Meet the Woman Behind This Success Story
Janette always wanted to be in charge but she never thought it would happen this early on in her professional development to become CEO of such a large corporation.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE TRANSCRIPT
Janette: Thank you so much, Leisa, I’m excited to be here today.
Leisa: Tell me about Airswift.
Janette: Airswift is a billion dollar private equity backed technical workforce solutions company. So, we’re global. As of today, we have contractors working in over 71 countries around the world, which is pretty exciting. So, we’re a UK based company with a corporate headquarters here in Houston, Texas, where we’re talking right now. And we place engineers, technical professionals, everybody within the STEM field into major projects and into major corporations everywhere around the world. So, we do a lot of global mobility and movement of people into different countries as well.
Leisa: When you say workforce solutions, I think you should explain that to us because a lot of people don’t know what a workforce solution is.
Janette: True. It’s a number of different things. So, first off we find people jobs. So, we’re going to get people working. So, if anybody has any type of STEM skills, that’s what we specialize in. We will find you your career. We will transform your career, which will transform your life as you continue to grow and develop. Beyond helping people find jobs, we can do that through contracting, we can do through that through executive search, direct hire placements with different companies. And then we also have a global employment and outsourcing division, which really helps companies who have their own set of employees and they want to go into a new country that they don’t have a setup. We will do all the payroll, the taxes, immigration visas, et cetera, for them as well. With all the data that we have we also have a consulting arm, which really helps with talent mapping and sharing more data or about the workforce in different countries, different locations. So, there’s a number of different things that we do once you really dive into it. So, workforce solutions is pretty broad, but the bottom line is we put people to work.
Leisa: You put people to work, and you’re putting them to work from entry level to senior executive, or do you start a little bit higher than entry level?
Janette: Most of the time we start a little bit higher than entry level. So, most of it is experienced technical people all the way up to the C-suite. So, our executive search brand Ducatis really focuses on the C-suite. And then we have pretty much everything that ranges in between.
Leisa: So, I’m going to take a moment and clarify that STEM means science, technology, engineering, and math.
Janette: That is so correct.
Leisa: And I think our audience probably thinks that means the oil field are totally energy-based. Where else are you placing people?
Janette: We’re placing people in infrastructure projects. If you think about rail, water projects, in telecommunications, in technology, there’s a lot of technology as you’re thinking about engineering and you’re thinking about the future and where it’s going, it’s very tech based. So, we have a lot of technology positions as well. And then when you think about energy, it’s not just about oil and gas anymore. It’s all about renewables, power, our grids; how they work, utilities. So, we go throughout the entire spectrum of energy.
Leisa: So you’re the CEO of a global company doing business in 71 countries around the world. My goodness. What is your volume?
Janette: Yes, we’re just under a billion dollars in revenue around the world. And let me tell you Leisa, so much fun to go visit all those countries too, and to see the teams and all those areas. But yes, it’s a large company.
Leisa: Yeah. I mean, they’re not very many women running companies like your company at a billion dollars.
Janette: Yeah. My company has been around for over 40 years and I was the first female CEO for my company as well. So, I was promoted about three years ago into this role. So, it was a big move for the company, for my shareholders who put me in this position and to frankly, a lot of the women not just at my company but at our competitors as well to see it.
Leisa: So as CEO of the company, you’ve got a pretty broad brush. I mean, I imagine you’re involved in everything from financial fiscal responsibility to government relations. What’s the most important thing you do every single day?
Janette: My first important thing is always my people. So, everything always starts with your people. Without your people you don’t have a company. So, we have wonderful people all over the world. And my focus has always been on development and growth and really making sure that they have what they need to succeed, because if your people are well
