Rachel Cooke

"Influencer is a good description for me. I’m definitely thorough and reliable. Working through all the details and trying to understand everything I come across has contributed to my success. I think that if you really understand something well, then you can explain it to others.Manager is not only a description of what I do – I lead a team of almost 900 people through 8 direct reports – but I am a good organizer. I love planning and organizing inside and outside of work. I like the other descriptors of manager too, so would be happy to have them apply to me.Quality controller is an interesting one, and again I think it matches me. Trustworthy is the first point, which is similar to reliable in influencer, and curious is definitely a descriptor of me. I love to understand why things are how they are and to keep learning. I’m also proactive as I’m too afraid of the consequences of not being. And safety has to be the number one priority for everyone in this industry."

"I lead the Reliability Maintenance Engineering Central team for Amazon globally. We look after the software, tools, processes, best practices and more that enable the maintenance teams at the sites to be successful. My team of nearly 900 people is based mainly in the USA, Europe/UK, and India. I love that changes implemented by my team can make many jobs easier and more satisfying. I also enjoy being at the forefront of using the latest technology including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and Internet of Things. I’m practical, so when these technologies actually work and deliver huge improvements in maintenance, such as condition based monitoring, artificial vision or augmented reality (the list goes on), I am excited and I am so proud of my exceptionally talented team and what they can achieve. I also love that my job lets me travel and I try and build in a weekend away or an opportunity that lets me see more of the local history and culture when I am away. Work normally takes me to places I wouldn’t typically visit as a tourist, and yet there’s something interesting to discover almost everywhere!"

"I studied chemical engineering for two reasons: (i) I was good at it and therefore I enjoyed it and (ii) My Father was a chemical engineer and I could see he had an interesting job that he too enjoyed. I ended up doing a PhD related to oil recovery, but due to a series of events ended up working for Cadbury, which fitted in well with my love of chocolate. With Cadbury I lived in 3 different countries and also worked in 3 different locations in the UK over 10 years, gaining exposure to many different areas of the supply chain including procurement, operations, and engineering. I then joined SABMiller, who were the world’s second largest beer company. This was my first global role and I loved learning all about Africa, South America, Asia, the USA, and Australia, as well as operational excellence / lean / world class manufacturing. Then 7 years ago, I joined Amazon. Whilst not doing any chemical engineering, I can apply so much of what I have learnt throughout my career to make good decisions and drive large scale improvements. The 7 years at Amazon have involved many different roles and managers, but ultimately, I have now a very exciting job, with an amazing team, manager, and colleagues.I’ve lived in 5 different countries, 4 of which (the UK, Ireland, Poland, and Luxembourg) were for work. I learnt Polish to working level, and get to use my GCSE French and German. I now live and work in Luxembourg and have dual British-Luxembourgish nationality after spending some time learning Luxembourgish and passing an exam! These are things I would never have dreamed of or been able to plan for when I was still a student."

"I’ve mentioned before that I love organizing, and that’s something I do in my spare time. I’ve led many committees for the Institution of Chemical Engineers and have also been a STEM ambassador with several different organizations, including being a director for a hands-on science centre in Cheltenham. Outside of voluntary work, I’ve always loved building Lego, and during Covid times reignited my passion in this area and have quite a large collection. Something most people don’t know about me is that I love visiting art galleries and have a passion for the Impressionists and Surrealist art … and I try and visit the local art gallery whenever I travel somewhere."

"What I love the most about my job is that there is no such thing as a typical day, so here are a couple of examples:1.\tWhen I’m at home in Luxembourg, I get to the office at about 9am and make a big mug of coffee. Mine is heat insulated and takes two regular cups and will last me all morning. Hopefully I have time to read and respond to emails that have come in overnight (or since I last logged on) before my first meeting. Most of my meetings are virtual – so by video conference – and with colleagues from around the world. In my European morning I talk to Australia, Japan, India, and United Arab Emirates, and of course Europe. Then after lunch (typically a sandwich from the local bakery, but sometimes sushi with colleagues), the USA wakes up and I talk to colleagues based there. In addition to meetings and emails, I talk to my team over instant messenger software, read and write documents, and process any approvals that have come to me. I have to approve all sorts of things such as travel requests, spending requests, software access, and projects. My meetings are a mixture of one on one and large group meetings to review documents and proposals. I try to finish around 6:30pm to 7pm and then go home and exercise before dinner at around 8pm.2.\tWhen I’m travelling for work, I wake up in a hotel – depending on the time zone, I may take a call before or after breakfast – before taking a taxi to a warehouse. I’ll walk around the warehouse (often with the site maintenance manager) looking at cleanliness, standards, and maintenance practices. I’ll visit the spare parts store and maintenance workshop, and talk to people to learn about successes I can share with the network and problems I can help to solve. Then I typically go and visit one or two other warehouses nearby, so I can get as much out of my travel as possible. Often, I have dinner with colleagues and afterwards I try to spend some time responding to emails and documenting any actions from my visit."

"AS Level: ElectronicsA Levels: Physics, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Chemistry, General StudiesUndergraduate degrees: Master of Arts, Master of Engineering (Chemical Engineering, Trinity College, University of Cambridge)Postgraduate degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Chemical Engineering (Trinity College, University of Cambridge)"