Meet Chad Berbert, Cicero Group Principal
Describe yourself in 5 words or less
Too Serious and Too Playful
How do you spend your time outside of work?
These days it tends to be children’s basketball, volleyball, and robotics competitions, with dance and piano recitals thrown into the mix. Much of our lives revolves around our five children, two of whom are in high school. We love spending time with the children and seeing them grow. Occasionally Anne and I will break away for a good movie or a trip to a nice local restaurant. I also like to cook on occasion; Jamie Oliver recipes tend to be some of my favorites.
What did you do pre-Cicero, and what brought you to the firm?
Prior to Cicero I spent 13 years as a U.S. diplomat working in London, Beijing, Washington D.C., Shenyang, and Apia. Samoa is definitely one of our favorite places on the planet, a slice of paradise in the middle of the South Pacific. The Samoan islands are gorgeous and we loved the people we met there, so much so that we adopted our oldest daughter in Samoa. We love having her in our family.
In terms of coming to Cicero, we left diplomatically life because we wanted to bring our family back to our Utah roots. Both Anne and I grew up north of Salt Lake City. I knew of Cicero through some connections of mine and lucky for me they were in need of someone with significant international and government experience at the same time as we were returning to Utah. It made for a really nice fit. That was three years ago and I have been with Cicero ever since.
What are some interesting things you’ve been working on lately?
My background lends itself to working with large institutions in government, education, and healthcare. I have significant experience working across cultures and in helping organizations improve their culture to drive effective outcomes. Most recently I have been working with an institution of higher education eliminating organizational silos and building a culture of collaborative decision making. I love the people side of what we do.
What else makes Cicero a great place to work?
I also love working with data, which is what makes working at Cicero so great. Most often we are using data to help people better understand the dynamics in which they operate, including how others like clients, customers, or employees view the organization and the value the organization delivers. We then translate that data into actionable insights to guide and inspire our clients to make more effective and positive decisions. It is the blending of the analytic and the interpersonal that is really exciting to me. And it is really the key to Cicero’s success.
For fun, any book/movie/music recommendations?
A really good book was put out a year or so ago by our friends at Cisco. It is entitled Digital Vortex, and it looks at how digital capacity is completely transforming industries in very real ways. Everyone knows how media consumption has changed since the advent of the internet: movies, books, and music are all streaming on our mobile devices.
This book asks the question, “what are the next transformations that will take place?” It then provides a great systematic approach to looking at how various industries, including healthcare, education, and manufacturing are changing, and it predicts how they will continue to evolve in the future. It is a great, prescient look into how technology will change the world around us.
Connect with Chad: LinkedIn – Cicero Group