caring, and inclusive colleagues. I also began to truly understand the term ‘global boutique’ and how it described Credera so fittingly. The company has a global reach and perspective, whilst retaining its personal touch.

As such, I was delighted to discover that we were opening our Los Angeles office in January 2021. The chance to move back to my home country whilst staying in a job that I loved seemed too good an opportunity to miss. I raised the possibility with my managers and was pleased to learn that they were supportive of my goal to move back to California from the outset. 

Moving to Credera LA

As one of Credera’s first global office transfers, it was a surprisingly simple process. This was helped in part by the fact that I was already a U.S. citizen, which aligned with the needs of the LA office. Within a matter of months, everything that needed to be organised for the transfer was in place and it was then for me to find my own apartment!

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I made the move from one office to another, but I soon discovered that the cultures between both UK and US offices were very closely aligned. The qualities that I had grown to love in the Leeds office were also to be found in equal measure over in LA. 

What global boutique has meant to me

Of course, every office has its own people and its own exciting take on things. People in the Los Angeles office might be learning to surf, for example, and coffee chats involve a lot of discussions about the beach. On the other hand, you might find yourself having more discussions about the best hikes in the Yorkshire moors over in our Leeds office.

Regardless of which office you work out of, however, Credera retains an irrefutable connectedness through the company’s key cultural principle—valuing its people. 

In my experience, the growing size and global scale of Credera has not detracted from the great sense of community within local offices. Across the firm, people continue to be appreciated and listened to, staying true to Credera’s boutique roots. Although I’ve met a lot of new people with diverse backgrounds, interests, and hobbies, the key values that people embody here are still the same: integrity, excellence, tenacity, a ‘people-first’ approach, and humility. Throughout the journey of my transfer, I have experienced first-hand how apt the term “global boutique” really is, and I believe that it is the perfect description of Credera today.

I have now familiarised myself with the structure of Credera in the U.S. and how they operate, and this has been helped by numerous virtual coffee chats with colleagues across our U.S. offices: Dallas, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Seattle, and New York. After moving over from the UK, I have now discovered exciting ways to offer my contributions to the U.S. team—I’m currently running technical workshops, supporting monthly meetings for my LA team, and making written contributions (just like this blog post). Already, I feel like I’m right at home. 

Looking forward

A lot has changed for me in a short space of time. I’m now living halfway across the world, back in my home state, driving on the “right” side of the road again, and—without wanting to make my UK colleagues too jealous—enjoying much warmer weather than we had in Leeds!

However, a lot of key things still remain the same—Credera’s people-centric culture and boutique feel have certainly translated across to the LA office, and California still feels like home to me. 

Now that the big move is complete, it’s time for me to get used to the smaller things: remembering to swap an “s” for a “z” in words like “organisation,” or dropping the “u” from “colour”. I’m also attempting not to confuse people when I say “chips” but mean “fries”. Now that I am back in the US, I can also enjoy the important things that the change has brought, including being able to visit my family up near San Francisco this Thanksgiving.

I feel incredibly grateful to Credera for giving me this opportunity, and I look forward to experiencing the growth of our LA office expanding further as new colleagues join us here in sunny Southern California.