FRANCESCA Smith, associate director, Momentum Consultancy Service Lex

How do you find working in a male-dominated industry after five months in the job?

Because I’m from a finance background which also tends to be male-dominated, I don’t really notice it.

What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced?

Balancing customer timescales with our own time availability has probably been the most difficult to get to grips with.

Which issue do fleet managers tend to struggle with most?

Having accurate information including costs. This tends to be fragmented across a business, summarised in the internal accounts or spread across various cost centres.

What advice would you give on this?

Discuss fleet costing with your finance and/or information delivery team. Most organisations have the information – it is usually just a question of finding who is collating it.

What’s been your most embarrassing moment?

They tend to be limited to activities outside work – trying to put a tent up for two hours before someone pointed out that the poles belonged to another tent.