Programme Director, Consultancy, UK and Europe
The STEM subjects I studied through school matched nicely with an engineering degree and after a lot of research, and careers advisors telling me, “construction isn’t for women” (red rag to a bull!), I chose to study civil engineering.
Although I had secured a place in the RAF, I applied for three jobs. I was offered them all but my mind was already made up: during the interview process, I met one of the founding directors of Mace and I knew that this was a company I wanted to be a part of. Nearly two decades later, I've had an amazing career and the reasons I joined Mace still hold true today.
My role draws on my strengths and experiences from working across a variety of sectors, service offers and geographies. I'm able to use these skills to support talented teams in providing an excellent service to our clients. I really enjoy creating an environment where teams thrive and work hard to achieve both their own aspirations and team goals. We come to work as individuals; but together we are a lot more than the sum of our parts. It's hugely rewarding to be part of a high performing team.
I really enjoyed my time on The Venetian in Macau as it harnessed all the skills I had developed across project and programme management, and construction of a mega project. It was also my first overseas project. Having lived as an expat as a child, I really enjoyed moving overseas again and embracing the challenge.
Energy, enthusiasm and a passion for doing things right, always striving for excellence and pursuit of a better way. An ability to solve complex problems, blending intuition with an analytical approach. Strong communicator with developed stakeholder management skills help me to translate a client’s needs into a property or real estate solutions which deliver their objectives and aspirations.
I would say, “believe in yourself and you will fly as high as your dreams can take you”. From a more fundamental perspective, it depends on your age and where you are at in your career. STEM subjects are a huge help, particularly for a technical career, so for someone who is still at school, I would recommend taking science, technology, engineering and maths related subjects.
After that, go with your strengths and balance those with your values and aspirations. For me, travel and working in different countries was hugely important and has played a key part of my career, but that doesn’t work for everyone. Choose the path that works best for you, find a mentor, take lots of advice and don’t be scared to do what you want as opposed to what someone else wants - only you know what's best for you. Embrace every opportunity and don’t sit in your comfort zone.
I can solve a Rubik’s cube. How quick? Ask me.