People profiles - Matt Komendołowicz
People of Kainos: Matt Komendolowicz
Read our profile of Matt, our Head of Workday Extend capability about his typical day, what motivates him and why he chose Kainos to progress his career.
What’s your name and role?
I’m Matt, I’m the Global Head of Workday Extend Delivery at Kainos based in London. It’s a long title which pretty much means that I manage Kainos’ Extend team around the world. Workday Extend is a new module that allows partners and developers to create new and custom applications in Workday!
What app could you not live without?
Besides Workday, I’d have to say Spotify. It gets used all day, every day!
Describe your typical day.
There isn’t so much a typical day for me, but every day there is a consistent theme – I solve problems, make decisions and work with people. I oversee the full range of projects that are being delivered at the moment in the Extend capability.
On top of this, it’s my job to ensure that everyone is taken care of and doing the best. I have regular 1-2-1s with the senior delivery team to ensure that everyone is happy and that their work is going well, and if not we get to the bottom of the problems and work through them. I get a real buzz from tackling problems that seem very complex, working together and overcoming them in the end. I do a lot of mentoring with the senior team here too.
I set myself a goal in my role is to ensure that everyone in my capability is fulfilling their professional dreams. And so far, so good! Whether it be someone in my team or a customer, the success for me is the smile on someone’s face once a piece of work has been completed.
Kainos is unique. It has such a people-oriented culture, it’s very open minded and feels like a family. It’s great to be part of a really successful company that’s growing so steadily too. I joined during the pandemic and the care they show to their people is exceptional.
How did you get into the world of Workday?
I started my career in strategy consulting, then moved to banking. Then I moved into Business Intelligence development before I first entered the Workday ecosystem. My first Workday role was a technical lead then I became project manager, managing multiple projects and clients. This is where I got an early glimpse into Extend – it was very new and I was one of the first to try it out around three years ago. I thought it was really cool and had so much potential, and it became a small but regular part of my job, while I was managing Workday implementations.
When I found out about Kainos, everything seemed to come together.
If anyone is considering moving into Workday ecosystem, what would you advise them?
Workday is the best HCM & FIN solution in the world right now. It’s got a buzz everywhere and it’s constantly evolving. The future is extremely bright. The plans for growth are just huge. Workday Extend is the pinnacle of Workday. For me, it’s the most technically challenging part of the Workday ecosystem and because it’s so new there is a lot to learn and a lot to experiment with.
What inspired you to join Kainos?
Kainos is unique in the partner ecosystem. It doesn’t have the ‘huge corporation’ feel and it’s very people oriented. This is something I really related to - I mentioned it in my interview; I put people first in everything I do, and that’s also the Kainos way. I felt like even in my interview, it was the right place for me and I felt like I belonged. When I met our CTO Damien, I found him so inspiring. He’s so intelligent and knowledgeable about the product. At Kainos, there isn’t a shortage of very smart people and I love to be in an environment where everyone is always learning from each other – no matter what their level.
What would you say to someone considering making the move to Kainos?
Kainos is unique. It has such a people-oriented culture, it’s very open minded and feels like a family. It’s great to be part of a really successful company that’s growing so steadily too. I joined during the pandemic and the care they show to their people is exceptional.
We welcome all professional backgrounds here in the Workday Extend team. A computer science background is advantageous, but to be honest the key to being a success here is an appetite to learn and try new things. So I’d say – why not give it a shot!