Meet the Team - Chris Read

When did you join Careys, and in what role?

I joined Careys in October 2000 as my first full time employment in accounts payable. After 11 months I moved into commercial as a trainee surveyor and worked my way up to commercial manager spending 17 years on site before moving to an internal reporting improvement role and offering commercial support to multiple parts of the business.

What’s been your favourite project to date and why?

​​​​​​​There’s been a few memorable ones, but probably working on the BBC Television Centre in White City. We had a great team and the project was really interesting and kept growing with the award of further packages. Another which stands out is a project at the Oracle in Reading where we challenged ourselves with undertaking works not normally associated with us. Again, a cracking team helped us deliver on time and within budget too.

What do you do at Careys and in what circumstances would a colleague come to you for something?

In October I changed roles and am now the Head of Business Change in our newly formed Transformation Team. Several members in the team are new to the business so I’m a good Carey encyclopaedia of who to talk to about what, if they have an issue how do we solve it - those things you just know from being here a while. But also, I can add my own experience of change in the business and share where we’ve had successes and failures.

What’s a work-related accomplishment that you’re really proud of?

Lately, probably the work in creating the Commercial Hub, trying to deliver on the idea of central, automated (to a point) reporting that’s easily accessible and digestible. It’s not perfect but a great proof of concept which shows what the future can look like.

Is there anyone you’ve worked with lately who deserves a shoutout? What did they do?

I’m going to say Will Benson. He’s already well respected for his construction talents but he’s also recently been leading the project on our labour operating management model. Now this would be outside of Will’s normal role, but he’s really taken charge and when the Transformation Team were asked to support Will, he’s accepted the guidance, challenge and assistance in the spirit it’s intended. He also isn’t afraid to ask questions about stuff he doesn’t know, which may sound obvious, but it’s surprising how often someone will assume something for fear of asking a ‘silly’ question. If everyone we interact with comes with Will’s attitude the whole transformation programme will be a success.

Which of the four Group values resonates with you the most and why?

Probably authenticity. The other values resonate too, but for me it’s that level of honesty and being genuine in our own actions, how we treat people and respect their opinion. A key thing we’ve asked for in our workshops is frank and honest discussions, we want to understand our failures and ensure we learn from them and deliver something different on this transformation journey.

What do you like to do outside of work? Any book or film recommendations?

Outside work I enjoy spending quality time with my little family, playing footy and getting out on my bike once a week. For films I was brought up on James Bond, can’t go wrong with a bit of 007.