SARAH LEESE APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & SERVICES

Sarah, who joined the company as Group Financial Controller in 2018, previously worked as a contractor for Stonbury, delivering key projects alongside members of the finance team. With a firm understanding of the business, Sarah was offered a permanent role and has continued to successfully head-up Stonbury’s finance function.

In just under three years, Sarah has added value to the business from both a financial and commercial perspective and has been asked to join the board, as Director of Finance and Services. The role will include ownership of procurement, fleet, plant, machinery and IT functions.

“I was delighted that Sarah agreed to join the board; her analytical ability and measured thought processes complement our individual skill sets and bring balance to the team. I am eager to see the strategies that Sarah is developing to accelerate our journey in support of the sector’s need to reach net-zero carbon by 2030. Our supply chain has a large part to play, as do our policies for fleet, plant and equipment selection, all of which now sit with Sarah – and the needle is already starting to shift”.

Meet Sarah

As someone who has never mapped out a definite career path, I have found my professional journey to have developed naturally over time. My career has been driven by my enthusiasm to constantly strive for improvement and to focus on the next stage, as well as having an eye on the longer-term plan.

This approach, alongside my commitment to ensuring everything I do is done both effectively and efficiently, has allowed me to invest time in understanding the business needs and the needs of the individuals within Stonbury. Subsequently, I have been able to support the business in making more informed decisions and have added value in terms of productivity, efficiency, quality and expenditure.

Since joining Stonbury, I have worked closely with my team, as I believe it is important for everyone to understand why a certain system, process or function is significant, and why it must be done in a certain way. Once everything is working smoothly, you can then focus your attention on critical decision-making and business progression.

Being invited to join the board of directors at Stonbury is a natural progression in my career, and I am keen to overcome the challenges I will undoubtedly face along the way. As a part of my new role, I will be focusing on Stonbury’s carbon reduction strategy, including the implementation of alternative low carbon solutions for fleet, plant, equipment and purchasing.

This alone will be a considerable challenge, but with the support of the right systems and people in the right places, I have every confidence myself, and my team will succeed in making significant changes to reduce carbon and costs, and enhance value for both the business and our clients.