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AN INDUSTRY OPENING ITS ARMS TO WOMEN An interview with Allison Smith and Fiona Tellefson Executive Managers, Urban Development and Project Management, APP Corporation & NAWIC Members
While construction continues to be a male-dominated industry, there are pockets where gender is less of a concern for women considering a career in this field. Meet Allison Smith and Fiona Tellefson, Executive Managers with property and infrastructure consultancy APP Corporation. Allison and Fiona lead different areas within the APP business. Allison is the Executive Manager for Urban Development whilst Fiona is the Executive Manager for Project Management. Both oversee teams nationally and have been in the property industry for over 25 years. They’ve seen the industry evolve over time and share their observations with NAWIC.
Allison Smith
We started by asking Allison and Fiona about their career journeys A: At 18, I spent a year dabbling as an assistant town planner and taking a sports scholarship in tennis. I ultimately decided that town planning was my first love and moved into the private sector at age 25 to work on land development and planning consulting. Years later I transitioned into a Project Management/Development Management career, when I joined APP. They were a project management company when I joined. We won the Edmondson Park project, which was a master planned community. APP’s urban business grew from there and I helped to grow and diversify this division. I’ve also had the privilege of being part of APP’s executive team since 2015, steering the national business. F: I graduated as a civil engineer in the early 90s, which back then wasn’t specialised like it is today. There were very few women studying engineering then. My first role was with design consultants Irwin Consult, now WSP, as a structural engineer. Over time I made the move into 34
THE NAWIC JOURNAL
“Women communicate differently, at a different emotional level, and we look at things differently. These days diverse thinking is encouraged, but back in the day, not so much.” Allison Smith
