A Denbigh based female headhunter, in the male dominated civil engineering recruitment sector, is being celebrated for her success as a businesswoman.
Sam Davies is a finalist in the Entrepreneur category at Chwarae Teg’s Womenspire Awards, where her she will be recognised as a forerunner in her field – having set up one of only four of such businesses in the UK and the only one with a woman at the helm.
Having founded iConsult Technical (www.iconsult-technical.com) only 5 years ago, Sam now has a small team in Denbigh. Together they work with over 11,000 engineers each year – getting the right candidates to the right jobs for major infrastructure contractors and consultancies, nationwide and overseas.
Passionate about Wales, Sam is proud to have grown the business to employ staff members from the local area who she encourages to learn and develop in their roles. She also has philanthropy at the core of the business, having raised thousands for charities such as Sense and donating to the children’s ward at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd.
Sam said: “Being named as a finalist in the Womenspire Awards is a real achievement and I’m delighted. It’s been hard work building the business, especially as I am relatively young at 30 and work in a male dominated sector, but it has been worth it.
“I worked as an employee within recruitment agencies for some time before starting up on my own. I felt that the sector often had an aggressive environment to work in. I wanted to create a business without that sort of culture and prove that a softer approach can be just as, if not more, successful.”
Cerys Furlong, Chief Executive, Chwarae Teg: “Sam is what Womenspire is all about and deserves every recognition. She has shown that women can compete in a man’s world on a national scale even from a small office in rural Wales. She also encourages other women to progress their careers within the engineering and scientific industry which is incredibly important.
“The way she conducts herself and her business makes her real role model to others, especially women who are often lack the confidence to set up on their own.
“At Chwarae Teg we are working hard through our Future Female Founders project with NatWest and Simply Do Ideas to encourage more female entrepreneurs, so we need more role models like Sam.”