Marc Stedman

When did you realise this was the career path for you?

I wasn’t a child growing up who said “I want to be a Civil Engineer”. I actually grew up on a farm, and in that environment you build and fix things yourself – you become a problem solver. My parents said I could take on the farm as long as I got a trade first. My father was a qualified electrician.

Upon leaving school I had the option to continue full time education or undertake a training scheme with the local authority. I took on the training scheme and never looked back. I’m now really proud to travel around the area and see things I played a part in designing.

Have you got any words of wisdom for someone starting out in a similar role?

Say ‘yes’. I have always been the sort of person to say yes to management asking me to do something. This has always opened more doors than it has closed. It’s not what you do that you regret the most, it’s what you don’t do. Be agile.

As the great author and public speaker, Simon Sinek, would say – don’t be afraid to be the ‘stupidest person’ in the room. Ask, ask and ask again. You won’t be alone – but you might be the brave one to put yourself out there. 

How does SYSTRA stand out from the rest as a great place to work?

At this point of my career, I have worked at a few places, but SYSTRA is different – good different.

It’s large enough to be on the biggest projects but still feels close knit.  At SYSTRA, you’re not ‘just another number’, and everyone is able to interact with senior leadership directly.

There are good values which people adhere too, clear direction from the top down, and everyone’s efforts are focused in the same direction.

Me and my team interact with global delivery teams regularly, and with our headquarters being in France, there is a certain je ne sais quoi.

With such power in diversity, what unique perspective do you bring to the table?

I definitely recognise and support the benefits and innovation that diversity, however you wish to define it, brings to projects and workplace environments.

If you have a team full of the same people, then you won’t get the best results.

Where is the place that has inspired you the most?

My wife and I are both in the same business and we travel quite a lot. The one place we always talk about is Iceland. The environmental credentials are incredible; the use of natural resources is inspiring. It’s clean and you can see how proud the community is. The geology and natural environment is so powerful, it really is something to behold – and a very short flight away from the UK.

What does true sustainability really mean to you?

Being a Fellow Chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), sustainability is at the heart of my work. 

I have seen first-hand the impact of flooding on communities, and the fact we are seeing climate change within a generation is mind blowing.  

We have to think holistically about sustainability, with the three recognised pillars being economic, environmental and social. We must focus on all three of these areas to improve the quality of people’s lives. 

Everything we do impacts the lives of our clients’ stakeholders, so we need to ensure the impact is positive.

What would a green future look like?

A ‘green’ future is a great goal, but only half of what we need. We need to talk about a blue and green future.  

We should consider a blue and green future as concepts that are intertwined strategies focused on sustainable development. A blue future emphasises the sustainable use of ocean and coastal resources for sustainable economic growth, while a green future focuses on broader environmental sustainability, including terrestrial resources. 

Approximately 50% – 80% of our oxygen comes from the ocean. 

I would surmise that a green future is one based on a circular economy where we can live neutrally within our environment as a minimum.

How do you look after your wellbeing outside of work?

Well, if you ask my doctor, probably not as well as I should; but I try to break it into two parts – physical and mental. 

Physically, me and my wife walk a lot. We have a very demanding dog that gets us out of the house at least twice a day. I also do some resistance exercise but could do more, and I certainly could stretch more. 

Mentally, and this links back to being a farmer, I have taken on gardening as a mindfulness exercise. This has a physical element to it as well, as I do garden with high energy. 

It gives me pleasure creating something with my hands. While I’m doing it, I am totally focused on the task in front of me and at the end of it I can see something I have created. And there is always something to do.

If you could spend your lunchbreak with someone you really admire, who would you choose?

There are so many people to have lunch with, so I’m restricting this to those who are living. 

Professionally, it would have to be Simon Sinek. I find his way of thinking so logical. He explains things in a simple way that is easy to apply. 

Another person would have to be my wife (but don’t tell her). Seeing the way she works, her insights and instincts, is amazing. Fortunately, I get to have dinner with her most nights.

If you had to pick, which mode of transport would you use for the rest of your life?

That’s such a hard question. I’m a very practical person who applies the most suitable tool to a problem. I do love to fly, as a passenger. Me and my wife have talked in the past about moving to America and having visited there regularly you see people having their own planes. That would be cool, but not very sustainable, or practical for doing the weekly shop down the road. 

I’m assuming Marty McFly’s DeLorean doesn’t count?