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But his involvement in the Institution kicked up a gear when he moved to Switzerland in 2002 – he helped to set up a local group there, and used that as a springboard to join the trustee board in 2016.
He spoke to Professional Engineering to discuss the challenges facing the industry and the Institution, and his thoughts on becoming the first IMechE president to be based outside the UK.
What are your priorities for the year ahead?
“We’re in our 175th anniversary year and I think that’s a great opportunity for us to really celebrate the achievements the Institution has made over that time. But it also gives us an opportunity to reflect on the future. One thing I think is really critical for us is to look at our strategy and focus and make sure we’ve got that well-grounded to provide a basis for us moving forward.
“We’ve got four pillars that we’ve identified: inclusion, integrity, innovation and impact. We’ve also identified seven strategic enablers that will really allow us to roll out that strategy. So there are going to be quite a lot of activities centred around strategy and implementation over the coming years, and I see my presidential year as a good opportunity to get a solid base to build on for the future.”
What do you mean by strategic enablers?
“Well, they’re things like making sure we’ve got financial resilience, making sure we’ve got sound governance practices in place. There’s making sure we’ve got our values and behaviours firmly established within the organisation, rolling out our commitment to diversity and inclusion. Liaising with other professional engineering institutions on having a global approach to the engineering challenges we see at the moment, and how we work together to successfully overcome them.”
What are some of those big challenges, and how do you see the Institution’s role in tackling them?
“I think we touched on some of the big issues when we had the COP26 conference. It’s things like climate change, and the way we move to a carbon-neutral economy, the way we address infection control coming off the back of the pandemic, the lessons we can take away from that to make sure we’re better prepared for next time.
“But I also think one of the important things is what the future of engineering is going to look like, longer term. We’re living in a world where things are changing incredibly rapidly and the sky is the limit in terms of what we can potentially achieve.”
You’re the first IMechE president ever to be based outside the UK – how do you see that affecting your role?
“Clearly I can’t be everywhere, physically, at the same time. But I’ve done home office for effectively the last two years, and if you asked me whether it’s had a significant impact on my ability to function in the company that I work for I would say, no, probably not. So I will make myself available as much as I possibly can from a virtual point of view, and I will support physical meetings as best I can.
“I’m not going to be based in London for the whole of the presidency, I’ve got a home here in Switzerland, but I do plan to travel as much as I feasibly can in the framework of that. I’m open to volunteers reaching out to me, and if you wish me to support certain events or activity I’ll do my level best to be there.”
What will success look like for you as you hand over to your successor in a year’s time?
“I would like to see the Institution feel that it’s in a more stable position moving forward with regard to some of the activities that we’re working on at the moment. So I would like to see a resolution to the question of what we do with the Birdcage Walk building – that is a subject that has gone on for quite a few years, and we can’t delay it indefinitely.
“I’d like us to get to a position where we’ve taken it to the membership and they’ve given us a very clear steer in terms of the way they want us to go forward, and we’ve started the implementation process for that decision. That would be a nice thing to achieve by the end of my presidency.
“I think also getting the overall strategy kicked off and established would be a good outcome – the feeling that we know the direction that we need to head in as an Institution over the next five years or so, and getting that established and grounded so we can take the first steps.”
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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.