With Sontay’s Commercial and Marketing Director, Stacey Lucas’ recent appointment as President of the Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA), the journey ahead is filled with anticipation and enthusiasm for the industry’s potential. In this Q&A with Stacey, she shares insights into her journey, responsibilities and aspirations for the future. 
 
Q: Firstly, how are you feeling about your recent posting as President of the BCIA?
It’s a really exciting time to be coming in as President!  So much good stuff is happening in the industry and it really is our time to shine. With the focus on how our buildings perform and energy conservation, we are in a prime position to offer the simplest and most cost-effective solutions to support the change needed in buildings. We have lots of work to do to continue raising the profile of our industry and it is all possible!

Q: What has your journey looked like so far that has brought you to this new role?
My career started out in Marketing in the aviation and exhibition world. My journey into building controls was a fortunate accident! The company I was working for went bust and a role at Sontay became available in the Customer Service Team. I gave it a go and soon became immersed in an industry that I previously knew nothing about. Sontay gave me the opportunity to work my way up and use many of the skills I had trained for. I also found myself fascinated by the technical aspect and whilst working in sales, found I wanted to answer technical queries myself and understand project schematics. I then took on responsibility for Marketing, using my previous work experience along with Technical Support and Despatch to encompass all of the customer facing operational parts of the business. This led me to become the Commercial & Marketing Director. Sontay joined the BCIA around 10 years ago and we instantly became involved in everything we could within the association.  I joined the Marketing and Skills working groups and very much enjoyed my interactions with the groups.  I was then nominated to join the Management Committee back in 2021 and then the Vice Presidency role in 2023.


Q: What sort of new responsibilities and tasks will this new role entail?
It’s going to be a busy couple of years.  Being Vice President has prepared me well and given me an insight into what will be required.  Our current President, Graeme Rees, has been a great mentor and showed me the ropes.  My responsibility will be to serve the members and the industry as best I can in any way that I can.  

Q: How do you think your role at Sontay will help you in your new role at BCIA?
Working at Sontay has given me brilliant exposure to everything and everyone in the industry over the years.  My experience across so many departments of the company has also prepared me well for the role as President which covers a vast array of elements.

Q: What do you hope to achieve in your term as President of the BCIA?  
To educate the nation in the brilliant things our industry does and how much more it can do to make a difference to how our buildings perform.  Ultimately, this benefits our members in driving the market forward and everyone else with improved conditions and efficiencies in buildings.

The industry is growing and changing at the fastest rate that it ever has and the association needs to play part of that journey.  It should continue to embrace new technologies and make alliances with associations aligned with these technologies.