Boxer Spotlight: Kenneth Mulholland, Enterprise Account Executive
At Box, we believe great ideas can come from anywhere in the company. We enable Boxers to champion their ideas and drive their career, supporting them in any path.In this new series, we spotlight Boxers across EMEA who showcase what #LifeatBox is all about.With that, we’re excited to introduce you to Kenneth Mulholland, a Large Enterprise Account Executive, based in London and formerly Sydney.
Why did you choose Box?
Coming out of university with an Economics degree, I hadn’t necessarily thought about pursuing a career in tech. However, after completing a two year graduate scheme in Ireland for a software firm, I found myself really enjoying what the industry had to offer, and I remember being particularly impressed by Box's leadership team when I met them at a CloudExpo event in London. I joined the first cohort of hires for Box EMEA as the company was building out operations in Europe, and early on, I could tell that there was an amazing culture being built with an office full of remarkable people!
What has your Box journey looked like?
I initially joined the Commercial Accounts team in London, partnering with Northern European companies ranging from 100 to 5,000 employees. At the time, we had started working closely with some of the major transport hubs - I was really fortunate to partner with the CIO at Gatwick Airport, who was a massive supporter of Cloud/SaaS platforms, and it was the success with this account that helped me build my brand internally at Box and also develop new skills such as influencing, negotiation and territory management in my role.
While at our President’s Club event in Cancun (annual incentive trip for Box's top sales performers), I was made aware Box was expanding into Australia and I could be one of the first Boxers in that country as we built out a Sales team for APAC. In 2016, I moved across the globe to Australia to manage our Enterprise Accounts and work on some really cool projects with amazing business leaders. My 4.5 years down south came to a close in November 2020 when I was offered a role working under Ryan Ball, Regional Director - Strategic Sales, in our EMEA office. It was bittersweet leaving Australia, but I'm thrilled to be back in the UK.
Were there any differences between the offices?
The Australian office was a little more laid back, and every meeting is a coffee meeting which I can't complain about! The tech community is relatively small as well (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane combined are smaller than London!). Everyone knows one another which is nice - it definitely made building relationships easier considering everything else was completely new.
... and what was the same?
In both offices I've worked in, there is a strong cross functional desire to GSD (Get Stuff Done), and despite timezone challenges and being somewhat remote, I actually felt more connected to our HQ. While culturally there are clear differences between working in the European market vs APAC, ultimately, we are one team at Box.
Would you recommend moving abroad?
From a young age, I’ve had the opportunity to move around, from North Carolina to Hong Kong and so it naturally became a part of my working life as well. There is so much to explore out there and it’s a joy to be able to discover the world and meet new people. If things don't go to plan, you can always move back. The experience you could gain and the memories you could make are 100% worth that risk. If you have the opportunity to relocate in your role, I absolutely say "go for it".
If you could give just one piece of advice to someone who wants to relocate with their work, what would it be?
Just ask. There is no part of my work that has suffered due to moving. While I’ve seen peers move from role to role, I’ve been able to build my brand and a network across multiple offices over my 9 years at Box. I’ve always felt well supported and have been rewarded along the way. Box genuinely cares about my personal development and the well being of my family. You can’t take that for granted.