Ellie Dowsett

Data Protection Officer | UK GDPR | Compliance | Cyber Security | Legal | Speaker | Employee Engagement , Best Companies

How do you want to make your mark in this World?

For myself, like many others, upon leaving school, I was left still trying to discover my purpose and how to make my mark.

In the year 2000 I started working at ASDA, on the shop floor as a Christmas temp. ASDA was an amazing company to work for, full of opportunity with a great culture supporting, recognising and rewarding their employees. This was where I received my first training in data protection, it was a 10 minute discussion at the beginning of the day, prior to being given an overview of the Personnel Department. The main takeaway of the 10 minute roundup was pretty much "Anything I heard, saw or collated during my day in this office was strictly confidential and not to be shared, repeated or discussed with any one else". In 2002, ASDA, was number 1 in the Best Companies lists - I vividly remember this was a huge company achievement, which we all felt a part of with much internal celebrations, ranking above companies such as Microsoft and Cisco. Little did I know then, how these two events would go on to mean so much to me later in life.

Working for Best Companies gives me the opportunity to do what I love, I am passionate about data protection. Working alongside the Best Companies team, I feel part of something special, just like I did at ASDA, everyone knows each other and cares for each other. When your workplace feels like an extension of your family and you love the work you do, I think I can happily say I have found my purpose and a way to leave my mark in the World. Making the World a better workplace.