On the back of International Women’s Day, we got to thinking how the ladies at MVIS make each day work. 

Our talented group of women are the driving force of this company. Working in most areas to ensure the company runs correctly, everyone goes home safe, and our Products are up to standard, delivered on time, and well maintained.

The MVIS ladies are not limited to the office, you can often find them across all areas of the company.

Here are some of the amazing women at the core of MVIS:

Anne Ashman, Commercial and Operations Director:

As the companies only original member from the initial start-up, and working at MVIS for almost 13 years now, Anne has been the driving force behind all the accreditations, policies, process, building of the team and general management of MVIS.  Pushing the company forward to new and better opportunities, working with all departments and individuals alike to ensure they always have the resources needed to fulfil their roles.

When she is not in the office planning for the future on projects or supporting the team, she is happy travelling across the UK to one of the 3 strategic hubs.  She can be found working at trade shows, such as Highways at the NEC, liaising with old and new customers, or even on site auditing the delivery team to ensure they meet the platinum level service she expects of every member of her team.

She is quiet often working with R&D on new product ideas, you would be surprised how many products start from Anne & Tom Hooton’s (R&D manager) drawings on a white board.  Anne may even be in the workshop working on our Solar Powered Solutions when a helping hand is needed, these are just a few of the areas she covers.  Also, as our qualified Transport Manager she oversees the fleet with Clair Tranter, head of customer relations.

Juliette Wright and Donna Cree, Sales Team

If you have ever called the MVIS office and been greeted by a pleasant voice at the end of the phone or made an enquiry through sales@m-vis.co.uk and had very quick response, you have, most likely been in contact with Juliette or Donna.

Sales and Business Development Executive Juliette has been visiting companies working on new business and developing relationships further with MVIS customers, Juliette never shies away from a site visit or from a meeting with clients at their offices.

Sales Support Admin, Donna has also visited site with our dedicated drivers, an initiative for all members of staff to understand the importance of safety delivering to roadsides.

Clair Tranter and April Flaherty, Customer Relations

Behind every one of our great delivery team are Customer Relations. Keeping the vehicles on the road, planning the deliveries, repairs of units and supporting all our customers with technical enquiries, relocations and Health & safety paperwork are amongst just a few of their daily tasks, but most of all they are there supporting the drivers on the road.

Clair and April are no strangers to visiting site, both have accompanied a driver to deliver a unit as part of the training initiative.

Clair spent two days in Cobham Delivering with the teams at our Southern Hub.  She regularly supports Anne with the transport management, overseeing getting all vehicles into the garages in a timely manner that ensures we have the resources needed on the road for deliveries to our customers, working on FORS and training all the delivery and workshop team.  She is our resident expert on our delivery system, working closely on health & safety after recently passing her IOSH managing safely to assist the delivery team with all RAMS.

April works on the planning of repairs and servicing of all units to ensure they are working correctly when out on site. Working closely with the workshop team, organising their daily tasks, ensuring stock is available for any repairs needed or for newly built units that are sold.

Mizzy Watson, R & D Assistant

Mizzy was promoted into the R&D team due to her technical knowledge of our ITS products.  She is a regular in the workshop testing new products or helping the workshop team with her knowledge of our products, training team members on the systems and even fixing products to keep them at the expected MVIS standard. 

She is a great help on the technical folders of all our products, ensuring all new products being developed are tested to the correct standards, and supplying the correct information for all the companies departments, to help support getting the units out to site.

One of our crowning achievements at MVIS is the dedication to inclusivity and ensuring that everyone has equal opportunities to shine and excel in different areas. We do not limit one person to one area, we are proud of our lovely lady’s commitment to MVIS and helping out on the roads, either from a desk or on the road network.

As the world celebrates International Women’s Day 2024, it’s rather apt to shine a spotlight on women who are breaking barriers and making significant strides in what could be conceived as traditionally male-dominated industries.

One such trailblazer is Anne Ashman, Group Commercial & Operations Director of MVIS, a leading provider of Portable VMS signs & Intelligent Transport Solutions.

Anne’s journey doesn’t just highlight personal achievement, but also underscores the progress being made in the highways industry towards gender equality and inclusivity. It also showcases MVIS as the inclusive company it is, putting ‘the best person for the job’ as the only criteria on the list for employment & progression opportunities.

Here we take a look at Anne’s career path with MVIS, her time in the highways sector, what brought Anne to where she is today, as well as some of the challenges faced and hurdles overcome on the route.

A Journey of Growth and Leadership

With over a decade of service at MVIS, Anne’s journey is a testament to her commitment, resilience, and leadership qualities.

Starting from the role of Office Manager within the company in 2012, Anne has steadily progressed through the ranks. Her journey exemplifies the opportunities for growth and advancement available to women in the sector, and at MVIS in particular.

The highways industry has historically been perceived as a male-dominated sector. However, the landscape is shifting, with an ever-growing female presence across a range of roles – from operative to boardroom level.

Anne’s leadership role at MVIS highlights this shift, and the company has a further female presence within its workforce to the tune of 35% percent – showcasing the continued opportunities available to females in the sector via a career with MVIS.

With ‘the best person for the job’ the ultimate goal, more women are welcomed not just into the sector in general, but into leadership positions within MVIS.

The Importance of Female Leadership

The presence of female role models like Anne is not only essential for promoting gender equality but also for driving innovation, and adding diverse perspectives within organisations.

As Anne continues to lead by example at MVIS, she contributes to the company’s success and reinforces the importance of female leadership in driving organisational growth and sustainability.

This ‘on the ground’ skillset is in addition to highlighting to females both in, and interested in entering the highways industry that it is a career path that brings opportunity for growth and progression.

A Brighter Future

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, Anne’s journey serves as a reminder of the progress being made towards gender equality in the highways industry and beyond.

With more women like Anne assuming leadership roles, the future looks brighter and more inclusive than ever before. As we continue to champion diversity and empower women in the workplace, we pave the way for a more equitable and prosperous industry for all.

We spoke to Anne about being a female leader in a sector typically seen as male dominated, as well as some of the challenges faced, as well as crucially how they were overcome.

Anne told us:

“The sector is certainly a different landscape to the one I entered in 2012, with the number of females drastically increased. Take a look around an industry event or exhibition in 2024 and there’s almost a 50/50 split of males and females in the room. In 2012, women were very much a minority there.

Whilst working in the Highways Sector, I have had opportunities that I may not have had in other industries. Yes, I was a female in a male industry, but as someone who has always believed in equality and a role being filled by the right person, not a gender, then this didn’t bother me.

What I did do was take all the opportunities offered that has allowed me to move to the role I am now in. My list of qualifications and skills is endless, this is what I want others to read, it’s about hard work and grabbing the opportunities you are offered. Whether your female, non-binary, or male, you only gain by putting in the hard work and not being discouraged by being who you are”.

MVIS are always happy to serve our local community. When MVIS staff were asked to assist with mock interviews at Highfields School, they quickly stepped up to help.

Over the course of a morning, our Commercial and Operations Director, Anne Ashman and Sales and Marketing Executive, Ben Ashman visited Highfields with the opportunity to interview three students each. The mock interviews help prepare the year 11 students for the near future when they will be attending real life interviews for colleges or workplace apprenticeships.

Anne, and Ben, were able to give the students the experience of sitting across from someone in an interview environment. Feedback was supplied to all students on areas they did well and advice on what they could do better, giving them the opportunity to improve their interview technique. 

Over the years, MVIS have worked closely with Highfields, whether it be providing VMS to promote the schools talented students in their annual musical, working on a year end challenge project set by the company or taking part in mock interviews and providing work experience.

Anne Ashman commented “With many members of the MVIS staff being Highfields Alumni, MVIS are always happy to assist.  The mock interviews are also a way for us to “tap in to the local upcoming talent at an early stage”, gaining many apprentices over the last 10 years from Highfields”.