Efrain Garcia [00:00:00]

Hi everyone, Efrain here with Allstream Insiders, where we're taking a peek inside the industry today with Eve. Eve, where are you from? What do you guys do?

Eve Koch Nichol [00:00:07]

I'm from Toronto, Canada, and I work with a company called Valency as a project account executive. We're a software company focusing on project assurance solutions for capital projects.

Efrain Garcia [00:00:19]

So how'd you get into the industry?

Eve Koch Nichol [00:00:20]

It actually started for me with a co-op in my first year of university. One of my mentors suggested that I apply to this organization in more of a project consultant role, and I loved it. From there, I continued working part-time throughout university and started full-time once I graduated in a number of different roles. It's really given me a full view of how the business operates and different aspects of the industry.

Efrain Garcia [00:00:47]

So what solutions do you guys provide for the capital projects industry?

Eve Koch Nichol [00:00:51]

Currently, only about 0.5% of capital projects finish on time, within budget, and with the expected project benefits. That's exactly the problem our CARVE Capital Projects software is intended to solve: figuring out how we give project teams the tools they need to bring key project stakeholders together.

Efrain Garcia [00:01:12]

Okay.

Eve Koch Nichol [00:01:13]

Align on project scope and status, and understand where those gaps and risks really lie—not just for the biggest projects in the portfolio, but for the smaller ones.

Efrain Garcia [00:01:25]

That sounds amazing. So, what did you study? What was that journey like to get into the industry? What was your major in university?

Eve Koch Nichol [00:01:35]

My background is actually in a program called Knowledge Integration, which is really all about how we bring together different groups of people who have different areas of expertise and are used to talking differently and working differently. How do we bring them all together and create that communication and conduit for bringing those different perspectives together? I did my undergrad in Knowledge Integration and then my master's in business administration.

Efrain Garcia [00:02:00]

Very cool, very cool. That sounds like an amazing journey so far. What are some of the cool places that the oil and gas or construction industry has taken you? What's one of your favorite places the industry has taken you?

Eve Koch Nichol [00:02:14]

Like physically, to have gone?

Efrain Garcia [00:02:15]

Yes. Mentally later.

Eve Koch Nichol [00:02:17]

We've done some really neat oil and gas projects in Norway. It's been super neat to see that other side of it in terms of offshore projects and how they differ from a lot of our onshore projects today, but also how they really go hand in hand in terms of needing both to bring the industry together.

Efrain Garcia [00:02:37]

Very cool. One of my favorites was a project we had in Alaska.

Eve Koch Nichol [00:02:41]

Oh, fun.

Efrain Garcia [00:02:41]

We encouraged our young engineers to get out of their comfort zone and go out and actually start having conversations.

Eve Koch Nichol [00:02:48]

Yeah.

Efrain Garcia [00:02:48]

Present the results. We had this long, long, PhD, nerdy report, but we encouraged them to get out of their comfort zone, go in person, and actually tell that story.

Eve Koch Nichol [00:02:58]

Awesome.

Efrain Garcia [00:02:58]

It really brought value to the clients and, as a consulting engineering group, brought value to both parties. We saw our young engineers really flourish and develop. So, personal question: If you went into ChatGPT and asked, “Who is Eve?” what would you want it to say? What's the legacy you want to leave behind in this journey?

Eve Koch Nichol [00:03:20]

I'd say the legacy I'd want to leave behind is really a people-focused view of things. How do we bring people together better? How do we combine these different perspectives to shape how projects move forward and align all those different stakeholder groups? That's probably the legacy I'd like to leave. What it actually says is probably that it's helping me write a lot of emails.

Efrain Garcia [00:03:42]

Excellent, excellent. Is there anything you'd like to share with the industry? What's the best way to get ahold of you? Is it LinkedIn, email, or your website? What's the best way for somebody to reach out if they have any questions?

Eve Koch Nichol [00:03:54]

LinkedIn, email, or visit the Valency website. We offer lots of free webinars during the year to share more about how these project assurance solutions work and how you can start using them in your capital projects.

Efrain Garcia [00:04:05]

Eve, what's your last name for LinkedIn?

Eve Koch Nichol [00:04:07]

Koch Nichol.

Efrain Garcia [00:04:08]

Okay, we'll write it down and tag her in the post. We'll make sure we do that. That's it for Allstream Insiders, where we take a peek inside the industry, where the insiders tell the story and control the narrative. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll see you next time.

Eve Koch Nichol [00:04:20]

Thank you so much.

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