Welcome to this very special EXTRA episode of Building Women – our podcast that shines a light on senior women in the construction industry and their journeys and achievements in an environment that is still male dominated.
In this special episode, which we recorded rather appropriately on International Women's Day, I had the privilege of interviewing not just one impressive woman in construction, but two: I sat down for a chat with the brilliant Terry Styant and Sophia Erfan, both Associate General Counsel at Balfour Beatty. Terri had a somewhat international upbringing but is now settled in Surrey with her husband and 'lockdown' cockapoo, Molly. Sophia lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and son. Both started out in private practice and both 'fell' into construction legal roles - today Terri is responsible for a team of 12 lawyers advising the business on operational matters ranging from ethics and governance to company secretarial work and Sophia manages a team of both lawyers and non-lawyers working on corporate matters which can range from ethics, compliance, dispute management and legal strategy and operations. They are a part of what the Legal 500s GC Powerlist calls a "trio of leaders".
Perhaps unusually, Terri and Sophia are part of an almost all-female legal team at BB and, even more unusually they perpetuate the somewhat emerging trend in this podcast series of senior women in construction having only sisters as siblings! I am sure there must be something in that.
Anyway, I do hope you enjoy our chat and that you have a couple of nuggets to take away that provoke some interesting thoughts and conversations within your own lives and careers.
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