Did you enjoy school?
Yes. My school years were foundational in building friendships and a love for learning, although I have to say my academic performance wasn’t stellar. It was after leaving school and entering tertiary education that I truly thrived. The different learning environment allowed me to excel and discover my passions setting the stage for my future success.
What qualifications do you have?
I have a Degree in Healthcare and a Masters’s Degree in Healthcare Law. My education taught me to think critically and approach problems from multiple perspectives.
Has your career path been a smooth transition, a rocky road or a combination of both?
My career has been far from conventional. I started in Nursing school where I excelled by learning in a hands-on environment that aligned with my interests. My time in the NHS was transformative, teaching me project management, communication, and problem-solving skills. I enjoyed leading teams and I progressed very quickly. These experiences were crucial when I transitioned to the technology sector.
I still love nursing now, and if there’s an opportunity to help someone, I always will. For instance, we were recently on a flight to a telecoms event when someone on board became unwell. They asked if there was a doctor on board, and I couldn’t help but get up and say, ‘I’m a nurse.’ I miss it, and it taught me so much that I’m still benefiting from today.
Moving to France and starting a telecommunications company was a bold step, but it allowed me to apply my communication, nurturing and listening skills in new ways and challenge myself further. Even in the technology sector, it is still about getting the best possible outcomes for the people we work with. Reinventing myself in a different industry was daunting, but it demonstrated my resilience and adaptability.
I loved what I did in nursing, but equally, I love what I do now. I am an enthusiastic participant in anything I undertake. If I don’t feel that passion, then I wouldn’t be involved or throw myself into something.
What is the best career advice you can give to others?
Be open to all opportunities, stay open to change, and continuously learn. The pace of change in technology is so rapid, you have to be ready to adapt and learn new things. If you don’t, you might get left behind. Also, never underestimate the power of listening – whether to your team, your customers, or mentors, it’s crucial for growth and success.
If you had to pick one mentor, that had the biggest influence on you, who would it be?
My co-founder at SmartCIC, Toby Forman, has been instrumental in my journey. We’ve supported and learned from each other, balancing our different personalities to drive the business forward. Our commitment to customer outcomes and our team has been a cornerstone of our success. The dynamic of our partnership has made navigating the roller coaster of business growth both thrilling and rewarding.
From where do you draw inspiration?
I have pulled inspiration from many areas. I have certainly been inspired by entrepreneurs in other industries where their drive and commitment ability to adapt and get up and try again, has provided focus. During my time in the telecoms industry, I have listened and watched leaders and gained inspiration, certainly about the art of the possible and this empowers me and confirms belief in self.
Within our business, having support and synergy with my co-founder, allows me to draw inspiration and ultimately lead the drive into the development of the business.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced to date?
Transitioning from the NHS to the international telecoms industry was a significant challenge. I relied heavily on my ability to think on my feet and my problem-solving skills developed in nursing.
Another major challenge has been scaling our business while maintaining our core values and culture. When you scale quickly, you’re always challenged to maintain business culture and stay in touch with the original purpose of the business. You need to maintain this core as you grow the team.
We’ve grown our headcount 106 percent this year to date. We’ve tackled this by carefully selecting talent that aligns with our vision and by continuously evolving our processes to support growth.
What qualities do you feel makes a good leader?
A great leader listens, empowers their team, and leads by example. It’s about understanding individual motivations and setting people up for success. For me, it’s also about living the brand every day, not just talking about it.
In a competitive market, the commitment to customer experience must be genuine and visible to the entire team. As a leader, I need to be that example by consistently demonstrating what great customer experience looks like. This means showing empathy, providing solutions, and ensuring that every interaction reflects our dedication to excellence.
From a work viewpoint what has the last 12 months been like?
A challenge, but incredibly rewarding! We’ve grown rapidly, doubling our headcount and expanding our board with excellent non-executive directors. We’ve focused on finding the right people who share our vision of serving customers. Our focus has been on refining processes, enhancing ESG commitments, and ensuring we create new value for customers and employees alike. It’s been about growth, creating value for customers, employees, friends and partners not just scaling up.
What would you say are the biggest tech-based challenges we face today?
There’s always a gap between the hype of new technologies and reality and use cases in the market. We need to keep up to speed with new technologies but also stay close enough to customers to advise them on the best path forward. Innovation has to deliver outcomes. It has to create value rather than commoditisation of services.
Artificial Intelligence is exciting but it has to be applied to an existing challenge or be proven to create new value with specific use cases. Applied AI will reshape our world but it needs to be used in the right way.
Technology will always change but staying focused on solving real problems for people is crucial. This is how you create lasting value.
What can be done to encourage more women into the industry?
We need to highlight the excitement and possibilities within the industry. I think the focus should be diversity of thoughts and opinions and that isn’t just about women. Cultural, ethnic, gender, socioeconomic, and neurodiversity benefit businesses. Any time you have people who are approaching challenges in different ways then you are going to have a stronger business.
Give us a fact about you that most other people wouldn’t know.
I took up crocheting a few years ago. I mostly do it on planes so if you see me travelling with a ball of yarn that’s why!
It helps me to relax on my way to big business trips and switch off. It’s also great that you can take it wherever you go as I’m often on the move.
