Project Manager of the Quarter — February 2022
A passion for numbers and languages is what makes our latest Project Manager of the Quarter successful at ModSquad. Let’s get to know Lara G., who has a head for data and a way with words.
Lara started at ModSquad in 2013 as one of our fantastic multilingual Mods. She hails from the beautiful city of Torino, Italy (which you may remember from the 2006 Winter Olympics). Two years later, she applied for and obtained her current position as Project Manager and has been nothing but impressive ever since.
What makes her so successful? Well, it’s her love for numbers, languages, and all things optimization. “I’m hell bent on optimizing everything I can. If there’s a way to make a process faster, easier or better, I’ll find it.” says Lara. “It’s a weird skill set combination. I really like data and languages, which ModSquad has catered to. In my job, I get to work with data, make things better, and use my language skills. It’s a perfect job for me.”
Those skills certainly do come in handy for Lara in her daily roles. This Japanese language major (with English as a minor) speaks a total of four languages. “I love working with languages in a meaningful way,” she says. “Once you can speak someone’s language you can understand where they’re coming from. I want to meet people where they’re most comfortable, and speaking their language is a great start.”
Interesting side note: Not everyone in her house loves her multilingual skills. One of her dogs doesn’t like it when she speaks English. “I’m not sure why, but he barks every time I speak in English,” she laughs. Fortunately, the rest of her menagerie, including another dog, two cats, a parrot, and her boyfriend, think she sounds just fine!
And so do the clients for which Lara manages projects. She’s been with these clients for the long haul. Her largest client is a video game company; she’s worked on that project for seven years. Another client project dates back three years; in fact, she’s responsible for helping it grow from a small international engagement to one of ModSquad’s largest customer service projects.
“I’m a customer service junkie,” says Lara. “I’ve been working in CS for so long, I’ve just come to adore it. I love making clients feel assured in our services and I love doing the best we can for their customers.”
Lara is also known among clients as someone who brings ideas to the table. She’s open and honest with her creativity, and clients have implemented a number of her suggestions. “Our clients come to us because they want our expertise and our point of view. Seeing clients run with my ideas makes me smile.”
Being data driven helps Lara ensure her projects are running smoothly. In her position, she considers herself “the keeper of the numbers.” “My role is to make sure the numbers make sense for everyone. I get to draw the wider picture and see how we can improve based on what story the numbers are telling us.” Another way to succeed in the role, says Lara, is to “never stop being yourself. People think you need to fit a set of characteristics to be a PM, but just be yourself. You already have plenty to contribute. Just find your talent and make it shine. A sense of humor always helps, too.“
We’re certainly glad that Lara is who she is. And we’re not alone. Check out what her colleagues have to say about Lara:
“Lara is a true asset to our project, and has been pivotal to its growth and success. She goes above and beyond in terms of continuous improvement, streamlining, and making things more efficient. She’s fantastic with the client and is always striving to learn.”
— Caroline M., Account Manager
“Lara is really knowledgeable about support topics and her clients. She’s always very empathetic, supportive, and collaborative with the Mods.”
— Matt R., Account Manager
“Lara is steadfast in her approach, supportive of her Mods, and takes on many challenges. She’s deft at handling any situation.”
— Stephen D., Sr. Director, Client Services
Do you have your own words of support for Lara? Congratulate our latest PM of the Quarter in the comments section below. Want to work with people like Lara? Learn how you can join the Mods.