The opportunity to have more creative freedom and put her strong strategic marketing skills to use brought Michelle Villamor to Berbay three years ago. Michelle, who celebrated her third anniversary with the firm in April, had earned her degree in marketing, but her first job after college was in sales. While she enjoyed the client interaction the work afforded, she found sales boring.
“I wanted to do more than I was doing,” she says. “So I came to Berbay and immediately found the small office environment very appealing. I always had the sense that I could really grow here. Sharon and Megan are so invested in the firm’s development and are so invested in my growth and development. While we value independent thinking, I liked that I had that support and wasn’t going to be left to figure everything out on my own.”
Grow she did. From an assistant account manager to her current position as an account manager working with high-profile law offices and other professional services firms. There were some surprises along the way for Michelle. The work environment was more fast-paced than she had initially expected. She was also surprised and impressed by the firm’s team-based culture.
“While we all have our own clients, we all help each other and have a hand in every pot here,” she says. “We use a lot of ‘we’s’ at Berbay. It is not just an ‘I’ thing.”
Her anniversary with the firm was just one important milestone for Michelle this spring. Another is her marriage to her long-time boyfriend, Karsten, on May 15. The couple is marrying in Hawaii and then honeymooning for two weeks in the Philippines.
Michelle notes that there are about two percent of brides who actually enjoy wedding planning, and she is one of them. She laughs that it is “Berbay’s fault” she enjoys it so much. The communication, organizational and myriad other skills she employs to advise and assist Berbay clients easily transfer to working with vendors and others as she plans her perfect wedding.
