In April 2022 Alter Technology TÜV Nord officially opened their new Photonics Design Centre in Glasgow, to accelerate the commercialisation of photonic products into quantum technology and space markets. In part two of this industry interview, we talk to Una Marvet about the mindset that helped her overcome challenges and navigate her career to take on the challenge of starting a new design centre in a new city/country and the importance of a supportive and nurturing environment.

Ben – You’ve had a really interesting career in terms of living and working in different countries, different environments. So, if you think about your career and the experiences you’ve had, maybe talk me through one or two of the challenges that you feel you’ve had to overcome in your career.

Una – Some of my career, I’ve reported to managers who have been, how do I say this? I’ve had some great managers, and some not-so-great managers. You were asking about diversity and inclusion earlier. In some stages of my career there’s definitely been a glass ceiling.

For example, there was a group I was working in where I was, I think, the only one in the group who had a PhD and I saw men being promoted over my head who were less well qualified and had less experience – there were comments from other people at the time, not understanding why that individual had been promoted. That kind of thing. And then some companies, especially in the UK, even if they’re producing some fairly high tech products they can still have old fashioned cultures and that makes them difficult to work for if you don’t conform. I was in a meeting once with a customer who, despite the fact all the interaction up until then had been with me, kept addressing my (male) manager and ignoring me. I would answer the question, he would ask the next one, again addressing my manager and I would answer it. And that went on for an entire hour.

Ben – Okay, and so how do you overcome those sort of challenges?

Una – In a case like that where it’s a customer, you just deal with it. But if it’s an internal problem then generally the only long-term solution is to leave. At the end of the day, if someone isn’t willing to recognise your work you buckle under or you try to find somewhere better. You either change groups if you can do that, or you leave the company.

Ben – Okay. So, then, thinking about some of the support and advice you may have received, what would you think of as the best bit of advice you received in life or about your career?

Una – I think probably “if you don’t try, you’ll never know”.

Ben – Haha, a famous sports brand did a version of that. Just do it

Una – Exactly.

Ben – I think that’s pretty good. That’s actually really consistent from what we hear in terms of that entrepreneurial mindset, people giving it a go, see how it can go. Okay, so maybe talk to me about this past year with the new project at Alter and some of the experiences that you’ve enjoyed about doing that – relocating, developing this business unit.

Una – Yeah, I’ve still got a house full of cardboard boxes, so relocating is not top of my list of things I’ve enjoyed. That’s a big step, moving home.

Ben – That’s a big challenge, and it’s a big challenge in life anyway, and especially on top of when you’re trying to do a full-time professional job that is fully on and engaged.

Una – That is full on, that is new to me, that is completely new to the company as well. All of those things, yes. I’m not complaining. I chose to do this, and I wouldn’t change it. It’s just when you mentioned experiences I’ve enjoyed, I wouldn’t put relocation top of the list. But developing the business unit, yes definitely.

And I’ve got to say, the support I’ve received has been fantastic. Stephen is a wonderful mentor. He’s just been there, been supportive and has helped me along in more ways than I can even begin to talk about. And I’m very grateful for that. Alter UK and Alter Group as well, have generally been very supportive and helpful. All those comments I made earlier about glass ceilings and hidebound cultures, I’ve never felt anything of that at Alter.

Ben – It sounds like you found the right place.

Una – Yes I think so.

I haven’t really answered your question in terms of the design centre. Lots of challenges, lots of responsibilities that are new to me but that’s mostly positive. For example this is the first time I’ve had anybody report to me and I wasn’t sure ahead of time how well I would handle that. You’d have to ask the guys who report to me what they think, but from my perspective it’s been okay. And it’s great to be able to hire people. I mean, that’s just wonderful. Take somebody who’s perhaps in a situation they’re not happy with or is looking for a first job; I’m in a position where I can say, come and work for us. You can have a job here. That’s amazing. I’ve never been able to do that before.

And then helping decide what direction we’re going in as well. Right, we want to develop this kind of product. What does that look like? As a product manager you have a lot of input into that, but it’s not the same. In that role you work closely with engineers, but they always have a manager who decides their priorities and allocates their time. And you might not be top of the list, so you have to wait your turn. All of that is perfectly fine, it’s how business works. But the difference between that and now is that I’m not only the person who puts the roadmap together, I’m also the person who gives the engineers their priorities and that’s never happened to me before, to have those two things at the same time. And it’s massively better because there’s no conflict, it simplifies the entire process.

We started with two or three people – myself and Douglas officially started in the Design Centre on the same day, then Paul a week later. We’ve recruited six altogether, including me, with various start dates. Then there’s a consultant who’s not an employee but is on long term contract and works closely with us, so he’s very much part of the team. Plus an EngD student at the University of Strathclyde who Alter is sponsoring and who also works with us quite closely.

Ben – Brilliant. Excellent. Any plans for growth beyond that?

Una – Yes. Bringing more people in depends on the revenue to support them but we’ve got all sorts of ideas about what else we could do.

Ben – What impact does the macroeconomics of the country have on an R&D start up?

Una – Well, we’re in the fortunate position of being less vulnerable than most start-ups because we’re within a large corporation, which gives us a safety net that a lot of startups simply don’t have. But it’s not a free ride, we do have to show a return on investment. And there are sensitivities – because our revenue numbers are still relatively low a small change can have an appreciable impact on profitability, and we have to answer for that. And obviously the economy affects us. I doubt Brexit has been good for any business, but a group like ours that depends on innovation and collaboration is particularly affected by having reduced access to European funding and partners.

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