黑洞社区

Cathy Travers is explaining how she was the youngest of five children, with four older brothers, and how this has equipped her for a career in the construction industry.

鈥淚鈥檓 not afraid to stand my ground and express my opinion,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 started my career 36 years ago and there were very few females that worked in the business 鈥� that grounding, the rough and tumble with four older brothers, has helped me to do that.鈥�

She may have been the most junior member of her family but these days Travers is very much a senior figure in construction.

In August 2022 she took over as global managing director at Mott MacDonald, the 拢2bn-turnover engineering giant that topped 黑洞社区鈥檚 Top 150 Consultants list last year, with UK fee income totalling more than 拢1.1产苍.

We catch up with Travers at Mott MacDonald鈥檚 headquarters in the heart of the City of London to talk about her plans for the firm.

Even before our conversation it is clear that Mott MacDonald is on a growth push. It increased its turnover by 15.8% in 2023 and has recently committed to a further 20,000sq ft of office space in its 10 Fleet Place headquarters.

And Travers, speaking in her blended Lancashire and Yorkshire accent, having lived in both Blackburn and Sheffield, is bullish about future prospects. She thinks Mott MacDonald will achieve organic growth of 15% to 20% annually over the next few years.

Confident about growth

鈥淚 feel really confident that we can do that鈥� the market鈥檚 there for us to do that. And I鈥檓 confident in our ability to win and deliver great work in our chosen markets,鈥� she says.

She predicts that the 拢452m Americas arm of the business will probably see even higher percentage growth of around 20% to 25%, albeit from a lower base.

So what are these 鈥渃hosen markets鈥� for her firm?

Travers points to transport, buildings, water and energy as areas in which the firm is looking to grow globally. Mott MacDonald is prominent in the UK defence industry and in Australia and US too, as a result of the AUKUS partnership between the three nations. Saudia Arabian giga projects and Canadian transport schemes are also areas of growth for the company.

Taking transport first, Mott MacDonald has been working on HS2 phase 1, including for Balfour Beatty and Vinci on a design and build contract. It has also been working on the royal assent for HS2 2b, which is being repurposed as Northern Powerhouse Rail between Crewe and Manchester. This is in addition to work on the Lower Thames Crossing tunnel and approaches and its highways programmes.

When asked about the biggest challenges that Mott MacDonald is facing, she mentions the 鈥渧olatility鈥� in the UK and Australian transport markets. Does she mean uncertainty around public funding? Travers says 鈥測es鈥�.

Infrastructure investment

When it comes to the government鈥檚 decision to scrap HS2 phase 2a and other cuts, however, Travers appears sympathetic to ministers 鈥� up to a point.

鈥淗S2 is a once-in-a-generation project with the scale of investment that has gone into it, but the government dealt with some really serious impacts from Covid which inevitably led to reduced funding and we鈥檝e been in a relatively low-growth economy,鈥� she says.

She is a firm believer in investing in infrastructure to boost economic growth, however, but believes the government should do more to attract private investment to enable this.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to have an ambitious strategy for where we are going as a country, and you鈥檝e got to back that up with certainty of a pipeline of projects to attract the investment,鈥� she says. 鈥淚n order for companies like ourselves to make the investments, we need to know what is coming in the future.鈥�

Similarly, while Travers says it is 鈥済reat鈥� that the government is thinking about small modular reactors (SMRs) to expand the UK鈥檚 nuclear power, this 鈥渉as to be part of a really ambitious, wider strategy to drive towards net zero鈥� if firms are to invest.

Mott MacDonald certainly wants to place itself at the forefront of the UK鈥檚 SMR programme and drive towards energy security. In March it signed a memorandum of understanding with manufacturer Holtec Britain and Hyundai Engineering and Construction to look at the possible delivery of SMR technology in the UK.

The New Hospital Programme 

Another key area for the firm is hospitals. Mott MacDonald is acting as the interim delivery partner on the 拢20bn New Hospitals Programme.

Travers becomes noticeably excited when talking about the programme, which has included working on the standardised concepts and designs for use on 16 new hospitals.

Talking more quickly, with evident enthusiasm, she says: 鈥淲e鈥檝e been giving the strategic advice on how we can deploy modern methods of construction (MMC) and design for manufacturer and assembly (DFMA) across a whole programme.This is a fantastic opportunity for us as a country to really start to push the boundaries.

鈥淲e are looking at creating standardised designs for hospitals that can be bespoked by each trust to suit their specific site requirements, and then moving on to a kit of parts we can develop.鈥�

This involves engaging with the whole supply chain to push the boundaries on what can be done around DFMA as an industry.

鈥淗ow can we use that to drive a more industrialised approach across the UK, not just for health but for other sectors?鈥� she asks, with a smile.

The point about supply chain engagement is 鈥渆ssential鈥� for this to work, she says.

We are looking at creating standardised designs for hospitals that can be bespoked by each trust to suit their specific site requirements 

鈥淥ne of the challenges we鈥檝e had in this country, and in many countries, is the rush to get into construction,鈥� she says.

鈥淭he decisions that drive high productivity and best value come from the thinking that gets put in up front. I think [on the NHP] we鈥檝e put some really innovative thinking in there and I hope it drives a shift in how as an industry we plan and develop major projects.鈥�

This clever thinking could involve looking at examples of high productivity abroad (Travers talks about looking at giga projects in Saudi Arabia for inspiration) or using digital twins on the NHP 鈥� not only of the physical assets but on the care side as well to ensure a 鈥渉olistic view鈥�.

But how will this revolution be embedded? What can the next government do to remove barriers to make it happen?

Travers has two suggestions. The first is often heard, namely to streamline the planning system and reduce the 鈥渃omplicated accountability spread across multiple stakeholders鈥�.

The second is perhaps less often repeated: 鈥淚鈥檇 love to see somebody who is a cabinet minister responsible for infrastructure.

鈥淚鈥檇 like to see that person have a cabinet committee that brings together the relevant departments so that we get more joined-up thinking 鈥� infrastructure is so vital for economic growth.鈥�

This idea echoes a key finding from the 黑洞社区 the Future Commission report. 黑洞社区鈥檚 year-long inquiry into improving the built environment recommended the return of a construction adviser to government, albeit with a wider focus.

黑洞社区 an inclusive culture

Travers clearly has views on ways the wider operating environment for the built environment can be improved by the next government, but she gives the impression that she is equally, if not more, focused on improving the culture for Mott MacDonald鈥檚 20,000-strong global workforce.

The firm鈥檚 churn rate 鈥� the percentage of staff leaving the company 鈥� has fallen to 鈥渋ndustry-leading levels鈥� after previously rising due to the aforementioned volatility in markets such as transport. Its voluntary turnover rate is now at 10%, which a spokesperson said is bottom quartile among Mott MacDonald鈥檚 peers. 

At the centre of her thinking is improving equality, diversity and inclusivity. Travers says Mott MacDonald has an almost 50:50 gender split (46% female) for staff in the first three years of their career, although there are challenges around how the talent is brought through to the top.

She cautions against using gender, for example, as a 鈥減roxy for diversity鈥�, however. She says diversity is really about 鈥渄ifferent opinions, views and styles鈥� and 鈥済iving people space and time to have their views aired鈥�.

 Mott MacDonald has been focused on inclusivity. 鈥淗ow do you create an environment in which people feel they can come to work and be themselves?鈥� she asks. As part of this, the company runs sessions with staff of all levels discussing and roleplaying workplace dilemmas.

鈥淭hen as a team we talk about it, what they might do in that situation. I think it鈥檚 a really great practical way of people understanding that sometimes things aren鈥檛 black and white,鈥� she says. 

Travers has a strong interest in and affection for the workplace culture at Mott MacDonald. This may not be surprising for somebody who has spent almost her entire 36-year career at the company.

After graduating from the University of Sheffield, she started at Sheffield engineering firm Husband & Company shortly before its acquisition by Mott MacDonald. Charles Husband worked with Bernard Lovell on the design of the Jodrell Bank telescope and the bridge used in the film version of The Bridge Over the River Kwai.

Travers cites the 鈥渃ollaborative鈥� culture of Mott MacDonald and its investment in people as the reasons why she has stayed. She puts huge importance on the company鈥檚 approach to mental wellbeing 鈥� and for very personal reasons too.

I found getting outdoors, walking or running really helped with my mental wellbeing going through that time 鈥� I鈥檓 a big advocate of being outdoors, getting exercise. It builds good resilience for what can sometimes be quite stressful jobs

A few years ago she successfully battled cancer and, during her treatment, she realised that outdoor pursuits were most beneficial to her mental health. 鈥淚 found getting outdoors, walking or running really helped with my mental wellbeing going through that time,鈥� she says.

鈥淚鈥檓 a big advocate of being outdoors, getting exercise. It builds good resilience for what can sometimes be quite stressful jobs.鈥�

Each weekend she goes home to the Derbyshire dales. Her hobbies include fell running and gardening among otherr outdoor pursuits.

鈥淚 really like going out in green space and digging holes, for some really odd reason. I enjoy that, it鈥檚 a sort of slightly mindless, physical activity that I like.鈥�

Whether standing her ground with her four older brothers, rising to the top of a 拢2bn-turnover company or successfully coping with cancer treatment, Travers is an undeniably impressive leader. Whether Mott MacDonald鈥檚 growth trajectory is similarly as impressive as she expects only remains to be seen.