»»“ I BEGAN MY WORKING life as a Chemistry graduate, initially working as a Research and Development chemist in laboratory for Castrol. It quickly became apparent that I would be better suited to a more people orientated role. So, as a stop gap, I took a job selling ad space for a local newspaper. It had always been my intention to find a job that utilised my degree but little did I know that, through a succession of roles from this point, I would be presented with opportunities that would lead me to become MD at one of the UK’ s largest profile houses, covering key brands such as Profile 22, Swish, Patiomaster and Spectus.

‘ It has been flexible and supportive and enabled me to carve out a fantastic career and I would encourage other women into the industry.’

Since then I have worked in various sales positions within the industry from National Sales Manager to Key Accounts Director and lastly Group Sales Director, which all provided me with a vast array of experience

and challenges that go along with that level of responsibility. During this time, I got married and had my two children, who are now both in their teens. I was very fortunate to be able to work parttime until they went to school.

My first experience in general management was as Managing Director of a specialist glazing division within a large PLC. This really gave me the drive and a true flavour of what to expect from general management.

Now, it is coming up to 2 years since I joined Epwin as MD and I can honestly say it has been a hugely fulfilling and satisfying journey. The business is in a very strong position, making it well-placed to provide the best support to our customers in what we predict will be an exciting and, maybe, challenging year ahead.

I didn’ t choose this industry but can safely say that it has been very fair to me and one that I wouldn’ t have missed out on. I’ ve met some great people along the way and have always been presented with opportunities to develop and progress. It has been flexible and supportive and enabled me to carve out a fantastic career and I would encourage other women into the industry.

The best advice I could give someone looking to pursue a similar career path is not to give up. I’ m my own worst critic but it is important to have confidence in your ability, step out of your

comfort zone and continuously challenge yourself, in order to reach your full potential. When I moved from sales to a general management role, I embraced the challenges and hard work that came with this and prepared myself for a steep learning curve. But providing you give your best, understand your weaknesses and build a strong and experienced team to work with, you can succeed.

I have grasped the opportunities presented to me and it has paid off. Life can be challenging, however, it is highly rewarding running this division of a business of Epwin’ s size and I am thoroughly enjoy working with my exceptional team and our loyal and trusted partners and customers.

On a more personal level, I will be facing a significant challenge this year by taking part in Paddle2Pedal for GM Fundraising. It is such a

‘ providing you give your best, understand your weaknesses and build a strong and experienced team to work with, you can succeed’

worthwhile cause and I wanted to demonstrate what us girls could do to support it. Having focussed on my career over the last few years, I’ m afraid my fitness regime has taken a hit, so this is really going to be a challenge for me, but I’ m looking forward to tackling my fears of water during the event and crossing that finish line in August.

You can support Clare at www. justgiving. com / fundraising / oharap2p