Inspirational Women To Receive APM Accolade

Inspirational role models for women entering engineering and project management Louise Hardy and Julie Wood are to be awarded Honorary Fellowshipof APM, to be announced at the APM Awards on 7 November.

Louise Hardy is a passionate civil engineer and this summer was in the Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering List produced by the Women’s Engineering Society.

She has specialised in the delivery of complex, nationally significant infrastructure projects, including as infrastructure director for the design and construction of the London 2012 Olympic Park, work on the HS1 Channel Tunnel rail link and on the Jubilee Line extension.

The mother of twin girls born two weeks after she left the Olympic Park project, Louise is now using her project and programme management experience to provide input and advice to businesses and clients on managing engineering and infrastructure projects. 

A 'Women in Science and Engineering' campaign in the 1980s inspired her. Today, she is inspiring others through voluntary work with the Institute of Civil Engineers and as an ambassador with educational charity STEMNET, which encourages participation in science and engineering-related subjects at schools and colleges. In the last year Louise has talked to over 1,000 schoolgirls aged 10-18 to inspire and encourage the next generation of project managers and engineers. 

She is a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Engineers that undertakes charitable works and promotes the engineering profession. She also gives up her time to mentor other women in the industry.

Julie Wood is an award-winning structural and civil engineer who has over 25 years' experience in construction and over 10 years working as a project manager. 

Her career has taken her from modest beginnings to a director at Arup, the international consultancy, where her current position is the global leader of programme and project management. Her role encompasses running the specialist programme and project management business and in London she has responsibility for a £16bn portfolio of projects and 120 people.

Julie continues to be a ‘hands on’ practitioner and leads complex projects such as the McLaren Technology Centre and The Southbank Centre and £560m biomedical facility, The Francis Crick Institution.  

She also provides troubleshooting, strategic advice and direction to other regional leaders. As a member of the Arup Consulting Executive for the UK, Middle East and Africa region, she heads cross-geography and cross-discipline initiatives.

Under Julie’s leadership, Arup has introduced a tailored training scheme resulting in staff taking APM qualifications and some achieving Registered Project Professionalstatus. This has led to the company recently winning the APM Project Management Company of the Year award and achieving APM corporate accreditation for its training and development programme.

Julie leads by example and engages regularly with staff through coaching and mentoring. She is passionate about sharing her extensive knowledge in the industry and became a Cherie Blair Women in Business Mentor in 2012. 

A Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Chartered Management Institute and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Julie has also been a non-executive director with both The University of Portsmouth and Benenden Hospital Trust, allowing her to bring her wide range of experience into other organisations at a strategic level.