How former customers strengthen our professional services expertise

At Dayshape, we're fortunate to have several team members who first experienced our platform from the customer side. Before joining Dayshape, they were operations leaders, resource managers, and Dayshape super users inside professional services firms. They experienced the challenges that come with resource management, from fragmented processes and spreadsheet-based planning to balancing the competing priorities of people, projects, and profitability.

They also experienced something else: the impact that better resource management can have on an organization. 

Today, they're helping firms around the world navigate the same transformation they once led themselves. 

Here's their story. 

The shared thread: experiencing change firsthand

Despite coming from different firms and backgrounds, Melissa Owens, Bea Gonzales, James Mahon, and Ainsley Cotter all share a similar experience.

They discovered Dayshape while working within professional services organizations that were looking for better ways to manage resources, staffing, and workforce planning. They saw how the platform changed the way their teams operated, enabled better decisions, and elevated the role of resource management within their firms.

Ainsley Cotter

Then: Resource Manager at S&W

Now: Dayshape Consultant at Dayshape

Ainsley's route into resource management was anything but conventional. 

Originally trained in forensic cold case investigations, she moved to the UK and found herself needing a new career path. What she initially assumed would be a temporary move into resource management quickly became a profession she grew to love. 

During her time at S&W, she played a key role in her firm's Dayshape implementation. 

"The implementation was a massive success at our firm and totally transformed our once very fragmented resource management function into a business value driver." 

Experiencing that transformation firsthand left a lasting impact. 

"I wanted to be part of that and help pay it forward to help other resource management functions at other firms experience that same amazing transformation." 

Today, as a Software Implementation Consultant, she brings that customer perspective to every project.

"I really concern myself with making sure that the customers I work with are heard, supported, and guided in a way that will transform their business for the better."

Melissa Owens

Then: Resource Management Operations Leader at Forvis Mazars US

Now: Senior Strategic Consultant at Dayshape

Before joining Dayshape, Melissa's role involved supporting resource managers across the business and ensuring teams had the information they needed to make effective staffing decisions. 

Through implementation, go live, and ongoing operations, she worked closely with Dayshape's teams and developed a deep appreciation for both the product and the people behind it. 

"I built great relationships with the people behind the product and gained a firsthand appreciation for Dayshape's vision and innovation."

Today, that dual perspective as both former customer and current employee shapes how she approaches her work. 

"I understand the challenges resource managers and end users face because I've lived them myself."

Whether contributing to product discussions, solution design, or customer implementations, her focus remains the same: helping customers realize value faster and achieve successful outcomes. 

Bea Gonzales

Then: Audit Resource Manager at Grant Thornton Ireland

Now: Senior Dayshape Consultant at Dayshape

Bea first encountered Dayshape while working as an auditor at Grant Thornton Ireland. 

The firm was looking for a more strategic approach to budgeting and resource management and, like many organizations, wanted to move beyond spreadsheet-based planning. 

Soon after implementation, she became a resource manager and Dayshape product owner, giving her end-to-end experience of both implementation and long-term adoption. 

"Because we built our resourcing process and governance around the system, Dayshape quickly became a core part of how we operated."

That experience taught her an important lesson: successful resource management isn't just about technology. 

"It's about how technology, processes, and people align to drive effectiveness and efficiency." 

Now, when working with customers, she can draw directly on her own experience navigating change from within a professional services firm. 

"Having been on the other side of the table, I can relate to the challenges customers face and understand the goals behind the questions, changes, and enhancements they request."

James Mahon

Then: Dayshape Super User at Deloitte UK

Now: Senior Dayshape Consultant at Dayshape

As a Dayshape Super User at Deloitte UK, James experienced firsthand how the platform improved both day-to-day operations and broader resource management processes. 

The more he worked with the system, the more he wanted to deepen his involvement. 

"I wanted to do more on Dayshape having seen the impact it'd had on our processes and on our day-to-day lives."

Joining Dayshape felt like the natural next step. 

Today, that super user experience gives him a valuable perspective when supporting customers. 

"I can help our customers make decisions when it comes to their Dayshape setups as well as their business process changes."

Just as importantly, he can help firms understand how those changes will affect the people using the system. 

"Giving them a real-world view of how changes may impact their people and processes."

Why customer experience matters

Software companies often talk about being customer centric. 

But there's something particularly powerful about having people on your team who were once customers themselves.

They know what it's like to manage staffing challenges under pressure. They understand the realities of driving adoption, securing stakeholder buy-in, and balancing competing priorities. They've experienced the questions, concerns, and opportunities that come with resource management transformation firsthand. 

Most importantly, they understand the outcomes that professional services firms are trying to achieve because they've pushed those same goals in their own careers. 

That experience helps ensure that customer conversations stay grounded in reality, product decisions reflect genuine user needs, and implementations are shaped by practical expertise, not theory. 

Building the future of resource management

The resource management profession continues to evolve rapidly. 

As firms face increasing complexity, growing client demands, and new opportunities created by AI and automation, the need for effective workforce planning has never been greater. 

The people best placed to help navigate that future are often those who have already lived through the challenges themselves. 

For Ainsley, Melissa, Bea, and James, that's exactly what they bring to Dayshape every day: not just product knowledge, but lived experience of resource management transformation. 

And that's something our customers benefit from too.