In the lead up to International Women's Day this weekend, we'll be sharing the stories of some of our inspiring and talented team members.
MEET KATA ARBUCKLE, CLOUGH ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ADVISOR.
“I have been with Clough for nearly 15 years. What a ride it’s been! I started my Clough life as a Recruitment Advisor responsible for technical engineering and construction recruitment across the business. It wasn’t long before I was assigned to work as the sole Clough Recruiter on the Boddington Gold Mine Expansion Project (AKCMR JV). With its proximity to Perth, I was lucky enough to make countless site visits over the next couple of years and saw the project from start to finish. There were highs and lows but overall such a wonderful learning experience for me.
Over the years I have held various roles within the Recruitment team and in addition to supporting our corporate functions, I have also worked on several our major projects including Murray Basin Mineral Sands, Pluto LNG Jetty Project, Gorgon and Thai Fabrication Yards and POM Power Station to name a few.
Three years ago, I was given an opportunity for a career change and moved into an Organisational Development Advisor role. I am responsible for coordinating the development and delivery of learning and development programs and organisational development initiatives to build the capability in our business. At the time, it was a step out of my comfort zone into a steep learning curve, but astep made achievable with the unwavering support and guidance from my manager and Clough.
People are often surprised when I tell them that I have been at Clough for so long but I have been given so many opportunities to learn, work on different projects, in different locations, with different people that it doesn’t feel like the same job.
I’m still here because I have meaningful work, have a great team around me and work for a genuine and empowering leader. Clough has supported me as I started a family and accommodated my need for flexible working arrangements after returning to work after having my two children.
Clough was recently granted the Employer of Choice for Gender Equality citation for 2019/20 and although it is wonderful to be formally recognised for our efforts in this space, in my opinion they have always supported diversity of thought and equal gender opportunities. I look forward to an exciting future with Clough where I know I will be supported to reach my potential.”
MEET PAULA SANCHEZ, CLOUGH ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN.
“I am currently studying at the University of Houston finishing my last semester in Electrical Engineering and I am part of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and MAES – Latinos in Science and Engineering. Both organizations have taught me to become a strong, educated woman in the engineering world. Personally, I love volunteering at high schools for STEM programs, playing volleyball and softball, and participating in engineering/ first generations organizations.
I was given the opportunity to start my engineering journey at Clough in Houston. Clough is a company in which I am honored to be part of due to its stellar integrity, diversity, and gender equality initiatives.
I am proud to say I am the first female Engineering Technician at Clough in the Houston office; I started my career with Clough as a receptionist and transitioned into this role.
Clough has given me the support and the vision to meet my career aspirations with the help of motivated and talented employees in the Clough community around the world.
Coming from a first-generation family, it’s important to me that Clough supports the growth of every individual to succeed and feel welcome in the engineering and construction industry.”
MEET MELISSA SCHILLER, CLOUGH LEAD PLANNER/SCHEDULER.
“I’ve been in the oil & gas industry for 20 years, and in Project Controls for 15 years.
20 years ago I did not start my career as a planner, or even know what a planner was. When I was first exposed to project schedules, I was intrigued by the detail & process of project scheduling and the effort it took to build a quality schedule. I was fascinated by how it was put together almost like a puzzle. I was hooked. The day I asked my supervisor if I could make a move into Project Controls was the best career decision I could have made. I was very fortunate to have mentors who saw my potential and took me under their wing and let me ask all the questions. Before too long, I was the one providing the mentoring and encouragement for others just getting into planning and scheduling.
After a few years of working on projects as a planner, I was given the opportunity to teach different aspects of Planning & Scheduling. This provided me amazing opportunities to travel all over North America and overseas, meeting some wonderful people along the way. I taught for a few years, then realized I missed the challenges of working on projects and came back to what I really loved doing.
This past year working for Clough has brought exciting new challenges for me. We have only been part of the Clough team for a year and already I can see the positive impact Clough has brought to Houston by encouraging mentorship, innovation & collaboration. I am so fortunate to be working with a group of amazingly talented people in our Houston office.”
MEET MANJU RADHAKRISHNAN, CLOUGH CORPORATE ACCOUNTANT.
“I started my career in 1994 working for the Ministry of Urban Development in New Delhi, India, and held various roles from Junior Analyst to Accountant. In 2009, I moved to Perth when my husband was offered a temporary job visa for four years. The adaptability of Australia is such that it did not take a second thought for the decision to settle down in the country. I am truly honoured and obliged of the fact that Australia embraces everyone without prejudice or judgement. I should say that I and my family are so lucky to have taken this decision, and we love each moment of our life here in Australia.
I joined Clough in 2010 as a Tax Administration Assistant and moved roles to Assistant Accountant, Financial Accountant and currently, Corporate Accountant. My journey in Clough is the most memorable chapter of my career and life. Coming from a culturally different nation, and pertinent to mention that this is my first job in Australia, leaving all my friends and family behind was daunting. I remember walking through the doors on my first day thinking to myself: “I hope the people I’m working with are friendly and welcoming.” From the first day I stepped into my office, I was invited with open arms, and I can now honestly say that I work with some of my best friends. I’ve met so many amazing people who have come and gone, and developed friendships I know will last a lifetime. When you work with your friends it doesn’t feel like work, and the best thing about my career so far has been the people I’ve met along the way.
My story reflects Clough’s diversity vision of creating a culture that embraces and encourages diversity as a core value with fairness, respect and support to each employee. I am proud to be a Cloughie!”
MEET ALISHA, DIRECTOR OF SUPPLY CHAIN, COMMERCIAL & RISK.
“I was fortunate in my final years of high school to know what path I wanted to take in my career, commencing studies and working in the commercial and legal fields immediately out of school, so I’m coming up to 19 years of experience – wow, time flies!
My experience has been in both corporate and project roles, domestic and overseas, and various fields (mining, oil & gas and construction) so I like to think my career path has provided me an opportunity to become a well-rounded professional. As far as projects and locations, I’ve enjoyed: Santos GLNG (Clough Downer Joint Venture), Citic Pacific Mining Sino Iron Ore (including Construction Projects in Thailand), Ichthys Hook-Up and Commissioning, BHP Billiton mines through WA and SA, and Enterprise Mont Belvieu Ethylene Upgrade and Project Traveler, both in Houston Texas, to name a few.
The opportunity to work for Clough is one I am very grateful for as they have supported my potential to grow personally, professionally and within the North American business, and share my same commitment to seek innovative and digitalization-focused solutions. These are not just buzz words at Clough – they are an integral part of how we do business and that is extremely important to me. I’ve seen how far the industry has come in the last 19 years with respect to project delivery – we have to deliver projects smarter and more efficiently than ever before to consistently be successful – and it is important to me my employer values thinking and solutions which are “outside the box”, and that they encourage and value everyone’s ideas.
My role on the North America Leadership Team is something I do not take lightly and one which has come about thanks to Clough’s commitment to build the best team for the job supporting equal gender opportunities. We have a truly exciting leadership team here and I am enjoying working in a new environment and building my professional network in such a thriving market. Earlier this year I presented at a Contracts and Risk Management conference about preparing for advances in and leveraging innovation and digitalization to uncover potential risks to successful project delivery – an opportunity to both get the nerves pumping but also a great few days networking with other professionals. This is something I hope to continue to contribute to and also encourage my colleagues to do the same.
Outside of work, I would definitely consider myself a foodie who often plans holidays solely focused on food. I enjoy fast cars (driven safely…), am a MotoGP enthusiast, and I’ll never pass up an opportunity to travel.”
MEET AMELIA, CLOUGH PROJECT MANAGER.
“I started work with Clough as an engineering summer intern and then joined the company as part of the Clough Graduate Program the following year. 14 years later I’m still working for Clough and it is fair to say there hasn’t really been a dull moment yet. The first project I worked on was the Kalgoorlie Reservoir Project and within a couple of months they needed an extra engineer on site so I got my first taste of FIFO and project life. I loved the responsibility, the pace and the camaraderie of the project team, and got a lot of satisfaction from being able to have such a direct impact on the project.
Since then I have been very fortunate to work on a great variety of iconic projects with Clough. Highlights include the Pluto LNG Jetty project in Karratha and the Ichthys LNG Jetty project in Darwin. I spent some time on the Gorgon LNG project, based in Perth initially and then in Leatherhead, England in the KBR office as part of the design team. More recently I worked on the Mundaring Weir Outlet Works Upgrade and it was very rewarding to work on a project which had so much historical significance and community importance. I am very proud to have worked on projects in beautiful parts of Australia that many people never choose to travel, and also to have had the opportunity to work and live in places very different to home such as the fabrication facilities in Indonesia and Malaysia.
I recently took some extended time off work to have my two little girls, now 2 and 3 years old, and I was able to take advantage of Clough’s generous paid parental leave entitlement (16 weeks). I had planned to return to work full time but after having the girls, well, plans changed… and Clough has been supportive of my move to part-time work this past year. My new role is Perth based, 3 days a week in the office and 1 day a week from home, which I generally do in the evenings when everyone else in my house is asleep! It’s working for me at the moment – I am able to enjoy time with my children at home before they have grown up and are in school but also take on a fulfilling role at work. I was worried about how much I would enjoy work when I knew I was leaving my precious girls at home but I am happy to report that I am enjoying work more than I ever have. Having two little ones at home has meant I am now more efficient than ever and has given me a healthy dose of perspective for what is really important in life.”