Lucy Henton-Lacey is an Aftermarket Sales Coordinator at BeaconMedaes, where she uses data and performance insights to help maintain high service standards and build strong customer relationships. She works closely with service operations, field engineering, and sales teams to support customers and drive continuous improvement across the business.
What inspired you to pursue a career in engineering?
My Dad was in the engineering industry for most of his working life, predominantly within the Medical Gas industry. Naturally, he was a big inspiration to me growing up and I was fortunate to be offered the opportunity to work alongside him. It was a career change for me at the time, moving from a background in export and marketing, to a role in an engineering industry but it felt more suited to my skillset and proved to be a great decision professionally, leading me to gain a wealth of experience over the past 12 years.
Can you tell us a bit about your role and what a typical day looks like?
As Aftermarket Sales Coordinator, a large part of my role is monitoring KPI’s and data which helps us ensure we’re maintaining a high standard of service across our client base. Producing reports based on this data, highlighting any areas for improvement, and presenting this to customers helps us sustain and build relationships with them. The role means I also get to work with the service operations, field engineering and sales teams, which is something I enjoy; I’ve always been a people person, so the collaboration is really rewarding to me.
What has your experience been as a woman in engineering?
I’ve always found it to be a really positive experience. I’ve continually had great interactions with colleagues and customers and never felt held back in what is perceived as a male-dominated industry. Working at BeaconMedaes has only strengthened that view for me.
What’s something people would be surprised to learn about you?
I actually studied German at university! Which goes to show that there are so many ways you can get into engineering. When it comes to a career, a lot of us don’t really know which path we want to take when we’re younger, but if you feel passionately about something and are willing to put the hard work in, it’s never too late to change direction.
What does success look like to you?
Career progression is always something I’ve found rewarding, but probably of equal importance for me is job satisfaction. If I’m doing a good job, seeing results and gaining positive feedback from colleagues and customers, then that really gives me confidence and a feeling of accomplishment.
Why do you think Women in Engineering Day is important?
I think it’s important to raise the profile of women in an industry that is typically male dominated. Highlighting our contributions and achievements across a variety of roles within the field can only help in inspiring future generations of girls to pursue a career within engineering. When I first started in the industry, I was the only female in the business I worked in. Now, I see so many other women entering the industry and am lucky enough to work alongside a lot of them, too.
