AMC Voyager Q3|2026
People highlight: Mairead Mescall
Mairead Mescall brings more than 20 years of HR experience across the energy and marine sectors. The opportunity to support AMC’s people and help build the foundations for its continued growth was a key part of what attracted her to the company.
Having seen first-hand how people and leadership influence business performance, her approach centres on building trust, developing people and aligning HR with the needs of the business.
In this quarter’s People Highlight, Mairead shares what attracted her to AMC, her priorities for supporting its people and the experiences that have shaped her approach to HR.
What attracted you to AMC, and what made you want to join the business at this stage of its growth?
I’ve spent most of my career in businesses going through significant growth or change, and I’ve realised I enjoy being in a role where I’m close to the business, understanding what it needs and having the opportunity to build and improve things rather than simply maintain what already exists.
AMC was particularly interesting because of the stage the business is at. It has grown significantly in a relatively short period of time and has ambitious plans for the future. That creates a real opportunity to help shape the organisation and build the capability needed to support the next phase of growth.
Equally important were the people I met before joining. I was impressed by the professionalism and sincerity of the leadership team, and by how aligned we were on the role of HR: being close to the business, understanding its priorities and having a genuine voice in the decisions that shape the organisation.
You’ve spent more than 20 years working across the energy and marine sectors. What is it about the industry that has kept you engaged?
I actually fell into the industry more by accident than design. I left it for a period at one point in my career, but ultimately found my way back.
I like the pace. No two days are quite the same and there is always a lot going on. I naturally work at pace, so I’m at my best in an environment that demands that.
I also like how closely connected HR is to the operation. You need to understand the projects, the operational realities and the commercial pressures because people decisions can have an immediate impact on delivery.
Then there’s the international side, which I genuinely love. I’ve spent my career working with people from different countries, cultures and backgrounds, and that has always been a big part of what keeps the industry interesting for me.
AMC is growing rapidly. From a people perspective, what do you see as the biggest opportunities and challenges that come with that growth?
The biggest opportunity is what that growth creates for our people. As AMC expands, it creates new roles, broader responsibilities and opportunities for people to develop and progress. We want to build as much capability as possible from within and give people the opportunity to step up, stretch themselves and build their careers with us.
The challenge is making sure we stay ahead of that growth. We need to understand what is coming through the project pipeline, what that means for our workforce and the capabilities we will need, and give ourselves enough time to develop those capabilities internally or bring them into the business.
As we become a larger organisation, we will naturally need more structure, clearer accountabilities and stronger systems and ways of working. The balance is putting those foundations in place without adding unnecessary complexity.
What does a strong culture look like to you, particularly as an organisation grows?
For me, culture is really about the behaviours that underpin how we operate. A strong culture is one where those behaviours are clear and consistently demonstrated — how we treat each other, how we make decisions, how we take ownership and how we hold ourselves and each other accountable.
Leaders have a huge role to play in setting that tone. People watch how leaders behave, and that tells them far more about the culture than any values statement ever will. It’s also about being prepared to address behaviours that don’t align with the culture we want to have and being consistent in how we do that.
As we grow, we’re also very conscious of bringing people into the business who are aligned with those behaviours and the way we want to operate. Technical competence is essential, but attitude is equally important. We place a high value on professionalism, integrity, respect for others and good judgement, as well as people who contribute positively to those around them and build others up. Those qualities are an important part of the culture we want to build.
What do you think organisations need most from their leaders as they grow?
Leaders need to provide clarity and direction while building the capability around them to support that growth. They need to understand where the business is going, translate that into clear priorities and create the accountability and ownership that allows people to make decisions and perform.
Growth also brings change and, inevitably, periods of pressure and uncertainty. How leaders respond in those moments matters. Leaders need to stay calm and measured, listen to different perspectives, challenge constructively and be willing to have difficult conversations when they need to, while continuing to set high standards.
You’re also an executive coach. How has coaching influenced the way you lead and develop people?
Probably more than I expected it would. One of the biggest things coaching develops is self-awareness, not just understanding your own strengths and tendencies, but being conscious of how you are perceived by others, how your tone impacts people and how the feedback you give actually lands.
The other big influence has been developing the power of good questioning and really listening. Rather than immediately giving someone the answer, I’ll often ask how they see the situation, what options they’ve considered and what they think the right course of action is.
One question I ask my team quite often is: “If I wasn’t here, how would you handle it?”
It encourages people to think critically, trust their own judgement and come to me with a view rather than simply looking for the answer. My role isn’t to have every answer. It’s to help build the confidence and judgement in the people around me so that, increasingly, they don’t need me to provide it.
What are you most proud of the HR team achieving so far, and what are the priorities from here?
I’m particularly proud of the strength of the HR team we have today and what they’ve delivered in a relatively short period of time. They’re professional, approachable, knowledgeable and hardworking, and I think that combination is a huge strength for the business. They’ve played a key role in supporting the pace of growth and ensuring the business has had the people and HR support needed as it has expanded.
As the business has grown, we’ve had to scale and evolve alongside it, supporting significant project manpower requirements, expanding our recruitment capability and building strong HR capability across Dubai, Saudi Arabia and India, while putting the systems, governance and ways of working in place to support that growth.
For me, HR’s role is to understand the commercial and operational priorities of the business and translate those into the organisation, leadership and people decisions that will support them. We’ve focused on becoming a stronger partner to leaders across the business, working closely with them on the people aspects of running the business day to day, as well as longer-term priorities such as succession planning. That means understanding what leaders need from HR, providing sound advice and helping them make informed people decisions, while also thinking ahead about the organisation and capability required to support the business.
We’ve also worked hard to make HR more accessible and easier to navigate for employees and managers. For me, a good HR team should be pragmatic and straightforward to deal with, and that’s something we’ll continue to focus on as we grow.
Looking ahead, the priority is to keep building on those foundations and stay ahead of what the business will need rather than responding once those requirements emerge. There is still a lot we want to achieve, but I’m very proud of the team, the standard they set and the foundations we’ve put in place for what comes next.
What experiences have shaped you most as a leader?
There are a few experiences that have shaped me as a leader, starting with how I grew up and the experiences I had quite early in life. I was the youngest of three with two older brothers, so resilience was probably less of a choice and more of a necessity! I also had a very strong role model in my mother. We lost my dad when I was very young, and my mother raised the three of us independently. In addition to being incredibly resourceful and hardworking, she had a remarkable ability to find a way forward whatever the circumstances. Watching her taught me a lot about resilience and personal responsibility. Those lessons have stayed with me and are reflected in how I lead today — taking ownership, staying focused on solutions and remaining calm and constructive when things are challenging.
I was also lucky to travel independently from a young age. Being exposed to different countries, cultures and people gave me a strong sense of independence and taught me to adapt to different personalities and situations with ease. That independence and adaptability have been important throughout my career.
Building on those early experiences, over the course of my career I’ve worked with some exceptional leaders and some much more challenging ones, and I’ve learned from both. Those experiences have taught me the importance of setting clear expectations, understanding what different people need from you, and knowing when to support and when to challenge.
And, with the benefit of more life experience, I’ve gained a perspective and empathy for others that I think have been invaluable in shaping me as a leader. You become more aware that there can be a lot going on in people’s lives that you simply don’t see, and that has given me a greater sense of compassion and understanding for people. I think that perspective helps me to be more thoughtful in how I lead, while still being clear about the standards and expectations I have.
How do you enjoy spending your time when you’re not at work?
As a working mum with two energetic boys, my weeks are pretty full-on, so I really value having a little less structure at the weekends. We’re usually somewhere between soccer, rugby, golf or the pool, and outside of that I’m very content not to have too much in the diary.
I enjoy the gym, spending time with family and friends, and being outdoors when the Dubai weather allows. But equally, I’m very happy at home doing very little. Sometimes that’s exactly what I need!