Women Driving Change: Hobart’s Tracy Southwell
In our second interview of the series, the ETL team speak to leading females in the industry about their path to success
Welcome to the second installment of Women Driving Change in the Energy Savings Industry, where the ETL speaks to female leaders in the energy saving business about their inspiring career journeys and how other women can follow suit.
Tracy Southwell, Managing Director of Hobart Equipment Division
Our next interview is with Tracy Southwell, the Managing Director of Hobart Equipment Division, and Council Member of the Foodservice Equipment Association (FEA). She had a conversation with Nipunika Perera, Senior Managing Consultant, ETL scheme at ICF Consulting. In the full video, which you can watch here, you’ll be able to hear more on exactly why Tracy believes women should work in energy technology, as well as her management style.
Tracy became the first female Managing Director of Hobart Equipment Division in 2022 a legacy brand, trading for over 125 years, Tracy describes her role as MD as that of ‘brand guardian’. With 29 years of experience in the food and drink sector before joining Hobart, Tracy previously worked at companies including Florette, New York Bakery Company and Unilever in sales and business development roles. Last year, she contributed to the Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge report ‘Women in UK Manufacturing 2024: Addressing labour shortages and bridging the gender gap’. In the report she shares how Hobart UK Equipment successfully implements equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives to promote more inclusive environment and female participation in leadership positions.
‘When I received the phone call to consider Hobart as my next career move, I hadn’t really heard of [the company],’ she says. ‘It was my husband that was a big advocate for Hobart because he has worked in commercial kitchens most of his life and therefore had used all of the equipment that we produce and was a big fan.’
Tracy began as Sales and Marketing Director at Hobart Equipment UK, before being promoted to Managing Director. Tracy says there was a learning curve once she arrived - but that she’s been welcomed and supported into the role, where her focus is on strategy, championing the company’s commitment to sustainable innovation, diversity and inclusion, and talent development.
‘I guess from my perspective, having worked on some great brands [prior] to Hobart, moving into a heavy industry sector,, [it’s] quite different to some of the product that I've worked on before. I did wonder how I would transition would work, but that’s way behind me now, the industry itself is such a fantastic industry, it's full of really lovely people who are there to help and support.’
Tracy Southwell, Managing Director of Hobart Equipment Division
‘It’s about us as an industry signposting to women that actually it's great fun to work here’
For more young women to enter and accelerate their careers in the professional foodservice equipment industry, Tracy believes that it’s not just about women being bold enough to consider a move into the sector to begin with, but also about the industry making it clear that it’s a great place for them to work.
‘On the one side, it's having the courage to consider our industry as a viable career pathway and on the second point, it's also us as an industry signposting to women that actually it's great fun to work here.’
Opening doors for women to enter the sector
Tracy recommends that for women who want to go into leadership roles in the future, they take advantage of support systems such as employee resource groups (ERGs) where they can take inspiration from other women around them at work. Hobart’s parent group, ITW, is home to the ITW Women’s Network (IWN). Tracy says the group is one of the company’s ‘greatest superpowers’.
‘If you choose a company that champions female leadership, for example, then you know you've got a platform for your voice to be heard, and that's at every level. It's not just about a Managing Director being able to access the ERG. It's women at every level within ITW that can join. The IWN community seeks to inspire, educate, empower and provide practical solutions that help support career development for women at ITW .’
Tracy says that women should consider a career in energy technology specifically because it’s such a fast-developing industry with many opportunities opening up at pace as the UK moves towards Net Zero.
‘Think about sustainability and the importance of that topic in relation to the planet and energy technology, energy savings and energy consumption. Those are really, really hot topics right now, and I think women have a part to play as the energy industry is still growing; it is youthful in its life cycle and does not have established ceilings or restrictions that some older industries have grown up with.
Hear more from Tracy
Watch the full interview with Tracy on our YouTube channel. She highlights several important resources, one of which is the Commercial Equipment Distributers Association (CEDA) Academy, which provides pathways for young people to enter the industry.
To hear more of Tracy’s insights on gender equality, you can also listen to her on The Equality Conversation podcast.
To stay in the loop, register to receive the monthly ETL newsletter and subscribe to our YouTube channel where you can keep an eye out for our next interview with other female leaders in the energy savings industry. You can also watch our first interview of the series featuring Charlotte Lee, Chief Executive of the Heat Pump Association.
If you’re a woman driving change in the energy efficiency sector or know someone who would like to take part in an interview with the ETL, please contact us on media@etl.energysecurity.gov.uk.