WHERE DID YOU GROW UP?
I grew up in Lima, Peru.

WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?
My first job was for a not-for-profit organisation that supported micro and small businesses in the agricultural industry. I was responsible of creating packaging, branding, and marketing campaigns for them to commercialise their goods.

WHAT WAS YOUR CAREER JOURNEY TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
My first job was for a non-for-profit organisation as a marketing assistant and then I moved into fast consumer goods for a couple of years. After that I had the opportunity to join Shell’s Graduate Program. That was a career changing opportunity as it gave me a different perspective of the energy industry.

In 2006, I moved to Perth, Australia and worked again for Shell in a business development role. After Shell, I worked in marketing and communications coordinator and advisor roles for engineering firms including AECOM and WorleyParsons. In 2012, I joined construction company CB&I as marketing manager for Australia. It was a huge role working with various operators. At that moment, CB&I was delivering EPC scopes for almost every oil and gas project in Australia, including the Chevron operated Gorgon Project.

After CB&I I joined Clough and this year I celebrate five years of service. I joined Clough as a marketing manager and since then the scope of my role has evolved into the head of corporate affairs and stakeholder engagement. My current role includes managing the reputation of the Clough brand and all its subsidiaries, increasing brand awareness across our regions and the industries in which we operate, developing and implementing internal and external communication campaigns, and ensuring Clough is a good corporate citizen working closely with the communities in which we work and live.

WHAT CAREER MILESTONES ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF HAVING ACHIEVED?
There are two career milestones that I am proud I have achieved. Firstly, being appointed to a communications advisor role in an English-speaking country, considering English is not my first language, and secondly, joining Clough’s EXCOM and participating in the development of the strategy for a prestigious pioneering engineering and construction company.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN YOUR CURRENT ROLE?
Managing communications and marketing for global stakeholders in a fast-paced industry with ever-changing technology.

WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT THE FUTURE IN YOUR INDUSTRY?
What excites me most about our industry is the role we are playing in creating a sustainable energy, resources and infrastructure future. Whether it is smart engineering that challenges the norm and delivers reductions in CO2 emissions, efficient and safe construction practices, working closely with the communities where we work and live, or creating a workplace where everyone feels welcome to bring their true selves, we hold the key to ensuring future generations will enjoy environmental, social and economic conditions that are better than those we have now, and that is exciting!

WHAT IS THE BEST PIECE OF CAREER ADVICE YOU HAVE RECEIVED?
Whatever the problem be part of the solution.

WHAT IS THE BEST PIECE OF CAREER ADVICE YOU HAVE WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR INTERESTS OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE?
I enjoy outdoor activities like trekking and hiking and I also have a passion for yoga.

WHAT WOULD PEOPLE BE SURPRISED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU?
People will be surprised to know that I played basketball representing Peru in a couple of international championships and it will not be much of a surprise to those who know me, but I am quite short for basketball standards.

STRATEGY, COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING HEAD AT BOOTH WELSH

WHERE DID YOU GROW UP?
I grew up in Scotland on the West Coast in a small town called Kilwinning.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?
When I was 16, I started a Christmas position as a customer assistant at a local toy shop. In the lead up to the festive period, there used to be queues out the door every day and often irate customers when certain toys were out of stock. It definitely gave me a good early grounding on how to work fast, deal with high pressured situations and hold my nerve with unhappy people!

WHAT WAS YOUR CAREER JOURNEY TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
I studied Marketing and Management at Strathclyde Business School and I joined Booth Welsh on a university placement, using the business as a case study for my Marketing Honours dissertation. This was an amazing way to get under the skin of the business from the beginning. My initial challenge from our MD was to get rid of the ‘Booth who’ question, often the retort given when mentioning the company name at events or in meetings.

From an early stage, I was given a lot of responsibility and autonomy to shape the marketing and communications department at Booth Welsh, which I loved and this really fitted what I was looking for in a career. My role continued to evolve and fast forward 10 years, I now head up the strategy, communications and marketing function.

Although having been with the business a long number of years, no two days are the same. My role is very diverse and although it is hard work, it has been very satisfying to see the impact of my ideas coming alive over the years. WHAT CAREER MILESTONES ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF HAVING ACHIEVED?
After graduating, I joined a successful engineering business that delivered process control systems and instrumentation and electrical services. However, there was no marketing department, which was a challenge. After 10 years I am proud to have built the Booth Welsh brand to where it is today. I am very grateful to have had lots of fantastic opportunities to lead on strategic initiatives that have helped both myself and Booth Welsh grow. This includes great experiences travelling abroad and representing the brand across the US, the Middle East and Australia, as well as contributing to Clough global brand international marketing strategies.

I have also been fortunate to be asked to speak on global stages about Booth Welsh’s growth story, a proud “pinch me” moment reflecting on how far both myself and the business has come in a relatively short space of time.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN YOUR CURRENT ROLE?
The pace of change is both exciting and challenging. Booth Welsh is a business which has always used technology as a differentiator and therefore in the current Industry 4.0 digitally disruptive world, the challenge is how to stay ahead. The COVID-19 pandemic has also completely changed the way we look at things and how we approach work. Virtually engaging with stakeholders, both internal and external, has become an unintended new skill. Fortunately, our early investment in digital platforms and tools such as Microsoft Teams have helped tremendously here. These skills are here to stay as we bake in the learnings from this transformational global event and continue to adapt.

WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT THE FUTURE IN YOUR INDUSTRY?
As we build back stronger after the pandemic, both our work and our home lives have changed dramatically. The future certainly will not look like the past. We now enter an exciting phase of opportunity and growth fuelled by both the impact of digitalisation and the disruptive influences from the global pandemic situation. At Booth Welsh, we now focus our differentiated offering to our markets on sustainable technical solutions that will positively impact on people, planet and profit, a strategic development we have launched called ‘Environment 4.0’. This is exciting as it will generate new involvement with clients as they focus on transforming their operations longer term to meet the UN Sustainability Goals while continuing to deliver projects successfully.

WHAT IS THE BEST PIECE OF CAREER ADVICE YOU HAVE RECEIVED?
Always treat others as you would like to be treated.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR INTERESTS OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE?
My role can often be very desk-based and particularly has been this past year with home working, so getting up and away from the screen is something I prioritise. I enjoy Barre, a ballet-derived workout, and practice this regularly as well as 5km runs down the harbour estuary where I stay. During lockdown, I also got quite into cooking, so often have friends and family round to trial new dishes I am experimenting with.

Now lockdown is ending, I look forward to going out again for meals with friends and family, as well as perhaps ordering the occasional French Martini!

WHAT WOULD PEOPLE BE SURPRISED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU?
Despite our well known British afternoon tea culture, I have never had a cup of tea or coffee before. I also don’t like whisky, which is of course our national drink in Scotland!