9 Questions With the ELT

Would you tell us about your career journey?

I read law at university and knew quickly that I didn’t want to be a lawyer! My best friend at university was applying for jobs in “personnel” (as we called it then!), so that got me interested and I did a post-graduate diploma before joining Ford’s graduate program. After five years with Ford, I moved into my first management position with a food company. Then I joined KPMG as a change management consultant, but I found that work too short-term focused and within a year had found my first human resources (HR) director role with a security firm, G4S, which operated in over 100 countries and had over half a million employees. I spent over 20 years there, including four years in the U.S. running HR for the Americas region. In 2015 I returned to the U.K. to take on the top HR job which I did for five years before I had the call from a headhunter telling me about this really cool company called KBR. The rest is history!

What’s a favorite hobby or pastime?

I’m a Formula 1 fanatic, having first got into it in the 80s when Ayrton Senna was my hero. I couldn’t watch any more after he died. But during COVID, my brother and sister tempted me to watch “Drive to Survive,” and I’ve re-found my passion — big time. Whenever possible I watch every practice and qualifying round, as well as the race itself, and spend a silly amount of time on Reddit F1 communities. The 2024 season is turning into a classic with seven drivers capable of winning almost every race, but I’m hoping Verstappen will hang on. Next year will be exciting too, with at least four rookies on the grid and Lewis Hamilton moving to Ferrari. Should be fun!

What’s your favorite book or movie?

That’s a very tough question. I watch all the good movies and try to read the Booker Prize shortlist each year, so it’s difficult to choose one! Allowing some recency bias, I’ll go for “All of Us Strangers,” with Andrew Scott, one of my all-time favorite actors, who I was lucky enough to see on stage in London recently (in “Uncle Vanya” last October), a beautiful but difficult story about longing and grief. Don’t watch it unless you have a box of tissues nearby.

What song gets you hyped up?

I’m a lifelong Bowie fan so could make a playlist rather than one song! But if you force me, I’ll go for “Rebel Rebel.” No, make that “Oh! You Pretty Things.” No, make that “Starman.” Yes, definitely “Starman.”

What would be the title of your autobiography?

I’m very Gen X so it would have to be “The Harder I Work, the Luckier I Get.”

What’s something that inspires or motivates you?

Cathedral building. Not in the literal sense, (although cathedrals are awesome!), but in the sense of building for the future. I love being able to lay foundations which will outlast my time in a role — sound people practices and values that sustain performance for the long haul. More specifically, as I’ve gotten older, the part of my job that is most satisfying is developing talent, whether that’s creating opportunities for those who could succeed me one day or creating programs that support people to realize their potential.

What’s the best advice you ever received, professional or otherwise?

“Stop worrying about your job; just do it.” We all experience periods of uncertainty at work, particularly when new leaders are appointed, or major restructurings are underway. It was during a period like this when I was worried about my career prospects and my boss at the time told me to stop worrying about my job and just do it! He was so right. Not only did I get a massive boost of job satisfaction from doing a good job, but it also gave me the best chance of getting noticed when future career opportunities came along.

What’s one piece of advice you frequently give?

I find people often get tangled up worrying about what other people think — their boss, their peers or even their team. It can be paralyzing, making it really hard to make decisions or see clearly what’s the right thing to do. I’ve always found it helps me see the best course of action to just forget about everyone else and imagine what I’d do if no one was looking. Suddenly all that baggage drops away, and nine times out of 10 the answer is really clear. It’s liberating!

Which ONE KBR Value resonates with you the most and why?

You can probably guess this one! It’s “We value our people” of course. That’s why my job exists, that’s my personal purpose, and that’s what gets me out of bed every morning.