30572_Kao Data Critical Careers_Pages - Flipbook - Page 24
What drew you to the digital infrastructure industry?
Catriona
Shearer
Global Consulting Lead, JLL
24
y freelance work reinforced my love
for building sustainable systems
and solutions, something lasting
and impactful, which was hard to achieve in
the transient nature of consultancy. Just as I
decided to return to a corporate role, COVID
hit, derailing my plans temporarily, but there
was a bright side.
he digital infrastructure industry is my
third career pivot. Initially, I started in
sales, progressing from 昀椀eld sales to
sales and marketing directorships. I developed
a knack for handling challenging accounts and
situations because I had an innate ability to
say no, but then quickly 昀椀nd an alternative that
worked for both the company and the client.
T
M
This skill in reframing situations led me into
turnaround roles, where I focused on merging
parts of a business or improving pro昀椀tability.
During this period, a friend contacted me
with the perfect opportunity; a role managing
data centres, perfectly aligning with my desire
to build something substantial in a more
stable setting. Despite my lack of a technical
background, my previous experience with
Schneider Electric where I managed power
systems sales and delivery, provided me with
a foundational understanding of data centres.
After several strenuous assignments, I realised
I needed a change from the all-encompassing
environment of business turnarounds to
something more operational. Despite my
extensive experience, making the move into
a direct operational role proved challenging
as no one would interview me because I
didn’t have direct experience in the role.
Frustrated but determined, I decided to go
the self-employed route, gaining project
management quali昀椀cations and engaging in
various consulting roles that ranged from sales
and leadership training to more traditional
consulting projects across several industries.
The 昀椀rst day I ever stepped foot into a
data centre, was the day they handed me
the keys and essentially said, “This is yours
now.” I dove in head昀椀rst, quickly learning the
speci昀椀cs and growing a nerdy love for
data centres.
