How did you come to join BBH and what drew you in?

The opportunity to have hands on influence and contribution to determine where the third-party management program was going was a huge draw for me. I knew this role would be a great fit from my previous experience and I really appreciate the culture and environment that BBH creates. Working together, having opportunities for growth, and the team being open to ideas for improvement was encouraging and I knew I wanted to contribute to that.

What is your current role and how did you get involved?

My role covers third-party technology assessments. This includes the evaluation of the technology and security controls of certain third-party services and identifies potential risks identified through the evaluation process. I have worked in numerous roles in the information technology field, from a system administrator for nonprofit organizations and educational institutions to technical support engineer for an ISP datacenter which ultimately led me to this position. Having a background in compliance and technical support customer service was essential for me to hit the ground running in this role.

Can you tell us what a typical day looks like for you?

It is a split between analysis of vendor services risks and managing a satisfactory and compliant relationship with the business lines and vendor partners. We typically work on multiple assessments at any given time. I manage the different phases of each vendor service assessment depending on what stage they are currently in and engage with appropriate stakeholders that are involved. The majority of my day consists of conducting assessments or reviews, responding to our vendors, assisting the business lines to remediate any findings, tracking assignments, and reporting any risks.

What is the most unique part of your role?

The most unique part of my role is the opportunity to work with all business units across the firm to onboard their vendor’s technology services. This allows me to understand the operational functions of the business units that we support as well as connect with other BBH employees who work directly with our clients. Building these relationships has given me insight into how we as a Vendor Technology Assessment team can support not only our clients but also my fellow colleagues to meet their initiatives and provide excellent service.

What are some essential skills to have to be successful in this field?

Curiosity and having an enthusiastic attitude are the most essential competencies to excel in this role. Paired with a high degree of adaptability and strong analytical and diagnostic skills, these will allow the drive and ability to approach different angles or strategies while recognizing there are always areas where we do not have contextual knowledge.

Can you share a fun fact about yourself?

I am a huge movie buff and sports fan. Live action sports like Boxing, MMA and basketball are my biggest interests. I try to attend Celtics games as often as possible. For movies and entertainment, my top shows right now are Game of Thrones and Fall of the House of Usher, but I have an interest in all types of cinemas from foreign films to action

What song do you currently have on repeat?

At the moment, it has to be ‘Never Would Have Made It’ by Marvin Sapp.

You recently attended the AFROTECH™️ conference, can you tell us about your experience there?

The three things I enjoyed most about the conference were connecting with likeminded passionate people, attending informative seminars, and learning about industry leading companies’ technology developments. The conference was immersive, inspiring, and I left with a sense of being part of a larger community in the tech space.

One of my favorite learning sessions was ‘Anatomy of a Cyber-Attack.’ The session explored the various stages of a cyber-attack and how organizations should be approaching security while also highlighting the significant financial and reputational risks that individuals and organizations face. In the session, the speakers emphasized that investment into security is an investment in protecting revenue. Seeing how it tied into BBH’s sustainability model and hearing about other approaches to security while looking at the gap between staff in security and staff in business was informative.

Speaking with Mukuli was a great chance to explore the inner workings of vendor management and get to learn more about one of the employees that makes BBH such a unique and positive place to work. Interested in joining BBH? Check out our open roles!