Amy is a finance manager with Keyline, part of Travis Perkins. During her career in the industry, Amy has developed massively from starting in the yard to transport to now working as a finance manager as well as balancing starting a family.
In 2013, Amy Desai joined Keyline, a leading specialist civils and drainage solutions business, supporting housebuilders, groundworkers and infrastructure contractors with the products they need to build and redevelop houses, roads, rail, utilities and other facilities from 40+ branches across the UK.
Amy was attracted to the role by learning on the job and challenging herself in a male-dominated industry. Having worked herself up from the yard to sales, and then via transport to administration, Amy demonstrated her value and commitment: “Being young and female meant I had to work hard, but this was recognised and colleagues were really supportive when I was promoted; first to assistant branch manager and then to branch manager at Keyline Brentford,” she explained.
When Amy decided to have children, she worried about how she would combine this with being a branch manager: “I loved my job, but there were few childcare options. Having discussed it with the Financial Director and the Sales Director, however, I was delighted they saw my potential and offered me a home-based finance manager role. This enabled me to learn and grow, whilst adding value, developing my career and having a family.”
Amy now has a child, aged three, and says the new family leave policies have been invaluable: “For the first three months, I worked part-time by using my holiday allowance. This meant I could ease myself back into work and build up my confidence gradually. It really was an amazing experience,” Amy concluded.
Amy has seen an increase in more women joining the industry and growing their careers within it: “Since I started working here, I’ve seen so many more women coming through the ranks and building thriving careers here. Women are now paving the way for others, so it doesn’t matter if you’re a guy or a girl, as long as you’re willing to learn, there are so many varied roles, and potential for progression here.”
