Working for a safer future.
My fascination with Health and Safety began at university where I studied a module and undertook my dissertation on ‘Health and Safety in Nuclear Medicine’.
After leaving uni, I know Health and Safety was what I wanted to do, but it was for all the wrong reasons. My impression of health and safety was that you just read the legal stuff and got people to do it. You didn’t need the ‘soft skills’. I quickly learned that that was not the case so got to work on my soft skills as well as my technical qualifications. I was determined to see where it went and so far on this journey, health and safety has made me a better person and I believe that I am beginning to make a difference in the world of health and safety.
I started my career as a consultant and then (after a short break to try a career as a stock broker – mid-20s crisis!) moved into in-house health and safety roles at HS2, ZSL London Zoo and Canary Wharf Management Ltd, before landing my current role as Health and Safety Manager at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
It has not always been an easy journey and I have absolutely had to fight to be where I am today – by not listening to those telling me I couldn’t do it/wasn’t good enough and also by pushing on through my own self-doubt, I am now thriving in a role that I am genuinely passionate about.
I absolutely adore what I do from start to finish and I know health and safety might seem pretty boring to a lot of people but it is so necessary. From people working on the ground to the COO and board, we all need health and safety to be managed effectively. There are always challenges as you’re constantly dealing with different people so using my coaching skills has never been more necessary and I love coming up with new ideas and ways to do things. I am here to enable companies to do what they do…safely. And that, to me, is a dream job.