In our special column, we are glad to host an interview with Mrs Teresa Peacock, Managing Director at Spinnaker who has been in the maritime industry for 13 years now, but she has experience in Recruitment and Selection for over 30 years. Revealing data from Spinnaker, it is disappointing that women account for 5% of maritime leadership roles, but she hopes to see this improving for future generations in the shipping industry. As she explains, video conferencing is the new habit discovered recently that changed her professional life since today – more than ever- this enables her continue meeting with clients and candidates.
SAFETY4SEA: How did it come about that you joined shipping industry and your field of expertise specifically?
Teresa Peacock: I have been in the maritime industry for 13 years now, but I have worked in Recruitment and Selection for over 30 years. After selling my business I met Phil Parry who is one of the founders of Spinnaker, he asked me to join him and I have been there ever since. I was so unaware of the maritime industry before Spinnaker, but that shows just how invisible it can be if you are not directly involved in it. Hence the importance of getting the message out so we can attract younger people into it.
S4S: What about your current job/ role most excites you and why?
T.P.: The people I meet – from every sector of the maritime world, from all around the globe, different backgrounds and different cultures. What a great bunch of people, extremely friendly and welcoming. How fortunate I am! I have missed not being able to travel over the last year because of the pandemic – hopefully it won’t be too long before I can.
S4S: When you think of the word successful who’s the first person who comes to mind and why?
T.P.: Success is such a subjective notion, and such a social construct. Enjoying your life, sharing your experience of it with friends and family, having good health – all of those things are a success to me.
S4S: Who is/was the most influential person/mentor to you & why ?
T.P.: My father. He had seven daughters. He taught us all to work hard; he ran a successful business, but also to enjoy life. He taught us the importance of being independent in a man’s world. He is 91 now and I can still turn to him for his advice.
S4S: What is the best and what was the worst piece of advice you’ve ever been given and why?
T.P.: The best piece of advice was ‘Speak kindly to yourself’ – we can be very hard on ourselves, we can tell ourselves we aren’t good enough, clever enough and so on. We should speak positively to ourselves. Life is difficult enough without us being negative to ourselves.
When it comes to worst, it’s not necessarily advice that someone explicitly said to me, but in a male dominated industry it can often be expected that for a woman to be successful and join her male colleagues in the boardroom that she should act like a man. But we know that true diversity comes from having a mix of voices and experiences in the room, we shouldn’t have to act differently to be respected. By having that true mix is how productivity can thrive.
S4S: What is the most worthwhile career investment (in energy, time, money) you’ve ever made?
T.P.: Invest time in reading. When you come across something new take the time to learn about it. Set aside time in your diary to read every week, it will pay you back dividends.
S4S: If you could give a piece of advice to your 18-year-old-self one thing, what would it be and why? What piece of advice should you ignore?
T.P.: Enjoy your day. So much of one’s life passes in a blur – take time to enjoy what you are involved with in that moment. Appreciate your situation and surroundings, because you may miss it! I look back on some of the wonderful countries I have visited and wish I had taken more notice. And ignore the fact that you should look at others and compare yourself. This is your path and your path alone! It’s ok to be inspired by others, but don’t compare what you’re doing to others.
S4S: In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your business life?
T.P.: Video conferencing! It meant I could continue meeting clients and candidates, and actually, it will affect how I do business going forward – instead of using conference calls with very often poor quality – video conferencing is definitely the way forward.
S4S: What would you like to change in the current maritime landscape and your area of expertise specifically and why?
T.P.: In recruitment we’re seeing gradual changes to make the industry more diverse, but there is still a lot of work to be done. We are advocates for diversity of all kinds. At Spinnaker we have access to a huge amount of HR insight through our benchmarking membership bodies and just this month we revealed that women account for 5% of maritime leadership roles. I hope to see this improving for future generations in the shipping industry.
S4S: What is your personal motto?
T.P.: I have lots! Enjoy the moment. You’re not nervous – you’re excited! And speak kindly to yourself.
The views presented hereabove are only those of the author and do not necessarily those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.
Teresa has worked in Recruitment and Search for more than three decades. She completed a management buyout of the Locum Group, and subsequent trade sale to Reed Health some 8 years later, after growing the business from a staff of 25 to 180. Teresa has experience across a wide range of industries, which includes managing offices and recruitment projects all over the world. Her vast experience means she is perfectly suited to developing and delivering tailored recruitment solutions for Spinnaker’s clients such as the cruise shipowner who needed to hire 40+ fleet management staff including a number of senior appointments for a newly relocated headquarters.
Teresa joined Spinnaker in 2008 and worked alongside the CEO and Chairman as Business Development Director, before becoming Managing Director in 2014.
Appointments:
- Fellow, Institute of Recruitment Professionals
- Membership Secretary, WISTA (Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association).
- Member of the governmental All-Party, Parliamentary Group on Women in Work.
- Member of the Maritime UK – Diversity in Maritime Taskforce
- Board Advisor, Dryad Global
Teresa is actively involved in helping young people at school prepare job applications and mock interviews. She is also involved with promoting careers within shipping, with the ‘Inspiring the Future’ project, which connects schools and colleges with employers and people from the world of work.
