12 People of Waterstons - Helen Fawcett

Sector Principal Helen started her career working in continuous improvement and lean projects within warehousing and logistics at Berghaus after finishing her degree in Mechanical Engineering.

After an unexpected opportunity arose to train as an Intelligence Analyst, her analytical skills were taken in an entirely different direction, ultimately working police for 10 years in a variety of settings, from neighbourhood policing to drugs networks and robberies, to organised crime. As intelligence analysis was quite new in the UK at that time, and the data infrastructure wasn’t really there within the police, she helped to set that up. After the 2008 financial crisis, policing was really squeezed so Helen decided it was time for a new challenge and joined Durham University. After a few years, she was running the planning process in which university investment decisions were made and helping with a new university strategy.

After completing a Masters at Durham University Business School, she wanted a new challenge so joined Waterstons, and now, she works with manufacturers across the UK and beyond to get more products out of the factory and into consumers’ hands – helping them do more with less.

“I love being around people; meeting new contacts and keeping up with old ones. The thrill of meeting a new business and getting them excited about what we could achieve together, pitching for work and (hopefully) winning is so much fun to me, as strange as that sounds!

“2024 for me is all about getting to know our manufacturing clients and getting to know many new ones. As a business, manufacturing has always been really important to us, but I’m planning on giving it a whole new lease of life.

“Manufacturing is going through a tough time, with inflation, energy and borrowing costs all significantly impacting the sector, and I’m passionate about making sure that our work is mindful of these challenges as we head into the next phase of our offering.

“I’m also undertaking a qualification in coaching; I’m really interesting in people and getting the best out of them and this is an extension of that.”

If you have ideas on how we can positively impact the manufacturing sector while remaining conscious of increasing cost challenges, get in touch with Helen at helen.fawcett@waterstons.com