Name: Ceri Moyers
Job title: Co-founder, The Circle Partnership
What I do: My business partner Vanessa Murray and I run The Circle Partnership. It is an organisation that is taking practical action to improve mid-level female talent retention in the built environment – primarily through our annual Circle Academy development programme – with a view to increasing the industry’s gender balance at senior leadership level in the long term.
Why I got into the property industry/how I did it: By accident. I started my career in PR/comms for an agency that specialised in property and construction, so all of my first clients were in the industry. Once I started getting involved on building projects that I could then point to and say “we played (a very small!) part in that getting funded/that getting built” I was hooked. The industry has a real advantage with its tangible purpose/outcome that I think contributes to so many people’s long service in the sector. It could arguably be leveraged a lot more to attract new talent too.
My first proper job: An account executive at Camargue.
My first big break: Maybe not the first, but the most significant was meeting Anna Stewart, the then CEO of Laing O’Rourke, when I was the comms director for Oxford Properties, for whom Laing O’Rourke were building the Leadenhall Building in the city. As it was such a trophy project for all involved, Anna was present for most of the meetings and I must have made a good impression on her as she asked me to establish and run Laing O’Rourke’s client relations function with Ceire O’Rourke, who had just joined the family firm.
My inspiration(s): Personally, my late nana, whose motto was “you’ll never regret being kind”, and who remained curious and engaged in our ever-changing world until she was 96 years old. In terms of more public figures, I really admire Katie Piper for all she has been through and the empathy, curiosity and grace that she exhibits.
The biggest challenge I’ve encountered to date: The thrill and the terror of running your own business – especially one whose goal is to make an impact. The highs are really high, but the lows can be very stressful and there’s an almost constant sense of making it up as you go along!
My greatest achievement/proudest moment to date: Work wise, receiving the BCO’s Chairman’s Choice Award earlier this year for the impact that The Circle Partnership is having on the property industry. We hadn’t entered the award, but were contacted to say that their board had voted unanimously for us to receive it. It means an incredible amount to be recognised for what we are trying to achieve – to have a group of influential leaders say ‘we see you and what you’re doing.’
The biggest misconception people have about the property industry: That you either have to be working on a ‘dirty’ construction site or have gone to Reading university and be called Hugo to fit in.
My biggest bugbear about the industry/the one thing I would change about the industry: That getting more women into the industry’s workforce is seen as a ‘diversity’ issue rather than a very necessary and obvious way to address the skills crisis and improve the sector’s capacity for innovation. We talk constantly about how the sector gets left behind in innovation terms/has a reputation for being old fashioned and yet totally fail to put real effort behind bringing new perspectives into the sector.
Why I’m so passionate about DE&I: Speaking about gender specifically, because it’s madness to ignore the other 50% of the population and everything they have to offer. And a win for women is a win for men too – particularly parents
Where I’d like to be in five years’ time career-wise: Doing exactly what I’m doing now, but having expanded our reach to new sectors and potentially even new geographies.
Who I’d invite, living or dead, to a dinner party: Romesh Ranganathan, Stephen Grosz, Taffy Brodessier, Prince Harry and Katherine Heiny.
What I do in my downtime: Spend time with my family, walk in the beautiful Cotswolds countryside outside my house, cycle and read.
The job I’d be doing if I was not doing this: A therapist – I’m still holding out for that one day!
My advice for someone just starting out: Define what success looks like uniquely to you and take charge of your own career and future – no one else can or should do this for you. And especially in this day and age, remember that a paid job is a business transaction and an adult to adult relationship where you and your employer should meet halfway. As with all things in life, you get what you give.
My motto/mantra: Courtesy of the great Dolly Parton: “Find out who you are, and do it on purpose.”
