Tell us about your role at Wood
I joined Wood as a procurement engineer in 1985. After a while, I began to miss the engineering component and decided to pursue my engineering chartership. Wood established a training program within the procurement department which included rotating through different engineering departments and a construction site assignment in Belgium. I was the first female engineer to be assigned to the site from our Reading office. I became a project engineer and gained valuable experience working on different projects across the world including, the UK, France and South Africa. I was then transferred to Thailand. While there I was promoted to project manager, covering projects in the mining and refinery and petrochemical sectors. I lived in Thailand for 12 years before moving into my current role as project director in Kuwait.
I am a PMC project director on the Kuwait Clean Fuels project. Since the start of the EPC phase, I have lived in Kuwait for the past five years. My favourite part is being on site and seeing it transform from bare ground to a finished plant.
What is a particular highlight in your career to date?
A few highlights from my career include working on a project that has reached 132 million on-site hours without a lost time incident, becoming a chartered engineer and being accepted as a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
What are some interesting facts you might like people to know about?
While working in Thailand, I founded a small company in partnership with a local charity to train and employ women who were rescued from human trafficking to sew beautiful products using Thai silk. The women were able to learn new skills and create a new start in life. Also, I am currently writing a book to inspire others to follow their dreams, using some of my life adventures as examples.