Introducing Dani in Manila

IQ-EQ is a fast growing business and technology is at the forefront of our innovation. We’d like to introduce you to Dani Panzo, who is part of IQ-EQ Group RFP/ Bid Team. Dani joined the Manila office in 2019 as a business development analyst in the sales team. Within a year she progressed to a group-wide role on the Group RFP/Bid team specialising in supporting bid and proposal development life cycles for significant organic growth opportunities.

The team leverages technology to support request for proposals (RFP) and competitive tenders through software designed to support bid and proposal development life cycle professionals. Dani is the content administrator of the IQ-EQ Knowledge Hub, and she also supports the preparation of pitch and presentation materials.

Tell us about your career to date:
I graduated in May 2011 from Far East University-Diliman, Philippines with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management. Following university I started working for a global provider of professional information solutions in the science, medical, legal, risk management and business sectors. My role focused on the legal sector and content for statutory and legal cases. After four years, I decided to join a Technology & Consultancy Provider for Business Process Automation that specialised in IT services, providing report automation and data management, where I was responsible for the client relationship and ensuring the quality of the reports.

What attracted you to join IQ-EQ?
I really wanted to work in a financial institution and when I saw IQ-EQ had an opening I applied straight away. It was a new opportunity and it got me interested. Fun fact, my first day gave me a big shake - literally as there was an earthquake in Manila on that day! I’ll never forget it!

What is it like moving from a cluster based role to a group-wide role?
At first, it was overwhelming and scary. The people I communicate with are senior managers across the Group and to be perfectly honest I’m not used to that. Thankfully, my manager, has helped me in every way possible and I feel more confident in the role now.

Were there any skills from your previous role that were transferable to your current role?
Not only did my previous role help me but most of the skills I acquired in my years of working have helped me a lot in my current role. For instance, while working for the local IT solutions provider I needed to make sure that the system that we provided was error free and was easy for end users to use, which taught me some of the basics in order for a system to work properly. In addition to that, being a business development analyst at IQ-EQ has also helped me understand how the RFP process works, which has helped me to support competitive bids in my current role.

Did you have to overcome any challenges?
Taking this new role is already a big challenge mainly because I had to learn a new software system, support the development of our database, manage multiple deadlines and the time differences in requests plus we can work to some tight deadlines. 2020 was a very busy year supporting our people globally with significant new business requests and competitive tender processes whilst also been part of a new team and developing professionally in a new role.

What do you like about your current role?There are three things that I like the most:

The people that I work directly with, because they nurture my growth professionally and personally
Meeting new people day-to-day across the Group
The ability to work remotely and the flexibility of time when the pandemic ends

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in a career in IQ-EQ?
Go for it! It’s an opportunity you wouldn’t want to miss!

What do you like to do in your free time?
I enjoy watching movies and TV series, as they let me be imaginative and relieve some of the stress that the pandemic is causing. I also enjoy taking photographs of landscapes and portraits. I haven’t taken any travel shots since the pandemic but I’m hoping that I can travel and take pictures again after the pandemic.

Here are some photos that I took during the pandemic: