Meet Maren! She’s our new Business Development Manager for the US and having spent over a decade in senior leadership positions, Maren joins us with a wealth of technical and operational expertise to support our development across North America. Speaking on her career history, plans for the region, and what she believes sets Fulkrum apart from other service providers, here’s what Maren had to say about her new role.

• Can you give an insight into your career history and background?

My career started in Vietnam when I worked  as Operational Marketing Manager where I developed strategic marketing divisions tailored specifically to support the company’s overarching goals. From there I spent time in India working with one of India’s leading Shipping Service companies as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

I moved to the US and have spent time across a few states, but it was when I moved to Houston that my career in the Oil and Gas industry truly kicked-off. I spent time as a Global Key Accounts Manager and Operations Manager where I managed the activities across the Technical Staffing Service (TSS) and Midstream Technical Inspection Services  and Vendor Surveillance  Inspection Services VSS) divisions. From there I went on to work with a leading inspection, testing, and certification company spending time as the Sales and Business Development Manager and General Manager.

I realised my passion was for Business Development, I love putting in the time and effort to build meaningful relationships with key customers and I’m a big believer in pursuing something you enjoy, so I followed that and landed my current role as Business Development Manager for North America with Fulkrum.

• With over a decade in Management and Leadership roles, how will your knowledge and expertise contribute to Fulkrum’s development across the US?

I think what I bring to Fulkrum is not only Business Development expertise, but also my operational background. Having this insight means I can anticipate client needs and operationally execute projects from A-Z; it’s that next level service we’re going for, we want to go above and beyond and not only meet client needs but exceed them with how we execute our processes.

• Having worked with key players across the industry, what do you believe sets Fulkrum apart from other service providers?

Speaking from my own experience, Fulkrum was a hard name to miss. Everywhere you look, Fulkrum’s name is mentioned on repeat, securing one major contract after another. So, naturally my interest peaked. When I looked a little further, I saw this energetic company that had a desire and dedication for efficiency. Fulkrum’s people and systems drive to be as efficient as they can and it’s a mindset that’s encouraged throughout the company.

I also think they’ve been strategic about the systems they incorporate into their activities. They embrace technology and utilise it to enhance various aspects of the business such as tracking and data mining for projects and for their stringent vetting process, gathering data to ensure the inspectors are the right fit for our clients.

• What has been your biggest learning curve so far in your career?

Throughout my career, my strengths have grown operationally which has been invaluable to my current role, but I think one thing I’ve learned over the years is you’ve got to do what you’re passionate about. I realised quite recently that what I truly love is meeting clients and building personal relationships so, I made the decision to move back into Business Development in an industry I love being part of.

• What are your goals for the region and how do they contribute to Fulkrum’s development plans?

Fulkrum performs so well already with inspections, securing projects wins across the industry, and maintaining great relationships with their clients, so my goal is to continue this traction but also help them grow further.

I’m particularly looking forward to supporting the development of our technical staffing and onsite inspections offerings. We have great resources and a fantastic talent pool to hand, so it’s just a matter of supporting this with my background and expertise, as well as my passion for my role and the industry, in order to really grow these areas of the business further.