Congratulations to Matthew Walters who is celebrating his 25-year long service milestone this month.
"I joined OGL Software in 2001 as a Software Trainer after working in manufacturing in a technical and major customer support role. I still remember having to negotiate an interview and presentation with Debbie, Sharon, and Jan, so it certainly felt like I'd earned the opportunity!
Over the last 25 years I've been fortunate to work in a variety of roles, including Training, Project Management, Delivery, Development Team Leader, Account Management, and supporting System Sales. That mix of commercial and technical experience has given me a great perspective on both our customers and our products. Today I'm part of the Profit4 development team, and it's an exciting place to be. With AI starting to influence both the product itself and the way we develop software, I'm looking forward to seeing where the next chapter takes us.
I've been lucky enough to be involved in some of our biggest software projects, contributing from both the commercial and technical sides, and those are certainly highlights. But what stands out just as much is seeing the long-term relationships we've built with our customers. In fact, the very first site I trained back in 2001 is still a customer today, which says a lot about the quality of the software and, just as importantly, the support that goes with it.
One of the things I've always enjoyed is that success isn't only measured by the biggest projects. Sometimes it's the smaller improvements that make the biggest difference. It's always rewarding to hear from customers when a feature or tweak that seemed relatively minor has genuinely made their day-to-day work easier. Those moments are just as satisfying as the headline projects.
There have certainly been a few memorable travel stories over the years! I once spent around eight hours in the car with Claire Jones, trying to get home from Birmingham because of what started as a snow flurry. In 2010, I found myself stranded in New Zealand for a week thanks to the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud, joining meetings over the phone while waiting for flights to resume.
My favourite must be travelling to Switzerland to deliver a couple of training sessions. The customer was based in Margate, but their sister company wanted the training delivered at their Swiss operation. It was definitely a more scenic alternative to the usual four-hour drive to the Kent coast!"
Matthew's manager, Andrew Davies, added: "I've had the privilege of working with Matthew for a long time now, and, "Product Manager" almost undersells what he brings to the team. Matthew's OGL story goes right back to our delivery team, where he started out as a trainer, before moving into development on prof.ITplus, long before Profit4 was even a thing. He's carried that depth of experience with him ever since. When he moved across to become our Profit4 Product Manager four years ago, he brought with him something you can't teach, a real, instinctive understanding of how our customers actually work and what matters to them day to day.
One thing I've always valued in Matthew is that when we're facing a tough customer challenge, I know he'll step in to help. He'll happily put in the extra time to make sure we get things resolved, and he's always willing to help our sales team put together realistic prototypes that have genuinely helped close deals.
What I've really loved watching over the past year is Matthew's curiosity with AI. He didn't wait for anyone to tell him what to do, he just went and played with it. There were weekends earlier this year where I'd open my laptop and find another prototype or idea sitting in Teams, something he'd built or tried out off his own back because he'd spotted a use case.
He's the kind of person who makes the rest of the product team better by being part of it. He brings a steady, common-sense approach, a dry sense of humour, and genuinely cares about getting it right for OGL and our customers. I count myself lucky to have him on the team and to call him a friend as well as a colleague.
Matthew, thank you for 25 years, for everything you've brought to prof.ITplus and Profit4, for the knowledge, the ideas, and the sheer enthusiasm you bring to the job every day. Here's to many more. Congratulations, it's thoroughly deserved."
Sharon Moreno, COO added: "What an incredible achievement, 25 years of service, and a career that has been filled with lots of variety along the way. Matthew joined the business on the same day as Karen May-Wilcox, both embarking on their OGL careers as Training Consultants. Since then, his journey has taken him through implementation, product development, and into the Profit4 Product Manager role that he performs today.
Matthew's knowledge of our products is exceptional, and his enthusiasm for embracing new technologies and tools, and exploring how they can continually improve the way we work, is genuinely inspiring. What stands out to me is Matthew's ability to adapt, whether that's to internal requirements or our customers' needs. Nothing is ever too much trouble, whether he's exploring options for new Profit4 functionality or navigating a challenging situation, we know we can always rely on him to see the task through.
Matthew, thank you for everything you have done for the company and our customers over the last 25 years. You have been outstanding, and you should be immensely proud of all you've achieved, because we certainly are!"
