NFRC London & Southern Counties Region Proudly Sponsors Diversity and Inclusion in Construction 2026

I worked with my dad in another construction related business as soon as I left school. There was nothing hands on for me to study at college and no real apprenticeships all them years ago (apart from health and beauty which just wasn’t a bit of me).

So instead, I went to college to study maths, government and politics, business studies and music technology, but the academic side of things left me unenthused and I left 3 months later. I needed more challenge, more stimulation, more money. So, through a friend of a friend, I got an interview at Garhigh for a part-time administrator role. It wasn’t what I had in mind but I haven’t looked back since

At the time I don’t think I knew where it would lead but I couldn’t wait to move into all the different departments and so I just kept knocking on the door, kept putting myself forward. I think I probably drove everyone mad (still do).

Within a couple of months I had been up on a slate roof with Gus (our Senior Lead and Slate Technician, now Contracts Manager), then I was reading drawings and pricing works with Gary (Manging Director).

I studied with the ACCA to become an accountant whilst working full time, and I moved from admin to accounts, accounts to estimating, estimating to project managing. I soaked up every bit of energy and information I could possibly handle and asked more questions than an interrogator.

I wasn’t always well received. Being a semi-confident woman in an overwhelmingly male industry meant that sometimes when I walked into a board room, some people thought I shouldn’t be there, questioned what my experience was, or if someone else coming and if it was just me? 

I can assure you that no board room felt the same by the time I left! There's always room for a little humour, and I was always invited back with a little more enthusiasm the second time around. I found that if there was a problem to solve, I was called upon and it became apparent that maybe a woman's view was different to those put forward by the men around the table. So, the success of most, if not all of these projects, was reliant on having both our input, different views, ideas, and collaboration. 

Difficult to say but qualifying with the ACCA was a huge moment for me. As I said previously, the academic side of things always felt a little tedious and boring. 

My ability to focus on one thing at one time (it's even worse now) made the process quite long, but also, I worked full time so studied evenings and weekends for many years to get it over the line. Now, as Director of Garhigh, my accounting qualification is secondary to running the business but of course comes in super handy too. 

Handing over the last project that I worked on for approx. 5 years was also a super proud moment. All sites have their own set of challenges – another reason I love our industry to be honest, but each block gave me something new to look at in fine detail, argue about in the board room, take advice on, give advice on, make mistakes, and let me tell you I made a few! But when all was said it done – it looked incredible, delivered on time and delivered to budget (or as near as damn it). 

I also got to meet the then Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, who later went on to be Prime Minister, and he spoke to me about women in construction and construction as a whole. 

I think they represent more proud moments rather than success; success is slightly harder to measure. Society suggests we link success to wealth, power and fame, but I would much rather link it back to personal fulfilment; daily wins no matter how small. Some days are absolutely horrendous and getting through those can feel like lifelong success. Reconnecting with friends and family after a long time apart, getting health and hobbies back on track, not so much looking at distant ideals or letting the outside world dictate values, and still have ambition but looking at our own values too. 

Balance – work hard play hard was my early years mantra and I did just that, but it was exhausting. Work smart is not hard is my preference now but genuinely, I just think the world is a different place now and nothing is impossible. A bit of self-belief and some good role models in and around, ask questions, be inquisitive if a door is shut open it! 

It's an absolute honour and privilege to be with so many like-minded people. I haven’t given enough of my time to the next generation, but if this provides a platform to do just that then here I am, selling our industry, selling what might be just a dream, that everything is possible, if the doors closed go open it. Everything is worth a try and who knows where that may lead. 

My route into roofing was probably not the conventional one. My background was actually in medicine, so construction – and roofing in particular – wasn't somewhere I ever imagined I would end up.

My husband Josh had worked in roofing from a young age and, in 2016, we decided to take the leap and set up Invictus Roofing together. Initially, my role was very much on the business side, but I quickly realised that if I wanted to build a successful roofing company, I needed to properly understand the industry we were working in.

So I threw myself into learning it – the systems, technical requirements, health and safety, contracts, commercial management and, importantly, the people. Over time, roofing went from being Josh's industry to very much becoming mine as well.

What surprised me most was how much I came to love it. Roofing is incredibly technical, challenging and constantly evolving, and there is a huge amount of opportunity to make a difference.

One of the biggest challenges has probably been learning how resilient you have to be when running a business.

You can do everything correctly – deliver excellent work, invest in people, build a good reputation – and still face situations that feel completely outside your control. We've experienced difficult commercial relationships, late payments, competitors, doors being closed to us and plenty of occasions where I've wondered why something has been made quite so difficult.

Being a woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry has also presented challenges. Particularly in the early days, there were occasions when I felt I had to prove my knowledge or credibility before I was taken as seriously as the men around me.

But setbacks have also shaped how I operate. I've learnt that you don't have to accept a closed door as the final answer. Sometimes you knock again, sometimes you find another door, and sometimes you build your own.

There are lots of things I'm incredibly proud of. Building Invictus from nothing into an established specialist roofing contractor is obviously one of them.

Being recognised repeatedly by our industry for the quality of our installations and workmanship means a huge amount because workmanship has always been at the centre of what we do.

But increasingly, some of my proudest moments aren't actually about turnover, projects or awards.

Seeing a young person we've introduced to roofing decide that this is the career they want is incredibly rewarding. We've worked with the NFRC within schools and colleges, taken on work-experience students and apprentices, and I've become increasingly involved in conversations around the construction skills gap and how we make our industry more accessible – particularly for young people and neurodivergent learners.

If we can build a successful business while also leaving the roofing industry slightly better than we found it, I think that will ultimately be the biggest success.

Don't confuse not knowing something yet with not being capable of it.

I came into roofing without a traditional construction background. There were plenty of rooms where I wasn't the most experienced person and plenty of conversations where I initially didn't understand every technical term being used.

But knowledge can be learnt.

Ask questions. Surround yourself with people who know more than you. Be prepared to get things wrong, learn from it and try again.

And don't assume that because you don't fit the traditional image of someone in an industry, you don't belong there. Sometimes being different is exactly what allows you to see the problems – and the solutions – that everybody else has stopped noticing.

You don't need to have everything figured out before you start. You just need enough courage to start and enough determination to keep going.

I'm genuinely honoured to have been invited to be part of the panel.

Ten years ago, when Josh and I started Invictus, I certainly wouldn't have imagined myself sitting on a panel talking about my experiences in the roofing industry.

That's partly why opportunities like this matter to me. If somebody listening today sees even a small part of themselves in my journey and thinks, "Maybe I could do that," then being here has been worthwhile.

Construction needs different personalities, different backgrounds and different ways of thinking. We need to get much better at recognising potential in people who perhaps don't fit the traditional mould.

I'm incredibly proud of what we've achieved at Invictus, but I'm equally excited about what we can contribute to the industry going forward.

So thank you for inviting me and giving me the opportunity to share my experience.