This year's IWIED theme is #EngineeringIntelligence. How do you think you show #EngineeringExcellence in your work?
To me, engineering excellence comes down to the quality and impact of the work we deliver, and taking pride in it – always pushing to improve. In my role, that means protecting the engineering design intent, working across disciplines and with clients and stakeholders to keep communication clear, decisions aligned, and outcomes we can all be proud of.
So much has changed in the 50 years since Cundall was founded. What changes would you like to see in the next 50 years, and how do you think we'll get there?
In 50 years, I hope equal gender representation at every level is the norm in engineering. I hope women starting their careers today stay, grow, and lead – and that we’ve finally fixed the leaky pipeline. Getting there will require organisations to actively invest in women’s long-term careers. I hope to play my part by helping open doors for the women coming up behind me.
What’s a myth about your role that you’d love to bust?
That design management is just passing messages and setting up meetings. In reality, one moment you’re deep in technical detail, understanding how a decision in one discipline creates knock-on impacts across others. The next, you’re in a client meeting, anticipating needs and building confidence in the design. It’s about thinking big picture while staying close to the technical detail, which I love.
What’s one experience or milestone in your career that shaped who you are today?
Joining Cundall and stepping into design management has been a real turning point. It shifted my focus from individual HVAC design tasks, like duct sizing, to overseeing multi-discipline coordination and building relationships with a wide range of stakeholders. What’s shaped me most, though, is the people – the collaboration, generosity, and support across Cundall’s global teams. I’m still early in this journey, and that really excites me for what’s ahead.