Madeleine Tan grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. She spent her university years studying at NYU, where she majored in economics, minored in French, and studied abroad in Paris. She began her career working at a fashion-travel start-up in France, practicing her second language in a professional setting. After graduating from NYU, she worked in research and data science. She then entered the SaaS space as a consultant, discovering what the world of technology and software consulting had to offer. Madeleine is now a proud Client Solutions Consultant at Arteria AI.

The Client Solutions team has plenty of different responsibilities, from leading internal project-planning initiatives to engaging with Arteria AI’s clients and implementing the Arteria solution.

So Madeleine, what brought you to the Arteria family?
It mainly was the desire to work for a start-up in its early stages for such an exciting product, where it’s possible to leave your footprint and even drive its development. In addition, Arteria AI is so unique in its space in the market. That is hard to find these days, so that really appealed to me, too.   

As a Client Solutions Consultant at Arteria AI, what is one skill that is essential to have?
‍It is essential to be “customer-obsessed!” Being able to empathize with the client, viewing the scenarios from their point of view, while understanding our product, its capabilities, and knowing what makes sense from a feature perspective to improve Arteria as a whole, is all part of customer obsession. A fun part about joining a company at an early stage is that I get to help develop the actual processes and standards we follow, both in external project work and internal planning discussions, to help our clients succeed.

Working with so many amazing clients and colleagues, what is a key strategy you’ve taken away from these experiences that you’ll keep in mind as you move through your career?
‍Never stop being open to learning and taking advice from mentors, colleagues and clients –really anyone you interact with! Sometimes you can become comfortable in your role, and you will develop your own strategy and approach. Still, it’s always important to be open to changing it up, improving yourself and growing your skillset.  

Madeleine with Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, on her graduation day from NYU in 2018.

Have you drawn professional inspiration from anyone? Who is someone who has inspired you?
I have two sisters who are a bit older than I am, so I’m lucky to have two strong role models that are so close to me that I can look up to, not just in a personal capacity but also professionally. They’ve both had really successful and diverse careers, and that’s always been a great inspiration to me.

What would you tell young women who are just starting to work? What would you like them to know?
Keep yourself open to diverse opportunities, build relationships with people who inspire you, and find mentors that you can really connect with. Learning about career paths – which may or may not exist yet – and connecting with people and understanding what they do for work, and why, can really help you find your purpose and drive in a pivotal point in life.

If you had to pick one–skydiving, bungee jumping, or scuba diving–which would you do?
Skydiving, because it is one of the top things I’ve always wanted to do, but also because I’ve already gone bungee jumping and scuba diving! I am definitely an adrenaline enthusiast, and I love things like that, so I’m honestly surprised I haven’t skydived yet.

What is something that your co-workers might be surprised to know about you?
In high school, I was training to be a professional ballerina. I attended the National Ballet School in Toronto for a bit, and that was my career plan. Unfortunately, a few ankle and knee injuries closed the door on that path but opened up another!