Derek McBurney

Head of Technology @Evans Hunt

I am privileged to lead the EH technology department as we deliver phenomenal work. Being on the company’s leadership team, I help shape our direction and have accomplishments I’m particularly proud of:* Fostered positive culture - behaviour pervasive in tech can create a workplace where colleagues fear their work isn’t good or innovative enough and feel afraid to contribute so making sure everyone is safe, comfortable and proud of their contributions is paramount. On this initiative I received the best piece of feedback in my career, “I’m glad it feels like this is a place where I’ll be growing not just in my career but as a person.” * Helped win our largest accounts - this is all due to everyone’s great work that we create proposals and pitches from. I am proud of the role I play securing new work by speaking to sometimes complex technology behind digital projects on simple terms our clients understand and see the benefits of.* Co-founded our diversity, equity and inclusion committee - I manage the team’s operational process to help deliver important initiatives for the company.* Hired our first female Technology Director and first openly non-binary staff member - more important than the milestone might be the fundamental change behind it, which is to put in the work to get positions in front of more audiences rather than rely solely on personal networks. We added the best people possible while benefiting from more backgrounds and perspectives.* Performed a competitive review of salaries - I significantly rose pay department-wide, and continue to strive for equitable and competitive pay based on role and performance as we navigate a shifting technology landscape.* Secured new partnerships - I curated a list of what technologies we like to use and what hasn’t served us well, and pursued strategic partnerships for solutions we use to pass more value on to our clients. Partnerships include services like Netlify, Contentful and SilverStripe.