The Senior Vice President of Bureau Veritas talks about the importance of measuring, capturing and documenting everything, the beauty of staycations and why it is always best to stay in the moment.

What’s the most cherished item in your office?
My extra-large computer monitors. I can’t function without them.

What’s your favorite time to get things done?
Early morning—before 6 a.m.

What’s the soundtrack that plays in the background of your office?
On good days its Spotify House Chillout or 70’s Rock. On tough days, it’s Enya…Goosfraba.

Name the band you cannot take off your playlist.
Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats.

What does a typical workday look like?
I wake up and feed the dogs, feed the chickens and gather fresh eggs for breakfast, then start a sprint of conference calls. My favorite pandemic change is getting five minutes to walk around my backyard with my dogs and soak in a few minutes of Arizona sunshine.

What’s the craziest thing that has ever happened to you on a job site?
One of my favorite jobsite stories was when I was leading a team of field pre-construction surveyors. I hammered into their heads to always measure/capture everything so nothing would get missed. One guy really took it to heart and photographed, documented and drafted into the AutoCAD As-Builts a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken he had found onsite.

What are you binge watching right now?
Peripheral.

What’s the coolest thing you have done since the pandemic hit?
Staycations around Arizona. It’s nice to be a tourist in your home state.

What has this experience taught you?
It’s tough to be “coworkers” with your family. I love my kids and husband, but spending 24-7 with them is a lot.

If you knew what was going to happen, what would you have done differently?
I’m not a big believer in looking back at what I couldn’t have controlled or changed. I prefer to look at now and next.

Favorite comfort food.
Domino’s Thin Crust Pepperoni and Jalapeno pizza.

Best advice you ever received?
Trust is a limited resource. Use it wisely.

Biggest influence in your life?
My parents, a lawyer and an engineer, are two very grounding influences. They taught me to analyze and (respectfully) question the status quo.

What trait do you most admire?
Integrity. This is a tough industry, but the more honest and accountable we are as a team, the better things go. Bad news only gets more expensive by the day. Just take out the problem and start working on it.

What advice would you give your younger self?
Don’t work 100 hours a week. It goes by so fast.

What’s the first thing you are going to do when you are able to get back to some sense of normalcy?
Go to Europe.