GIRI announces two new appointments

The Get It Right Initiative – a not-for-profit, industry-led body which aims to eliminate avoidable error in the construction industry - has announced two key appointments. 

The GIRI board of directors has been strengthened by the addition of Helen Soulou, Head of Quality & Assurance, Expansion at Heathrow Airport Ltd.

Helen studied civil engineering before completing an MSc in quality management, and she worked as a quality professional in the automotive and aerospace industries before joining Heathrow Airport in 2013 in the role of programme quality leader.

From 2018, she has been Head of Quality, leading the Heathrow quality team in supporting the delivery of Heathrow’s capital investment portfolio. As a major infrastructure project client, the quality team lead the way in delivering benefits, outcomes and outputs right first time, every time.

Helen is a Fellow of the CQI and has a keen interest in the Cost of Quality model and how it can be applied to the construction industry. She is working with the Bartlett School of Construction & Project Management at UCL, leading research in establishing the cost of quality model as a tool to minimise the impact of poor quality in the project lifecycle and beyond in the operational life of the asset.

Her presence on the GIRI board of directors will ensure that the client’s perspective is considered in the drive to reduce error and improve productivity.

GIRI has also appointed Helena Russell as its new communications manager. Helena studied civil engineering at Imperial College, and began her career as a graduate engineer with John Laing; from there she moved into technical journalism with New Civil Engineer and subsequently edited the international magazine Bridge design & engineering for almost two decades. She established her freelance technical journalism business in 2019 and takes on the part-time communications manager role alongside this.

GIRI executive director Tom Barton said: “We are very pleased that both Helen and Helena are joining the GIRI team. In her work at Heathrow, Helen has been a champion for getting it right so we are delighted that she is going to be able to share her insights with us on the board. Helena has considerable experience as a communicator within the construction industry and I know that she will be have a key part in spreading the message about getting it right.”

Helen Soulou said: “I am delighted to join the GIRI board of directors. The work that GIRI is doing to eliminate error is much needed in the construction sector, considering the productivity challenge in the sector. GIRI has already made a significant impact in the industry and I am certain that it will make an even bigger impact in the future”.

Helena Russell said: “I’m delighted to be working with GIRI at a crucial point in its development, and look forward to raising the profile of this important initiative across the wider industry. Elimination of error is not only important in terms of saving money, but it also plays a key role in reducing waste, something that we are all keen to address.”

For information about our other board members, please visit https://getitright.uk.com/about