Women Torque BACK: Recent Episodes
ian jones
Laura Hadzik is BACK on the trail of Women in Transport who have something to TORQUE about. If you fancy torquing to Laura contact us. You know where to find us. By the way she will interview anybody & everybody not just women. But it must be about transport !
This time on women torque BACK, Jo Dawson-Gerrard interviews Julie Davies. Julie is a Group Fleet & Plant Compliance Manager at Amey.
With over two decades of experience in transport and compliance, Julie shares her experience of this journey. We talk about the benefits of technological change, supporting net zero objectives and how knowing your stuff is the key to success.
Contact: marketing@backhouses.co.uk
Website: backhousejones.co.uk
This time on women torque BACK, Jo Dawson-Gerrard interviews Hannah Russell. Hannah is a Group Fleet Compliance Manager from Bidcorp UK.
With almost a decade of experience in the sector, Hannah’s love of the industry shines through. Her least favourite quote is “if it isn’t broken don’t fix it”, as Hannah believes that pushing the boundaries and embracing technological change is actually a must for success.
Contact: marketing@backhouses.co.uk
Website: backhousejones.co.uk
This time on women torque BACK, Jo Dawson-Gerrard interviews Rhian Hughes-Hodgkinson from Earl Transport.
Rhian is passionate about the transport industry - one of her favourite quotes being “I expect respect and I give respect, it doesn’t matter whether I’m a man or a woman.”
Rhian shares some of her two decades of professional experience and her mission of streamlining logistics and supply chain management to ensure efficient operation and delivery excellence.
Contact: marketing@backhouses.co.uk
Website: backhousejones.co.uk
This time on women torque BACK Jo Dawson-Gerrard and Libby Pritchard speak with Sarah Boyd, the Managing Director of Lothian Buses.
Responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company, she works closely with the company’s senior team to deliver strategy, direction and leadership.
Currently Scottish Vice-Chair of the Confederation of Passenger Transport (having previously been Chair), Sarah is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. She also chaired a subgroup of the Scottish Government’s Bus Taskforce, looking at improving driver shortages across the bus industry in Scotland after the pandemic.
With over 20 years in the bus industry, and a PCV licence-holder herself, Sarah is passionate about the transport industry and the people in it. Believing in the mantra “what is meant for you won’t pass you by” Sarah kindly shares some of her experiences of the industry with us today.
Contact: marketing@backhouses.co.uk
Website: backhousejones.co.uk
Women and girls make up 51 per cent of the UK population. The female employment rate is 72.3 per cent, yet women remain underrepresented in the transport sector accounting for only 26 per cent of workers. So, this time on Women torque BACK, Jo Dawson-Gerrard talks with Sonya Byers, CEO of Women in Transport.
Women in Transport is a not-for-profit that empowers women in the industry to maximise their potential. Membership provides exclusive access to events, our professional development programmes and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Women in Transport.
Having spent many years of her career in the transport sector, Sonya tells us about what Women in Transport do, about their Advance mentoring programme, their virtual “Lead” leadership development programme, the D & I Bus Group and some of the projects the organisation is currently working on.
The Women in Transport website is here:
https://www.womenintransport.com
The Women in Transport Equity Index Report 2023 referred to in this episode can be found here:
https://www.womenintransport.com/equity-index
Information on the Inclusive Cab Summit referred to in this episode can be found here:
https://www.womenintransport.com/our-blog/press-release-inclusive-cab-summit
The content of this podcast is correct at the time of broadcasting and isn’t meant to be specific medical or legal advice. If you need advice, we recommend that you take proper medical or legal advice for your individual situation.
Please leave us a review and of course details of any areas you would like us to cover in Your employees' health and your business future episodes. We do read them and it helps others find our podcast. Enjoy!
Contact: marketing@backhouses.co.uk
Website: www.backhousejones.co.uk
This time on Women Torque BACK, Jo Dawson-Gerrard speaks with Sami Bowler of Sami Bowler Transport Management.
They discuss what it was like growing up in the transport sector, being an external transport consultant and the issues crossing her desk on a daily basis.
Sami spends her days keeping operators out of Public Inquiries, but she secretly confesses that operators actually respond well after enforcement action has been taken - whether at the roadside by the DVSA or in the Public Inquiry room before a Traffic Commissioner.
The content of this podcast is correct at the time of broadcasting and isn’t meant to be specific medical or legal advice. If you need advice, we recommend that you take proper medical or legal advice for your individual situation.
Please leave us a review and of course details of any areas you would like us to cover in Your employees' health and your business future episodes. We do read them and it helps others find our podcast. Enjoy!
Contact: marketing@backhouses.co.uk
Website: www.backhousejones.co.uk
This time on Women Torque BACK, Jo Dawson-Gerrard speaks with Laura Taylor, Human Resources Director at the Road Haulage Association. They discuss the RHA’s Member Assistance Programme (a confidential service to help people deal with personal or work-related challenges), equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives, hybrid working, getting the best out of people with a positive approach and much more.
The content of this podcast is correct at the time of broadcasting and isn’t meant to be specific medical or legal advice. If you need advice, we recommend that you take proper medical or legal advice for your individual situation.
Please leave us a review and of course details of any areas you would like us to cover in Your employees' health and your business future episodes. We do read them and it helps others find our podcast. Enjoy!
Contact: marketing@backhouses.co.uk
Website: www.backhousejones.co.uk
This time on Women Torque BACK, Jo Dawson-Gerrard speaks on International Womens’ Day with Libby Pritchard, Heather Lunney, Laura Smith, Claire McKie and Charlotte Fowler from Backhouse Jones about some of the more pressing transport related topics coming across their desks at the moment.
We discuss:
- what we are seeing in public inquiries;
- maintenance issues;
- the role of the driver;
- cameras in cabs;
- clandestine entrants;
- uninssured loss recoveries; and
- HR changes for 2024.
As well as our take on these subjects, we offer up some anecdotes and key take-aways.
The content of this podcast is correct at the time of broadcasting and isn’t meant to be specific medical or legal advice. If you need advice, we recommend that you take proper medical or legal advice for your individual situation.
Please leave us a review and of course details of any areas you would like us to cover in Your employees' health and your business future episodes. We do read them and it helps others find our podcast. Enjoy!
Contact: marketing@backhouses.co.uk
Website: www.backhousejones.co.uk
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Kicking the brand new second season of Women Torque BACK off, Jo Dawson-Gerrard is speaking to Lindsay Plummer from the transport consultancy Plumwood Ltd.
With a decade of on-the job experience, Lindsay talks about the issues she is seeing most frequently in the industry, helping operators get their house in order and what she envisages the future will hold.
The content of this podcast is correct at the time of broadcasting and isn’t meant to be specific medical or legal advice. If you need advice, we recommend that you take proper medical or legal advice for your individual situation.
Please leave us a review and of course details of any areas you would like us to cover in Your employees' health and your business future episodes. We do read them and it helps others find our podcast. Enjoy!
Contact: marketing@backhouses.co.uk
Website: www.backhousejones.co.uk
This time on Women Torque BACK Jo Dawson-Gerrard is speaking to another inspiring woman – namely Kate Walker.
As well as being a fan of adrenaline sports, Kate has a wealth of experience covering Health, Nutrition, Diabetes, Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Sport and Exercise Science. She is a published author and the founder and Managing Director of the Diabetes Safety Organisation.
The Diabetes Safety Organisation was established to address the ever-present and increasing safety risk posed by diabetes. Getting organisations in sectors such construction and the transport to recognise there is a huge invisible risk that is currently not being addressed, leaving employees exposed to a potential fatality and companies open to criminal liability.
Kate is passionate about helping people manage their condition and provide support for companies to create a safe environment for people to work in.
Find out more here: https://diabetessafety.org/
You can contact Kate at: enquiries@diabetessafety.org
Tel: 0333 577 5735
The content of this podcast is correct at the time of broadcasting and isn’t meant to be specific medical or legal advice. If you need advice, we recommend that you take proper medical or legal advice for your individual situation.
Please leave us a review and of course details of any areas you would like us to cover in Your employees' health and your business future episodes. We do read them and it helps others find our podcast. Enjoy!
Contact: marketing@backhouses.co.uk
Website: www.backhousejones.co.uk
Today’s guest on Women Torque BACK learnt how to lead from her former boss and mentor - Richard Branson. This involved the frivolity of being inside - literally - the yellow submarine in Liverpool and in more serious situations that involved tragedy and death on the railways when her employer - Virgin Trains - owned the West Coast Mainline.
Paul McCartney said of “Yellow Submarine’ - it’s a happy song that’s all”. The song was released as a double A-side with Eleanor Rigby - a Lennon and McCartney collaboration that deployed empathy to reach beyond their traditional rock audience of the time by commenting upon the neglected concerns and fates of the elderly.
This contrast perhaps offers an insight into the leadership approach of Jane Cole -the Managing Director of Blackpool Transport - who asserts that kindness is not weakness. Yellow submarine characterised experimentation by the Beatles in the recording studio and Jane has been experimenting with new approaches to leadership by injecting empathy into neglected areas of business and people on the Fylde coast.
If Jane is to be characterised by a Beatles song it must be ‘ ticket to ride ‘ because she started her career at British rail and worked her way up through the ranks. After a career break undertaking charity work in Rwanda ; Jane swapped public transport on rail tracks for buses but with a side order of trams on tracks just to be sure.
John Lennon said that he and Paul McCartney collaborated by writing songs ‘eyeball to eyeball’ and by close communication they had a common purpose.
Jane and her colleague Karen Cooper have created a common purpose for Blackpool Transport and in a first for Women Torque BACK we have two guests being interviewed by two members of the Backhouse Jones team - Laura Hadzik and Jo Dawson-Gerrard. If you like this format be sure to GET BACK to us either by liking this podcast or subscribing.
The Beatles started exploring new songs at Abbey Road. Here at Backhouse Jones our sound production takes place down under in Australia where Mandy Turner expertly makes it all ‘come together’. One day all podcasts will be made this way and it will be mandatory to have an Aussie introducing the broadcast but until then you can choose to contact Mandy at www.mandyturner.au.com
The soundtrack to the movie “About a Boy“ is titled “Something to talk about”. Our next guest could also use this soundtrack to describe her professional life but this time ‘torque’ spelt T O R Q U E and what’s more she bears no resemblance whatsoever to the spoilt and rich layabout portrayed by Hugh Grant in the movie.
Rather, comparisons for this episode’s guest on Women Torque Back might be better directed at Emma Thompson - the independent thinker, acclaimed actor, producer and activist. Emma’s movies include “In the name of the father’, ‘saving mr banks’ ‘an education’ , ‘ love actually’ and ‘stranger than fiction’ .
Each of these titles could be used to describe a number of occasions in the life of Candice Mason as she accepted her husband’s request to assist him, his brother and father in running the family coach business - conveniently named “Mason’s Coach Hire’.
The deal agreed was that she would assist within the business for 12 months and then return to her first love - the career for which she was trained to degree level.
The deal agreed was that she would assist within the business for 12 months and then return to her first love - the career for which she was trained to degree level.
Life’s what happens when you’re busy making other plans and this deal was agreed long before COVID-19 shook the world and the UK coach industry but Candice has not returned to her first vocation.And what was that career I hear you ask?
Well think of Emma Thompson’s 2005 period fantasy comedy - Nanny McPhee .
Candice started her career caring for children and navigated a path all the way up to managing a nursery and beyond. But Love Actually took hold and whilst Emma Thompson scripted the film “sense and sensibility’, Candice brought her common sense and more than a touch of sensibility [with fresh eyes] to look at the family business, to develop it and build upon the splendid successes achieved by her father and mother in law, her husband and brother-in-law -over a thirty year heritage. It’s a family affair!
In Victorian Britain, widowed Mr Brown was struggling to combine tragedy, work and family life and his finances needed review. Enter Nanny McPhee who restored order to the family brown and magically made it snow in august.
Changing the weather in any business requires resilience and questioning assumptions even in times of calm. But in the chaos and tragedy of the 18-month COVID winter imposed on the uk coach industry with no industry specific support from government, it was a rodeo and Candice had to concentrate on the unexpected micro as well as the macro and quickly learn how to engage with government ministers whilst furloughing loyal, hard-working , traumatised staff. The emotion of this difficult task is palpable within this podcast.
Nanny McPhee leaves her movie family with the phrase “ when you need me , but do not want me , then i must stay . When you want me but no longer need me then I must go “.
Somehow we think it unlikely that Candice will GO BACK (we have to get one use of the word BACK into an intro) to managing a nursery as her family and the wider coaching industry will WANT AND NEED her soundtrack of excellence for some time to come.
Talking of soundtracks and sound thanks as ever to our very own Aussie - Mandy Turner - who not only skilfully edits - down under - our podcasts to make us sound as we think we speak rather than how we actually mumble and pause ; she voices this introduction. Mandy can be contacted at www.mandyturner.com.au
In this very special episode of Women Torque BACK, Laura Hadzik is joined by Backhouse Jones’ very own Women from the BACK - Julia Davies, Jo Dawson-Gerrard and the new ‘Queen of the Small Screen’, Chloe West.
This quartet are a formidable force and, throughout the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have used their arsenal of personalities, knowledge and skills to create, drive, develop and deliver invaluable support to Backhouse Jones’ clients and friends across the road transport sector. Now, as Freedom Day approaches, they reflect on their individual and shared experiences of the last 16 months, discuss what it’s like to finally be BACK together in person and look forward to what the future holds for them and Backhouse Jones…and it’s not all about transport!
In a Women Torque BACK first, the ladies also welcome a very special male(!) guest to join them.
This is an episode definitely not to be missed!
https://we.tl/t-fhwnqdO5BH
BACK in 2012 the Olympics took place in London Town. It was the Romans -not the Greeks -that initially laid out the road system BACK in the days of Londinium. Somebody had to oversee the logistics of moving hundreds of toned athletes and thousands of less muscular fans around the labyrinth of London. Step forward Traffic Commissioner Sarah Bell who rose to the challenge and in this podcast BACK’s the bus up here to provide a delightful insight into the BACKground of the logistics of the Olympics and other tales from the top. Sarah also tells our Laura Hadzik how she caught Laura admiring her shoes during a presentation and that she is not former TC Beverley Bell’s sister.
Laura and Sarah would like to dedicate this episode of Women Torque BACK to Tim Nesbitt QC whose untimely passing since the recording of their conversation has left them and all who had the pleasure of knowing him shocked and deeply saddened. Sarah first instructed Tim over 20 years ago and both Sarah and Laura were honoured to celebrate with Tim, his family, friends and colleagues when he took silk in 2018. They are sure Tim would have loved - and laughed - listening to their conversation and they will both miss him dearly.
Continuing our discussion with inspiring businesswomen, today's guest Charlotte Bovill, explains to Jo Dawson -Gerrard how she loves the mantra “It always seems impossible until it's done.” When not at work you might find her diving with great white sharks, but in her day job she is Business Unit Director at JLL, a global commercial real estate services company with offices in 80 countries. As well as a deep dive into Charlotte's aspirations and inspirations, we discuss the shift in consumer behaviour, the implications for our high streets and distribution hubs and the impact this is having on the transport sector.
Men in Black is a 1997 American science fiction action comedy film starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith as two agents of a secret organization called the Men in Black, who supervise extraterrestrial lifeforms who live on Earth and hide their existence from ordinary humans.
If the movie was updated for 2021 and titled “Women in Black” who might the casting director approach? Surely Sigourney weaver would be top of the list
Sigourney is a pioneer of action heroines in science fiction films. She is best known for her role as Ellen Ripley in the Alien franchise, which earned her an Academy Award nomination in 1986 and is often regarded as one of the most significant female protagonists in cinema history. Of course this is merely the fantasy of the silver screen whereas today we are introducing “women in back “ and the script writes itself.
This is the inaugural “Women torque BACK” podcast. That’s talk spelt t-o-r-q-u-e and is released quite appropriately today - 8th March - international women’s day.
This podcast brings forward from the BACK and introduces Laura Hadzik the award winning regulatory lawyer at Backhouse jones. She might not be the first ever female transport lawyer in the Uk but she is certainly one of the first three.
Laura will be introducing women who torque back from within the transport industry and she starts at the top with the Meryl Streep of transport - Lesley O’Brien OBE .
How did a girl from yorkshire who was advised by her school careers tutor to look at secretarial jobs take up international positions in the transport industry before coming BACK to the white rose county to start her own successful haulage Company with her husband -known affectionately as The Commodore -and will she ever be Big In Japan?