Watch, listen, learn – Marie Foley

Watch, listen, learn

A P3 industry leader reflects on the impact of early mentors

Marie Foley PQS, LEED AP, MRICS, was born in Toronto, but moved back and forth between Ireland and Canada while growing up. She studied at the Limerick Institute of Technology, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Quantity Surveying as well as a Diploma in Construction Economics and Management. Following a co-op placement, she joined Helyar & Associates, which later merged with two other firms to form the Altus Group in 2005. She joined BTY Group in 2015 as the Director of P3 Advisory Services in North America. She now leads BTY’s P3 Advisory Services Business Unit and heads the firm’s office in Toronto.

Over the past 19 years she has led technical due diligence services on more than 100 Design-Build-Finance-Maintain P3 projects across Canada, the US, and Turkey. Marie frequently presents at international industry events and is recognized for her leadership in mentoring and advocating to advance the leadership of women in infrastructure.

Ihave been extremely fortunate throughout my career to have mentors who inspired me and modelled leadership.

I joined Helyar & Associates as an intern in Toronto in 2000, with their cost management team. Healthcare projects were plenty and so I began with measurement and estimating.

The firm was an exciting place in which to work. I was given a solid technical foundation – big projects, problem solving, and the opportunity to get involved in nearly anything that was happening in the office. It was an environment where I understood my technical role and how I fit into the bigger team; one that also gave me the opportunity to observe my leaders closely.

There, the firm mentored me on coordinating teams and facilitating meetings, long before I would ever have occasion to do so. When I was wrong, they told me so, and I quickly learned not to take it personally. They took me along to meetings, workshops, and presentations, before I had anything to add, so I could watch, listen, and learn. They weren’t only developing my professional skills; they were cultivating my understanding of how they worked together to grow the firm.

With P3’s ramping up around 2003, I began getting involved in Technical Advisory Due Diligence services under the careful watch of a new mentor. His leadership style was different than I had experienced before, but very effective. Under his guidance I learned new technical skills, including working on different social infrastructure assets: justice, education, recreation, culture, and transportation. I was able to shadow him closely for many years, and watched how he handled meetings with multiple stakeholders, coaxed information, delivered bad news, and managed client expectations. He took the time to explain both technical and soft strategies, and I often needed lots of explanation. He had great patience for

me and the foundation he provided in P3s enabled me to engage in abundant opportunities for continuous learning.

When I met the partners at BTY, I was eager to learn about what it takes to run a successful consultancy – about growth strategy, entering new markets, and developing new services. I was immediately impressed by their entrepreneurial approach and willingness to support, and so I joined their team at the start of 2015. The firm provided an ideal opportunity to learn the nuts and bolts about building a business – and BTY with its team approach felt like family right from the start.

BTY’s culture encourages mentoring and developing the next generation of leaders, and I was excited to share and use all the management and leadership skills I had been quietly cataloguing through the years.

I am most proud of the last few years of my career, in my role as Director of P3 Advisory Services. I lead a team and shares best practices, lessons learned, and all the nuanced soft skills that have shaped me as a professional. We acknowledge and celebrate the big and small successes of team members: positive client feedback, a well-delivered presentation, and an effortless networking event. Small successes are the foundation for professional confidence. The team I work with is smart, hardworking and fun but, more importantly, extremely supportive of each other.

I am often asked if being a woman has been a challenge for me in the construction industry. My early mentors were all men, who never placed me in a position that made me think I would have a harder time than my male counterparts. Later in my career I became more aware of the challenges women in our industry face, as I tried to mimic what I believed were the leadership qualities I had observed in my mentors – confidence, decisiveness, direct feedback – and I came across instances where I found that those attributes are not always recognized as positive qualities in a woman. It can be challenging to shake off negative or limiting perceptions sometimes assigned to women in the industry, especially when it comes to leadership. But for progress to continue and scale up, it’s important for me to keep trying. I have become good friends with many strong women who overcome these challenges to succeed and give back, which gives me tremendous inspiration.

Looking back at my experience, the early mentoring opened my imagination to the kind of career and opportunities I could have and built my confidence. Those exceptional mentors set the scene for my career. The soft skills I observed and the advice I was given were not just relevant for my role in the team then, they are still relevant for my role in the team now.

I often share the same advice I was given in those first few years: listen to your clients, ask questions, value everyone’s time, don’t answer if you don’t know, etc. Timeless advice, and I continue to observe.

Our concern for the environment is more than just talk

Company

A.W. Hooker Associates Ltd.

Page

41

Phone # Website

905-823-8111 www.awhooker.com

Advicas Group Consultants Inc. 34 250-383-1008 www.advicas.com

Altus Group 23, 38 905-953-9948 www.altusgroup.com BC Quantity Surveyors Inc. 36 778-896-8116 www.bcqs.ca/index.html Bisceglia & Associates 15 905-695-5200 www.lawtoronto.com BTY Group 30-31 416-596-9339 www.bty.com CB Ross Partners 24 416-487-3330 www.cbross.ca

ConEcon Consultants 11 604-522-8970 www.conecon.ca

Craig Kelman & Associates George Brown College Goldman Sloan Nash & Haber LLP

Hanscomb Limited 18

48

16

25 888-988-5670 www.kelman.ca

800-265-2002 www.coned.georgebrown.ca 416-597-9922 www.gsnh.com 416-487-3811 www.hanscomb.com

Heal & Co. LLP 29 416-583-5900 www.healandco.com

Lakeland Consulting Inc. LCO Construction and Mgmt 2

47

Ontario General Contractors Association 36 905 829 4000 www.lakelandconsulting.com 514-846-8914 www.lcogroup.com 905-671-3969 www.ogca.ca

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP 14 416-362-2111 (Toronto Office) www.osler.com

Pelican Woodcliff Inc.

QS Online Cost Consultants Inc.

6, 41 36, 44 QSM – Mechanical Quantity Surveying 18 Rider Levett Bucknall 38 905-889-9996 www.pelicanwoodcliff.com 902 405-1504 www.qsonlinecostconsultants.com 416-949-8540 www.qsmcon.ca 905-827-8218 www.rlb.com

Tamkali Limited 36 416-915-3190 www.tamkali.ca

TD Insurance

The Canadian Association of Consulting Quantity Surveyors Turner & Townsend cm2r Inc. 47

22

32 866-269-1371 www.melochemonnex.com

519-766-5828 www.cacqs.ca

416-925-1424 www.turnerandtownsend.com

Please support these advertisers who help make Construction Economist possible.

To reach construction and quantity surveying professionals through Construction Economist and its targeted readership, contact Jeff at your earliest convenience to discuss your company’s promotional plans.

Jeff Kutny, Marketing Manager jeff@kelman.ca • 866-985-9789

Published for CIQS by:

An exciting benefit for you as a Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors designation holder.

Get preferred rates and coverage that fits your needs.

Recommended by You save with preferred insurance rates.

Take advantage of your member benefits.

You have access to the TD Insurance Meloche Monnex program. This means you can get preferred insurance rates on a wide range of home, condo, renter’s and car coverage that can be customized for your needs.

For over 65 years, TD Insurance has been helping Canadians find quality insurance solutions.

Feel confident your coverage fits your needs. Get a quote now.

HOME | CONDO | CAR

Get a quote and see how much you could save ! Call 1-888-589-5656 or go to tdinsurance.com/ciqs

The TD Insurance Meloche Monnex program is underwritten by SECURITY NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY. It is distributed by Meloche Monnex Insurance and Financial Services, Inc. in Québec, by Meloche Monnex Financial Services Inc. in Ontario, and by TD Insurance Direct Agency Inc. in the rest of Canada. Our address: 50 Place Crémazie, 12th Floor, Montréal, Québec H2P 1B6. Due to provincial legislation, our car and recreational insurance program is not o ered in British Columbia, Manitoba or Saskatchewan. All trade-marks are the property of their respective owners. ® The TD logo and other TD trade-marks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank.

Education That Fits You

With evening, weekend and online classes starting throughout the year, we make it simple to fit learning into your schedule. Select individual courses best suited to your interests, or register for those courses that make up a certificate or designation requirement. You can work toward a program at your own pace – you register (and pay) on a course-by-course basis.

TRAINING THAT DELIVERS CONCRETE RESULTS

Continuing Education at George Brown College

Discover our courses and programs in construction, estimating and quantity surveying. Taught by industry professionals using the latest tools and standards, these courses provide you with the skills to succeed. Our series of Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (CIQS) accredited courses provide opportunities to develop your skills and expand your career potential. Classes are held at our Casa Loma Campus (160 Kendal Avenue) in downtown Toronto or online.

Programs Canadian Construction Association (CCA) Gold Seal

Credit Courses Construction Estimating Certificate Construction Project Management Certificate Construction Superintendent Certificate Electrical Estimating Certificate Mechanical Estimating Certificate