Auckland Young Professionals – meet Kate Fursova

The ACE New Zealand Young Professionals Committee represent people aged 35 years of age and younger in the consulting and engineering industry. We recently caught up with Young Professional Champion, Kate Fursova, who acts as the eyes and ears for the committee.

Kate Fursova

Kate Fursova

Kate, what do you do at GHD? 

I'm one of the few people in this industry that isn't an engineer! I'm a project manager by trade. I currently work for GHD as a Quality Coordinator. I support the Quality Management System at GHD, ensuring the compliance of systems and that projects are delivered effectively. 

I like to share knowledge with others, and I'm able to do this through project reviews, audits or quality catch-ups. 

What do you bring to the ACE Champion role?  

I can spread the word of ACE across our business through various activities our team runs.  

My experience is diverse given I've lived in a lot of other countries, including Russia and Germany, and now New Zealand. I've worked in the mining, chemical production and food processing industries in the past. It's exciting to notice the difference in business approaches and share that experience with others. 

ACE needs to stay relevant to young professionals. Being a young professional myself and the fact that I'm not an engineer gives me some advantage!  

What are you looking forward to about the role?  

For young professionals, it's crucial to understand what the industry lives and breathes. I learn a lot every day at GHD. Still, I would be glad to go beyond my current working "bubble" and explore the industry by meeting more like-minded professionals.  

Also, the committee arranges so many exciting events for networking and skills enhancement. I'm looking forward to learning something new and adding more skills to my list.  

Moreover, I would be delighted to be involved in projects delivered by ACE. That would be a perfect chance to give back to the industry. 
 

What do you like to do outside of work? 

In 2015 I became interested in Olympic weightlifting. Since then, I've been training hard and have participated in a couple of local competitions. That's another part of my life that I like sharing with others as most people would never expect that from me!  

And if not sports, I like doing self-studies. I took advantage of some extra time available during the two lockdowns and completed PRINCE2 training modules. I passed two exams and am now a registered PRINCE2 Practitioner. 

Kate joins other Young Professionals Committee members and champions:   

  • Danielle Gatland, MRCagney  
  • Tharaka Munidasa, Aurecon
  • John Lee, Babbage
  • Hitesh Patel, GHD
  • Shannie Su, Aurecon
  • Akshat Malhotra, Beca
  • Jonathan Chambers, Harrison Grierson 
  • Dean Lupton, Cato Bolam