Movers and shakers Aiming high Louise Parfitt chats to Stevie Steel from Marston Holdings about progression, promotion, and proving people wrong used to go red. I used to stutter. I probably wouldnt be able to sit here and speak to you as confidently as I am because I wouldnt be sure if I was saying the right things. Talking to Stevie Steel today, I find it hard to reconcile the past version of herself she is describing with this determined, upbeat and ambitious person in front of me. Even her name inspires a feeling of confidence and strength. At 27, Steel already holds a senior position at enforcement giant Marston Holdings, where she has worked since she left college nine years ago, armed with a diploma in travel and tourism and a heart set on success. My aim has always been to go into a company and work my way up, she tells me. Steel did work experience at Marston when she was 15 and then returned after college to be a client services administrator. I started as a junior, filing, answering the phones, stuff like that. But then I started to get my own clients to look after. I really enjoyed working with them and getting to understand what they wanted from the client services department. I My aim has always been to go into a company and work my way up Steel already had her eye on the next stage in her career. I made it quite clear that I wanted to progress and be an account manager, she says. I asked if I could go to some of their meetings to put faces to names and start to meet people. Climbing the ladder When an opportunity arose to be a trainee account manager, Steel jumped at the chance. I was in training for around 18 months, shadowing other account managers to learn how to prepare for client meetings, understand and present the performance stats, tender for new business, look into complaints all aspects of the job. She thrived on developing these new skills and clearly loves her job, but it hasnt been without its challenges. Because I was young, I didnt fit peoples idea of an account manager, she says. A lot of clients thought that because Id only 14 britishparking.co.uk PN Sep19 pp14-15 Movers and Shakers.indd 14 22/08/2019 11:47