Meet Simon Sedehizadeh and Ankita Singal, our newest recruits

We are delighted to announce that we have added another two more names to our growing team of highly skilled consultant analysts with the appointment of Simon Sedehizadeh and Ankita Singal.

Simon started with us in March 2012 and achieved his undergraduate M.Chem degree from Sheffield University which included a year in industry.  He then completed his PhD in Organic Chemistry at the University of Manchester.

Hailing from New Delhi, Ankita came to the UK in 2005. While in India she studied for a B.Tech in Biotechnology which encompassed subjects as varied as bioprocess engineering, chemistry, biology and genetic engineering at the prestigious Vellore Institute of Technology.

Ankita took her Masters from the Universtity of Manchester where she studied Biotechnology.  Ankita’s PhD subject was Developmental Biology which she started in Manchester with the research element being completed at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh. Ankita speaks several languages including Hindi, Punjabi and German.

“It is a pleasure to welcome Simon and Ankita to our team,” says Oakland director Jenny Brown, adding: “they join us at a very exciting time with increasing assignments from our existing clients and new clients joining us.”

June 27th - 2012 Oakland

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Feet of Endurance

We thought that last year’s Global Corporate Challenge (GCC) had gone well, that is until we took up the challenge for 2012.

Not only are our averages up on last year but we are actually surpassing the ambitious targets we set ourselves for this year’s GCC. The GCC is an annual event and it aims to encourage companies to enter teams who, essentially, do as much walking as they possibly can.  The objective is to walk the globe over a sixteen week period.

We wear pedometers and each day the total number of steps we take is inputted into the GCC website (www.gettheworldmoving.com).  The goal is to achieve at least 10,000 steps a day.  Oakland has entered four teams of seven and the more active we are, the more exotic locations we visit on our virtual walking journey around the world.

The GCC started on 24th May 2012 and already we are averaging 17,000 steps a day. Our leading team, however, is averaging an impressive 22,000 steps a day.

It is remarkable how enthusiastic everyone has become – there is no shortage of colleagues offering to make coffee, just to add a few more steps to their daily total.  One team member is getting married later this year in Manchester and has set herself the challenge of walking the distance to the church.

At the moment, Oakland is ranked 27th in the country and is 123rd globally.

The serious side to the GCC is that it is great for team building, it makes us fitter and helps two fantastic charities: the Iganga Babies Home – an orphanage in Uganda and the Foundation for Chronic Disease Prevention.

June 27th - 2012 Oakland

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