A reflection on 2020
In a week where we brought the entire Bedford team together for our virtual christmas party in a setting unlike any other before it, I am reminded that despite the personal and professional challenges we have faced together throughout 2020, a year we will largely want to forget in a hurry, there remains a lot to be thankful for within the security and stability of our ecosystem, allowing us to look forward to 2021 with optimism and ambition.
Looking back
There is much to be proud of this year, but above all else, I am overwhelmingly proud of the great people I am surrounded by at Bedford. Their reaction and togetherness through adversity has been inspiring and has fostered an even stronger, more collaborative, and supportive environment throughout our organisation. In a year where we needed to call upon many different and often dormant muscles, we continue to challenge and learn from one another, support beyond our comfort zone, and watch out for each other’s backs. I am privileged to be surrounded by leaders; people largely running on adrenaline for periods of 2020, who have been quick to adapt and act in uncertainty, to maintain morale among our teams and to foster long-lasting relationships with our partners and customers ensuring we have lost no momentum in our goals. If anyone was in doubt as to how to act in times of uncertainty, these were the people to follow.
“Good timber does not grow with ease; the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees.”
A quote I have found comfort in this past year.
I am proud of our strategy and values, which have been reinforced by the unique challenges brought by COVID, rather than shaped by them. Our focus on Partnership, Teamwork, Quality, Innovation, Customer Focus and Humility remains at the heart of every decision we make together as a business; values which are core to our Bedford DNA and applied day in, day out. We are together as one team, striving for one common goal.
It has been another exciting year of growth across our territories in 2020; our foundation in UK&I, our maturity in DACH and our evolution in the Nordics. Each region bringing unique and local challenges, but it is critical that our essence, value and quality remain consistent across all territories and I am proud of the people we have surrounded ourselves with to deliver on our vision.
Our partnership with Anaplan is stronger than ever, a true partner who has rallied around as we navigated the choppy waters together. A partnership forged through only a handful of relationships over nine years ago has now flourished into a global network, conceiving not only colleagues but friendships. Thank you for your partnership. We stand together, we succeed together.
Looking forward
Whilst I do not underestimate for a moment the personal, social and economic impact this pandemic has had on our lives, I feel we are in a fortunate and privileged position to look forward to 2021 with optimism and ambition. We will continue to accelerate our territory growth as Anaplan spreads its footprint across Europe, we will continue to expand our team and create opportunities for development within, we will continue to invest in our enablement, continue to innovate and take initiative to remain at the forefront of product enhancements. We will continue to invest in our customers, ensuring we are proactive in our pursuit of excellence, and in creating value for them by challenging, enabling and fostering long-lasting relationships. I am entirely fired up to close out my first year as CEO, and my twelfth year at Bedford with strength, carrying that momentum into 2021 with this great bunch of people around me.
I am forever grateful for the resilience shown by everyone at Bedford this year, in the stoic dedication to excellence in our day-to-day delivery, in the leadership and courage shown by our role models, and lest we forget, in the support network around us, in our families, our wives, our husbands, our partners, our children and our pets! We all have different circumstances, and this year more than any other, we became an extended Bedford family. We are fortunate to have each other, and in having fun doing what we do best.
Lastly, I would like to wish you all, our team, partners, customers, friends and families a warm and safe Christmas season. It may not be a ‘normal’ one, but I hope you can enjoy it nonetheless. I look forward to seeing you all in the new year, and hopefully in person sooner rather than later.
