Susanne Ingham, Relationship Director of the Local Council Roads Innovation Group, is this week celebrating her 30th year in the highways sector. In a wide-ranging interview that you can read here, Susanne reflected on her remarkable career, as she shares some of the highs, lows, and funny moments from her amazing journey.
“I really loved organising events at Tensar, and it gave me the ‘bug’ for getting out and about,” she told the LCRIG website. ” At the time, Tensar only employed Civil Engineers for technical sales, so nobody was going to let me lose to design a retaining wall. So, I took a job at Astucia (now Clearview Intelligence), where I was the very first person to work with the inventor of the solar studs. This opportunity gave me my first experience of Business Development within road safety, and I found this so rewarding. I loved travelling and visiting clients. From there, I went to work at Prismo and then Hitex (now Swarco).
“In 2007 I took a massive leap of faith and became self-employed. I worked for seven organisations all at the same time, including Qpark, AddaGrip, Cirencester Civil Engineering, Stormtech, BAK Civil Engineering, In Touch and Capita. I was earning really well, thoroughly enjoying the variety, flexibility, and loving the opportunities. But over time, I realised my ‘business model’ would always be dependent entirely on me and that there was no clear ‘exit strategy’.
“I recognised the sector was fragmented, with many overlaps and no unified resource that showcased the whole sector in one place. That led me to start the ‘RichWorks Ltd’ in 2008 – ‘The Route Into Construction and Highways’. The idea was to create a sector-specific portal to bring together the whole highways and transport sector in one place. It was essentially the precursor to LCRIG, a membership organisation providing resources for ‘everything highways’ and services fully funded for the public sector.”
Looking back over her 30-year career, Susanne earmarked three main highlights.
“The biggest highlight of my career came when I surprised my dad with the DfT Special Recognition Award at Strictly Highways in 2022. Presenting him with the ‘Special Appreciation’ award in front of 450 people was so special. You can watch the video here. It really is a lovely few minutes to watch. I also speak about the ‘journey’ and other special people who have influenced and shaped the progression of my career.
“Another great highlight was when LCRIG was named ‘Team of the Year’ at the Highways Awards. We never expected to win, and receiving recognition from the whole sector for our achievements was amazing (and so was the pink champagne)!
“Lastly, in 2013 I started a LLB Law (Hons) degree out of curiosity to learn more about the law. I graduated in 2018 with a 2:1 and I can honestly say it was so rewarding and interesting, but bloody hard work!”
Highways News would like to congratulate Susanne on her remarkable achievement.
(Pic: LCRIG)
