STG Bright Lights Series: Kirsty Deneen
In our Bright Lights series, we showcase some of our brilliant employees and their experience of working here at STG Aerospace. This time, Kirsty Deneen talks about the incredible support she has had from the firm throughout her time in the Internal Sales team. We talked about her current goals as well as future ambitions.
Kirsty is one of three people who make up the dynamic Cwmbran-based STG Internal Sales team, and the final member we have had the chance to interview, having previously spoken to both Nadia and Mark.
Joining almost four years ago as an Internal Sales Executive, Kirsty has had a rollercoaster journey to say the very least. When she first saw the role at STG advertised, she was looking for a change in career path, having previously worked in property surveying. The idea of aerospace piqued her interest but was a new world for her - fast forward a few years and her passion for the industry keeps on growing.
“I started in March 2020 when Covid first hit, so it was definitely an unconventional introduction to a new job, as I hadn’t met any of my team in person and had to do training from my home workspace.
“It was a time of uncertainty. And then, within five months, I was unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer, an extremely challenging time in my life. I was going through treatment which obviously takes a huge toll on your body, but I can’t praise the support I was given enough by the company and what it meant to me. Only being with them for a few months, I was still in my probation period, but they were nothing short of incredible. After months of treatment, I went into remission the following January.”
Kirsty’s recovery has not only shown her remarkable resilience and positivity, but her overall attitude and work ethic has been an inspiration to her colleagues at STG. Even through an incredibly tough time, she made it her mission to progress in her role, look after her clients, showcasing STG’s products and achieving her sales goals.
Kirsty’s typical day varies depending on the team’s overall targets, but most days are customer focussed.
“I spend much of my time liaising with customers to provide quotes for our emergency exit marking and cabin lighting products, processing orders once contracts are signed and sending invoices once products are shipped. We deal with numerous certification and colour part enquires, so there is always a communication element to my day. The end goal is to ensure our customers are happy with the products they have received.
“I also do a lot of training with Mark on the Internal Sales team and more recently with Andrea, our new member of the wider sales team in Texas. I have such great colleagues and that goes a long way. We have great synergy and work collaboratively.”
Meeting with customers face to face is a highlight of Kirsty’s role, providing the opportunity to build stronger relationships.
“I recently got to meet a customer in Milan that I have been working with for three years which was brilliant. We look after everything for them – finances, contracts, orders and shipments. There hasn’t been an opportunity to meet one another in person until recently. They were interested in our new products, so it was a great opportunity to meet in person and a personal achievement for me.”
Kirsty is a highly motivated member of the STG team and has made the most of the company’s career progression opportunities. STG actively encourages employees to learn new skills and make use of a training budget.
“I recently completed a customer relationship management course to strengthen my skills and will complete another new module when time allows, that way I’m always learning.”
“STG really provide that extra layer of support to help employees do better. The next area of focus for me is to familiarise myself more with the Quality team, including how they test products. Usually, I pass queries onto the department and report back to the customer, but I would like to better understand the process and finer details so that I can give greater insight to customers. Other than that, an ongoing mission of mine is to continue building my aerospace vocabulary!”
Kirsty is looking forward to what the future will bring and hopes to continue growing and developing in her sales role alongside an unbeatable team of people.