Dr Jonathan Sims - Leadership in the construction industry

Nottingham Business School Business Leaders

Jonathan Sims believes green technologies will be a good place to build a career in post-pandemic Britain.

And as chief procurement officer with international energy company Engie, in Britain and Ireland, he should know.

The Government has decreed its economic recovery plans will be spearheaded by clean technologies.

And many big international businesses – including Engie, traditionally a utility company – have chosen to focus their global energies on “making zero carbon happen”.

Jonathan tells the NBS Business Leaders’ podcast: “When I look at the evolution in the Engie business in the last two years, the pace of change has been enormous.

“The (UK) Government has been very supportive in driving the green agenda – it has shaped our business activities.

“It’s an exciting sector… And the organisational purpose of doing good is compelling.”

Jonathan started his own career in the family construction business, after leaving school in Mansfield, in the 1990s.

“Like a lot of young people, I was probably lost and unfocused about what I wanted to do – and where I wanted to be,” he tells Visiting Honorary Professor Mike Sassi.

“But I’ve always been driven by opportunity. And as a youngster in a construction business, surveying seemed like one of the most professional sectors open to me.”

He began shadowing the company’s surveyors, studied for the first of his four degrees – then embarked on a business career that has taken him to half a dozen companies.

Along the way he has picked up a wide range of business skills but believes most of his successes have been based on his ability as a manager.

He says: “As a primary skill, good management probably comes first. The technical aspects of a role, you can acquire over time.

“Good business acumen – the fact that solutions are delivered through people – is at the heart of all areas.”

And, despite the pandemic, Jonathan is optimistic for young people starting out in business now.

He says: “They will be trying to build their own personal brand over Teams or Zoom and that’s probably a challenge lots of managers have never had.

“But remote working has also broken down geographical barriers, enabling people to work from anywhere, which is going to open up huge opportunity.”