In 2018, we announced Elevate’s plans to open 2 new international offices every year, and kicked off the process of looking for 2 amazing individuals to found our Northern California and Texas offices. Eventually, after a 6-month application process, we picked Tyler Harding from Team UK to open the NorCal office based in San Francisco, and Alistair Edmonds from team Oz to open the Texas office based in Houston.
Then in July 2019, we kicked off the process all over again, looking for another 2 amazing individuals to open the SoCal office in Los Angeles, and the Washington DC office in…Washington DC. We ended up receiving 40 applications, which came from presenters and full-time office staff, from every single Elevate territory, and even from Elevate alumni.
Over the course of 6 months, everyone went through the a process that would put the Navy Seals Bootcamp to shame! Our final applicants:
Wrote 1 CV and cover letter and 2 personal essays;
Underwent 3 interviews;
Sat 3 psych tests;
Performed 1 business case;
And finally went through the 1 mystery challenge.
And in the end, we were left with 2 people standing. And they were….
From Team Oz and heading off to LA is….PAT McGRATH!!!
Pat started with Elevate back in 2015 in Melbourne, where he was a presenter extraordinaire, master of the large group and multiple times winner of Presenter of the Month. In 2018 Pat made the trip up to Sydney to join the office team as the BDM for Queensland, where he has been kicking goals ever since. Pat has been a key part of the team over the last 12 months and stepped up to every challenge he has been set. Pat, a massive congrats on behalf of the entire team, as this opportunity is well deserved.
And joining Pat in the US, from our South African office is…PHEHELLO MAKGOE!!!
Phehello started life as a presenter in Cape Town in November 2016, eventually becoming a Team Leader, and Diagnostic Consultant for coaching, where he had 100% close rate. Having nailed life as a presenter and coach, Phehello joined the office in July 2019, as the Head of 1-1, where he has been responsible for building up the 1-1 product line. Like Pat, Phehello has been working towards this for the last 18 months, and is massively deserving of the opportunity.
A massive congratulations to both Pat and Phehello. Both JV and myself are really looking forward to working more closely with the two of you.
Also, a massive congratulations to everyone who applied for #whatsnext. Last year we were absolutely blown away by the quality of everyone who applied, and this year was no different. Each conversation JV and I had, and each essay we read, really affirmed to us how lucky we are to have so many exceptional high achievers at every level of the company, and across every territory. For anyone who did miss out this year, Pat and Phehello provide the greatest role models, as both missed out at the final hurdle last year, but came back again this year better and stronger. Both of the guys were given a ton of feedback which they used to great effect. So, if you missed out this time around, or didn’t put your hat in the ring because you didn’t feel you would get the gig, my biggest piece of advice is to take some inspiration from Phehello and Pat. You need to be in it to win it, so next time the #whatsnext process opens up again, make sure you get your application in!
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