Driver Trett Digest Issue 22 October 2021 - Flipbook - Page 25
DIGEST | ISSUE 22
Q&A WITH
STUART BAIRD
WHAT IS YOUR ROLE?
I am the Regional Operational Director for the Middle East & Asia Pacific.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE INDUSTRY AND HOW DID YOU GET TO
WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?
WHAT HAS BEEN THE BEST
MOMENT OF YOUR CAREER?
I started my career as a trainee estimator/quantity surveyor for a main contractor
in Scotland in 1999 having responded to a job advertisement in the local newspaper.
For the first year, I was asked to work for 3-month periods in the estimating,
quantity surveying, project management, and bonus surveying departments which
my then boss felt was the best way to properly learn the contracting business by
understanding the various responsibilities of the key departments. Looking back,
it was a great grounding for a young professional in the industry gaining practical
experience on site and learning very quickly how to manage relationships with site
personnel – especially joiners and brickies during my 3 months in bonus surveying!
I would say being promoted to Country
Manager of Malaysia for an international
dispute resolution consultant in 2012.
This was a significant step in my career
and a transition from being a claims
practitioner on a project-by-project
basis, to a manager responsible for
the overall operational and financial
performance of a key region for the
business.
In 2005 I moved to the UAE with an international PQS practice and progressed
to senior commercial manager responsible for the operations across North
Africa. Upon the Arab Spring in 2010 however, the North African operations
were suspended, and I was redeployed to the claims department to assist with
a major arbitration in connection with the Palm Jumeirah project.
This opportune moment turned out to be the gateway to my career in the dispute
resolution industry, and led to me holding senior roles in Malaysia and Australia,
prior to returning to the Middle East in 2015.
WHO HAS BEEN THE GREATEST INFLUENCE ON YOUR CAREER?
WHAT MAKES YOU TICK?
Lots of coffee! On a daily basis!
My wife and kids (aged 6 and 4) also help
me keep life and work in perspective.
Nothing is a more positive distraction
from work than my enthusiastic son
giving me a running commentary of an
episode of Paw Patrol either at home
or on Skype!
Working with colleagues and clients from different cultures and backgrounds
has probably been the greatest collective influence. I have learned over time to
adapt my approach to service delivery and building relationships depending on the
background of the colleague and client I am working with, and the country I am
working in. I have also been fortunate to work with many managers over the last 21
years who have demonstrated and shown me professionalism, entrepreneurship,
and empathy which I believe are the three main characteristics of an effective
business leader.
25