Rashad in Conversation

Steffan Speer joined Morgan Sindall in 2007 and has held a variety of roles within the construction industry including commercial and project management. Through the experience of delivering projects as commercial, project and preconstruction lead, Steffan has gained invaluable experience in helping teams and customers successfully deliver projects in an efficient manner. Within his role, Steffan is responsible for developing change strategies across our operations to help improve the performance of the construction division. Steffan has a passion for delivering quality, and implementing technology and manufacturing principles to help improve operational efficiency across construction. Steffan is the chair of the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI) Construction Special Interest Group (SIG), chaired the Constructing Excellence Club in the Yorkshire and Humber Region and is a committee member of the South Yorkshire CIOB Steering Group.

Colin Campbell is an Associate Director in the Improving Project Delivery team with the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT). The Scottish Government established SFT in 2008 to act as an independent centre of expertise to deliver improvements in the public sector’s planning, innovation, delivery and management of infrastructure. Colin’s work within SFT has been focused on improving construction quality since 2018. He is a chartered civil engineer, a member of the Association for Project Management and has over 44 years experience in the construction industry. Prior to joining SFT he was involved in the delivery of projects across the UK and in Singapore, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. He is currently co-chair of the Construction Quality Improvement Collaborative (CQIC), a sector wide campaign for improving construction quality, with a reach across Scotland. 

Megan A. Speight, M.S. has worked in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors in Communications, Culture and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. In her current role as Culture, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion(DE&I) Manager at Project Management Institute, Ms. Speight leads and works with cross functional teams to advance PMI’s work in this space. In this role, Ms. Speight promotes a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture, and positions PMI as a growing force in the DE&I space by integrating it into the different components of the organization, profession and global community. Megan is a native of Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, USA, but resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Springside School, obtained her B.A. in Communications from George Mason University and her M.S. in Public Communication from Drexel University. Ms. Speight has her Diversity and Inclusion Certificate from eCornell and is the first ever recipient of the DEI Champion Award from Women of Project Management. She is Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for Project 440, Chair of their Marketing Advisory Committee, and is a member of the Junior League of Philadelphia. Check the podcast page: www.theprojectedit.com

Sarah Haroon Sualehi is a doctoral student in the Workforce, Adult, and Lifelong Education program at Texas A&M University. She has a master’s degree in International Education from New York University and brings over a decade of work experience in education across cultures and geographies. Sarah also serves as a Graduate Research Assistant at the Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning (TCALL) at Texas A&M University. She uses data and evaluation to improve the services that TCALL provides and co-leads publishing efforts to further develop the field of adult education and literacy.  Sarah’s research interests include transformational learning in nontraditional settings, South Asian, Eastern, and Indigenous epistemologies, and cross-cultural approaches to adult education and digital literacy. Her analytical lens centers concepts such as belonging, justice, and south-south transformation. She has recently been selected as a 2024 Gaines Graduate Scholar in recognition of her hard work.

Hussain Ali MEng CQP MCQI is a Senior Quality Manager with a track record in Construction and across different industries, Hussain is currently working on the Qiddiya Project, a key 2030 vision GIGA projects, in Saudi Arabia. Previously worked on the Super Sewer Project (Tideway) in London, Heathrow Airport, and helped to build two new power stations in South Africa with Eskom. Hussain has actively participated  in different working groups within the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI), focusing on developing specialised training for construction industry quality professionals and helping to develop robust model for the Cost of Quality. He is also a mentor, guiding other Quality Professionals to achieve chartered status with the CQI. His career is rooted in a commitment to elevating the role of a Quality Manager, beyond the current expectations, and driving impactful change within the realm of Quality Management.

Michael is CX* thought leader and creator of the CX Excellence Framework used by organisations around the world.  Michael spent over a decade in the USA working with GE Health on their world-wide Patient Experience programme. He also worked with USA brands such as Harley Davidson, IBM, Microsoft, MBNA, Citibank, FAO Schwartz, American Airlines, Dell, HP and Miller beer. Michael returned to Ireland in 1994 and set up the Dialogue Marketing agency creating award winning campaigns for organisations across many sectors and B2B/B2C Markets. Michael is passionate about CX and in 2014 launched The CX Company, a CX consultancy and Employee Experience (EX) communications and embedding group.   Michael spends much of his time educating organisations about the benefits of CX and founded The CX Academy in 2019 to provide certified online CX learning. The CX Certificate, Diploma and Essential courses are recognised as the global standard for CX certification and today operate in 90+ countries. He speaks and writes passionately about the CX discipline. He has spoken at conferences around the world and shares best practice insights on CX/EX* Excellence delivery helping companies to have greater success with their projects.

Mohammed Diab is Quality Assurance Manager with over 15 years of experience in quality management systems, quality auditing, welding, and non-destructive testing. He has managed large-scale projects of over than 2 billion dollars in value, and teams of about 160 members. He holds numerous certifications, including ASQ CMQ/OE, ASNT NDT Level III, IRCA Principal Auditor QMS ISO 9001:2018, PMP, and more. Throughout his career, Mohammed has been committed to continuous learning and professional development for himself and those around him. Mohammed is a co-author of two books: one being a mindmap companion book for the ASQ Certified Manager of Quality - Organisational Excellence, and the other is Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) & Procedure Qualification Record (PQR) Practical Guide, which has maintained a customer satisfaction quality level above 94% for over five years.

Kevin Newey (CQP, MCQI) - the driving force behind cutting-edge innovation as the Chair of the Greater Peterborough & Cambridge branch and the visionary Global Head of Quality at Graphcore. With Graphcore's groundbreaking Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU) technology, Kevin is part of a team that empowers creators to forge the future of machine intelligence, unlocking untapped human potential. With a remarkable 25-year journey through the realms of high tech, software, semiconductors, biotech, and pharmaceuticals, Kevin is your go-to expert in business transformation, governance, and assurance. He thrives on his passion to harness technology's transformational power, shaping a brighter and more equitable world for all.

Here are the highlights from episodes with my guests in the previous 12 episodes. I have learned a lot, and I hope you did too.

A values-driven Chartered Quality Professional with a proven pedigree in creating, implementing, and managing best-in-class Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental (QHSE) management systems. A leader in governance and compliance who can coach, mentor, and empower the workforce to create a collaborative culture built on engagement that demonstrates excellence in risk management and sustainable business practice. Susan Samaroo CQI MCQP is the Group Quality Manager at Precision NDT LLC. She is the Vice Chair of the Caribbean Branch supporting Quality Professionals with the Chartered Quality Institiute, volunteers with the Gloucester Branch, and the Digital Transformation special interest group. You can connect with Susan on LinkedIn