Alisha Baddock, Women’s Infrastructure Network Canterbury Chair
What organisation are you with and what is your role?
I’m the MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Process) Team Lead for our Christchurch water team at Stantec. I am also a Project Technical Lead (PTL).
I provide technical leadership, support and guidance for my team – managing team workloads, performance and ensuring positive project outcomes. As PTL, I coordinate multidisciplinary activities and inputs by the technical team to ensure an integrated technical solution is achieved. It is essentially a combination of cat-herding and translating complex technical information to something my four-year old would understand.
What are some moments in your career that you feel most proud of?
One of the most exciting moments was being part of a core-team that designed and delivered the UC Engineering School buildings in a fast-tracked three-year period. As a graduate fresh from university it challenged me to apply my textbook knowledge to the real world.
I am always proud to be a female role model in leadership for other young female engineers. One example in my career as a team lead was hearing one of my junior team members echoing to a colleague an ethos I instilled within our team.
Can you offer any reflections on the role your age/experience/diversity has played in your career so far?
Passion and humility goes a long way in achieving whatever you want. I’ve always looked for allies in the workplace that would support me and build me up. It’s easy to get caught out and feel like an outsider when you may look ‘different’ to those around you (as a female Indian Engineer in a predominantly European construction industry). I’ve found that it is that difference in experience, opinion and thought that leads to innovation.
Having recently moved into the water industry from the buildings industry, I’ve also found that knowing your limitations and capabilities earns the respect of colleagues and clients.
Filip Lalovich, The Infrastructure Collective Wellington Deputy Chair
What organisation are you with and what is your role?
I work for WT Partnership as a Quantity Surveyor within the infrastructure division where I assist clients/stakeholders from concept, all the way through to final account. This includes cost and client management, risk management, financial and budget reporting. It covers a wide range of projects within the Wellington region including government projects such as the Wellington Metro Upgrade Programme, Let’s Get Wellington Moving and Callaghan innovation.
What are some moments in your career that you feel most proud of?
Achieving practical completion for C2 for City Rail Link – which is the Albert Street streetscape upgrade in the Auckland CBD. You often don’t recognise the wider network of people outside of your own project control group who contribute to the delivery of such large-scale projects, so delivering cost management services at all stages and to all parties across the project was very fulfilling.
Relocating to Wellington with WT Partnership and having the opportunity to establish the infrastructure division in the nation’s capital has also been a highlight. For many years WT has delivered Wellington infrastructure work remotely, so being on the ground locally has brought a wealth of opportunity for myself and WT.
Can you offer any reflections on the role your age/experience/diversity has played in your career so far?
The ability to work full-time during my university degree has propelled me significantly into my role today. Gaining that valuable early experience within the industry has allowed me to understand the inner workings of contracts/procurement/government processes and the like much earlier than expected. So, when confronted with problems on-site or in meetings with funders where cost management services are needed, my ability to add value can be attributed to those days of working during university.