Millicent Drabble.
Millicent Drabble, 34
Construction operations manager at Shawmut Design and Construction
It was while in high school in Queensland, Australia, that Millicent Drabble started on her current professional course. A career counselor suggested she pursue town planning, as it would combine the teenager’s three favorite subjects: geography, drama and English.
That is exactly what Drabble did, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane in urban regional planning and project management, respectively. She first worked as an urban planner, then saw project management as what she described to CO as a “logical progression.”
“I had developed a flair for people management, project controls, and understanding the mechanisms behind projects to engage in meaningful dialogue,” she said.
Drabble is nearly a year and a half into her role as a construction operations manager at Shawmut, where she oversees teams on just about every aspect of construction and project management, including design strategies and risk management.
“I truly appreciate the global career journey that project management within the built environment has provided me, because it taught me an industry language that has allowed me to collaborate with such a rich variety of people, cultures, clients and projects,” she said.
Her biggest project to date was global, indeed. Drabble relocated to the Middle East to act as lead urban planner for a 545-acre project in Abu Dhabi that includes homes for 8,600 residents as well as schools, mosques and a park. She’s also worked in Singapore, Brisbane and Vancouver. Over the past 12 months, she’s helped Shawmut revise its standard operating procedures too.
As for 2021, the Los Angeles-based Drabble said she plans on furthering the very sort of education that set her on her present path: She is studying for an MBA with a focus on finance from the University of Southern Queensland.
“I want to use my experience throughout different parts of the industry to impact true change,” Drabble said, “and bring together architect, engineer and construction management teams, so we act as a true partner to clients and collaborate upfront as we all adjust to this new environment.”
