I would say the diversity of the missions managed make the job really exciting and enriching; it is impossible to get bored – I am constantly outside my comfort zone and challenged with new things, which I find exciting. When I first started in this role in 2020 it felt unreal, like I had imposter syndrome. Just four months into the job I was presented with a fresh challenge with new acquisitions, new colleagues to work with and synergies plan to elaborate to strengthen our efficiency and leading position on the French territory – there was no room for imposter syndrome, you just get on with the job.

It can be tempting to only deal with the short-term actions – the things that seem pressing, but in the long term that is not beneficial. So, in my working week I try to always dedicate at least 2-3 hours thinking about the future and what long term actions may be needed.

I have three major stakeholders to consider – the Division, my boss and my team – so it is important to strike the right balance between all three and make sure that nobody feels forgotten.

Each year you are obliged to question yourself and your strategy so that it fits to the actual context of what we are trying to achieve and what the challenges are, whether that is raw materials price increases, the political landscape, new competitors, or global warming!

Three years ago, I took part in Kingspan’s Peak leadership programme, and it taught me a lot about how to balance the different priorities. I was taught that you have to learn to ride two horses at the same time! So, I have to be able to regularly switch from one hat to another hat in my MD role, which has 3 core pillars/functions - strategic, leadership, ambassador.

The strategic role involves defining and planning the development of internal and external growth, benchmarking against competitors to stay ahead, or identifying areas of improvement in the value chain. Also innovating as much as possible, whether that is products, processes or business models.

Leadership stretches across the key elements of sales, finance and operations, making sure that my teams have what they need to do their jobs and creating a culture of excellence at every level to increase customer satisfaction and widen our customer base.

Our company helps architects, developers and general contractors build net zero energy buildings, working towards the absolute necessity of cutting CO² emissions by 50% by 2050 to help fight against global warming and cope with the climate emergency.

Besides the fact that our products are designed to be highly energy efficient and low carbon, the company is also committed to protecting wildlife, and to consume natural resources at the lowest level it can. Our Planet Passionate strategic plan is really concrete - it makes you feel you are taking part in a socially focused project, and that you are fighting for a greater cause than just helping the company make a profit or expand its market.

Planet Passionate is a key advantage in other ways, especially for ongoing recruitment. There is an expectation now amongst prospective employees in the EU for something beyond just a good salary and prospects - that businesses should be more socially and environmentally aware and active. With low unemployment levels the job market is really tense, Planet Passionate is a powerful and impactful initiative that helps to attract and retain high quality staff.

A positive mindset is critical, especially at stressful times such as in peak periods, or the financial year end. It would be easy to find things to complain about each day, but it is part of my role to help employees understand the good results they have achieved so far, rather than focus on what may have gone wrong. It is important to remember that your mood is contagious, especially in a leadership role. It is possible to be demanding of your team and have high expectations but to still be positive and take care of your employees – the two things are not contradictory.

Great analytical and synthesis skills - the ability to extract the most relevant information among all the data, information, news that we constantly received along our working days. There are so many distractions in this digitally connected world, from constant notifications on devices to chatty colleagues. Research has shown that for every interruption it takes 4-5 minutes to regain focus and be productive again. Being able to stay focused is very important.

Having the ability to coach/ develop the team surrounding you so that you can win their loyalty, and empower them through training, assisting and supporting, and encouraging them to take risks. During the Peak programme I learned the value of feedback in particular to help people progress.

One of the things that I also learned on the Peak programme was how to manage my calendar effectively, plan my schedule in advance as much as possible – not just the current working week, but also upcoming. I also learned that sometimes you just need to say no, which is not easy when you’re a bit of a perfectionist!

Take care of yourself first, especially when you have a team to manage, it is not being selfish but just recognizing that to influence people you need to be in good shape, alert, positive and happy. It is counterproductive not to look after yourself, so I make a conscious effort at lunchtime from time to time (or at least once a week) to do jogging or play tennis – I know that I will return to work in a more positive mood and will be more productive. People need to stop thinking that taking time for themselves means that they are underperforming.

Repetition, focus and hard work are key to success, it doesn’t just happen naturally. When you see somebody do a great presentation or perform a task effortlessly it’s easy to think that they are somehow better than you – what you need to understand is the hours of practice, years of experience and support from people in the background that has led to that seemingly effortless performance. So practice and learn, don’t just rely on your talent or ability to do something.

Treat others like you would like to be treated and practice corrective feedback by being constructive, respecting the right methodology to not hurt people, and keep their confidence levels high. Being given the authority to fail can be beneficial, because that is how we learn and do better next time.

Kingspan Light + Air has grown from scratch, launched in 2016 to a turnover of more than 800 million euro in 2022. To get to this point, and to keep on growing we are not just looking for graduates with technical expertise, we are looking for motivated people with the right soft skills, personality, and mindset. It is much easier to teach somebody hard skills than it is to teach those qualities.

As a consequence, every kind of profile can be of interest for Kingspan, from a skilled manual workforce to work in the factory or on construction sites, to technicians, assistants, administrative employee, and managers in nearly all departments such as sales, production, services, H&S etc. A vast array of jobs are regularly posted on recruitment platforms to ensure the ongoing growth of the division.

Kingspan Group is engaged on the fast track. We want to penetrate the market as fast as possible but without compromising the future. That means putting into place real climate action and taking a long-term view. There is no point in growth if the planet cannot support it.

Our shareholders understand, therefore, that Kingspan is not just about making a profit, but also protecting the future by protecting the planet. We put this into practice through Planet Passionate. For example, it is part of my job as an MD responsible for a factory in France to make sure that 60% of our energy consumption will be met from renewable sources by 2030. This is not a commercial charter, or a statement made for public display, there is no ‘green washing’ - it is embedded in our culture.

From an early stage, the company has understood the absolute necessity to redistribute a portion of profit in favour of charitable actions aimed at protecting nature, wildlife, and natural resources.

It has invested a lot in innovation, and also in the development of human resources through a huge variety of career development programs.

This set of actions will enable us to sustain, strengthen, and expand our operations for the longest time possible, and to navigate through the inevitable hard times, pitfalls, and crises that any business might encounter.

I do believe a bright future is awaiting Kingspan. I don’t know how it could be different.