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Our London team is rocking it

Our London office is rocking, in no small part to talented women

Some great modern women have rocked London. I’m thinking of Mary Quant and the shock of the mini skirt in the 1960s, or Vivienne Westwood’s part in the explosion of punk in the 1970s. When I think of women who are rocking our London office, one who always comes to mind is Sarah Meakin. She is part of a new breed of women working in procurement.


From pastoral toil to procurement prowess

When personality and professional passion chime

I imagine very few people would complain about a childhood in the countryside; green rolling hills, sheep and dairy cows, and good honest work.

As a young girl, I was entirely at home taking on the many manual tasks of farm life, from milking cows to nursing lambs, lifting bales of lucerne or lassoing runaways. All performed at a skill level equal to, or better than, my male counterparts.

Music completed the Arcadian scene, as I was fortunate enough to also learn to play instruments and be trained as a classical singer.

As I approached university age, a favoured idea was music college and a career as a music teacher. However, just in time, I realised that in the same way the scarecrow, tinman and lion lacked critical virtues, I lacked patience. I could not imagine investing the time or skill required to teach disinterested students the concept of a steady beat. And then do it again the next year.

Destined not to be a farmer’s wife or a musical matron, I headed to the University of Warwick, where I completed an honours degree in sociology.

Little did I know it at the time but a temporary summer job at the university set my career in motion. The job was to buy furniture and other pieces of equipment. Hello, procurement!

Of course, it wasn’t called procurement in those days. I spent my days raising manual paper requisitions for goods and services from consortia. My manager saw some potential in me, and so I was sponsored to undertake the program with the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS).


My procurement career kicks off

My next step was successfully applying for a graduate purchasing role with a large Goods Not for Resale (GNFR) company, and I moved to Manchester. We supplied everything you needed to run supermarkets, including, I’m sorry to say, an unbelievable number of plastic bags. Thankfully these bags are no longer free, and usage is steadily declining, with single-use bags having declined by 98% in England, as of last year.

The graduate program was very hands-on, with three-month rotations through different departments. My mum still has my stash of steel-capped boots and hi-vis clothing in her garage. A vivid memory from this time was the very interesting tours of prisons. Chillingly, one was where the notorious serial child killer, Myra Hindley was housed, and we were there to inspect soap dispensers. I still remember this as seeming so bizarre.

There were very few women working in procurement at the time, particularly in leadership positions, and I struggled with the male-dominated environment, especially the outdated stereotypes of a woman’s role. These were obstacles that no doubt delayed my progression.


The public sector offers plenty of opportunity

A big break came with Royal Mail, where I was finally given the opportunity to manage a category of £500m of spend and started learning the art of category management. There was some unplanned upskilling when postal strikes became a trend and we stepped into operational roles. I don’t know if you have ever been egged for crossing a picket line but I can assure you that it was not as comical as it might sound!

I went on to have several jobs as a global category manager across a variety of sectors including the public sector.

I spent three years working for Crown Commercial Services (CCS) implementing Legal Services strategies. This was a large public sector department and part of the cabinet with approximately 900 employees.

A highlight was working on flagship projects, and these predominantly consisted of teams of strong career-driven women. Role models! Hooray!

My star kept rising. One of the most challenging, but equally exciting points in my career was having to present roadshows to other CCS employees, often to audiences of 200-plus people.

I was also selected for a Cabinet Office campaign focussing on women in senior positions and their stories. I fronted a poster campaign. And I can tell you it was rather surreal entering 11 Downing Street, (the office of Treasury and Cabinet) and seeing my face plastered everywhere. I guess you could say I was finally being recognised.

Once I’d felt that I’d mastered the public sector I started to get itchy feet. I wanted to be challenged again.


Private-sector consulting has a distinct appeal

Over the years, a friend lobbied me to join their small consultancy and finally, I agreed to make the move. Covid happened and we lost business. There were redundancies, yet I was one of the few people not furloughed. But things were slow, and I wanted to move faster.

I joined another consultancy. After a few short months, I resigned as corporate culture and the people I spend my days with mean a lot and are primary motivators for me.

They say luck is the meeting of preparation and opportunity, and when an introduction to Infosys Portland came, I was ready.

I was offered a role and became the 8th member of the London office to be recruited. That was almost 3 years ago, and I can tell you, time definitely does fly when you’re having fun. Even faster when you’re learning too. So far, it has been exactly what I’ve wanted.

I enjoy the sense of family we have and the focus on creating a positive workplace culture. I am proud to be part of it.

For me, a highlight is the supportive nature and incredible responses to requests for help when facing a new challenge, or when I need to apply a skill not used before. Collaboration is second nature to people in Portland.


Whatever you do, do it for you

Today, I’m very comfortable in my skin. I’m social, like to have fun, and like a workplace that is alive. It is a perfect match for my personality.

So, if I were to offer any advice to young women embarking on their career it would be to never doubt yourself, or your capabilities and do something you enjoy. And if you do get knocked down, or pushed back, don’t give up. Rather, increase your resolve and keep your eyes on the prize. It is all worth it.

And make sure you have a balanced life, with interests outside work. For me – now that my career is in good order – a return to singing is my next personal goal.

What a great story. All so positive, despite the setbacks. What I see, and I hope you see, in Sarah’s story is that people seem to know when they’re in the right place. They know when who they are, their interests, and their personality all chime in the right culture, and the right professional environment. So keep going until it all chimes for you.


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