ACR Journal

ACR industry August | September 2021 46 WOMEN IN ACR Karen Perry, regional business manager for Daikin UK and chair of the Institute of Refrigeration-Women in Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heat Pump network, explains why overcoming barriers early in her career has helped identify the changes needed to attract young females to the RACHP industry. a lack of trust in my ability, but this made me work harder to prove myself to others. I admired some of our design engineers and wanted to learn more about how they would design a project or approach a technical query. Time, plenty of training and support from others helped me to develop my knowledge further. I was always envious of the golfers too. So many industry golf days and a lot of business done on the golf course left me side-lined, so I just took on the task of driving the golf buggy on our company golf days. Everyone’s happy to see you appear with the refreshments at the 9th hole and a cold beer at the 19th! I never had any desire to take up golf myself. I now recognise myself as a manager within a global company and part of a great industry. Obviously, after 22 years, this is easy to say; however, when I first started, I didn’t see this future for myself, which in hindsight could be very daunting for anyone. However, I enjoy what I do day to day, I love to travel and visit some of our factories and European offices, and I’ve overcome my fear of presenting to be able to talk on stage at conferences and events. I work with some great people in Daikin, which is what drives me, and I want to make sure that everyone feels part of the future of the company and enjoys what they do. The last year was a huge challenge for everyone, but we adapted, and everyone has worked so hard to get back to doing what we love doing, and there’s hopefully a lot to look forward to. Women in RACHP Outside of Daikin, I am also chair of the Institute of Refrigeration’s Women in Refrigeration Air-conditioning and Heat Pumps Volume 7 No.5 I am currently working for Daikin UK as regional business manager for our Northern regions, including Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as the North of England. I work with our board of directors to define strategy and plan future initiatives for our sales business as well collaborating across the business to deliver new ideas and opportunities. I’ve been part of the Daikin team for 22 years, starting out in the office in an internal sales role and then securing the opportunity in a position as an external sales representative before starting my journey into sales management. One of the great things about Daikin is the different opportunities I have been given to develop my skills in diverse areas of the business. I’m often challenged by learning something new but given the time and the support to succeed. I’ve rarely felt the pressure of being a female working in a male-dominated industry. Still, I entirely recognise that this is an issue affecting the whole industry more so now in seeing how we attract new and diverse talent to support our future. Finding my feet When I first started, I became frustrated about Karen Perry