Introducing Talent Talks, the podcast where we dive into all things talent in the real estate, construction, and infrastructure world. From the boardroom to the building site, we’ll uncover the stories, insights, and people shaping our industry today. Our first series shines a spotlight on data centres, one of real estate's fastest-growing and most in-demand sectors.

In this episode, Sarah Davenport, Managing Director at Capstone, and Oli Coote, Data Centre and Real Estate Sector Lead, speak to Marynet Bassily, Director at MissionProcure Solutions, as she shares her rise from transport infrastructure to global data centre leader, entrepreneur, and advocate for inclusive leadership as a director.

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You can read the transcript of the discussion below:

Sarah 

Today, we are joined by the brilliant Marynet Basilly, a powerhouse in procurement and data delivery and what I love, a passionate advocate for inclusive leadership, someone who's carved out an incredible career across the globe, spanning infrastructure and tech and all things brilliant. 

She's also one of our valued Capstone Mentors as part of the Capstone Mentored Program. 

But let's dive into finding out more about your career, Marynet, the influences that have impacted you, your lessons learned, and what's next for the industry.  

Marynet 

It's an absolute pleasure to be with you on this podcast today.  

Thank you for having me as one of your mentors, especially as the first cohort, if that's the right word. 

Sarah 

So, let's start by you taking us on a whistle-stop tour of your career so that we can understand and learn what underpins your current success. 

Marynet 

I'm a construction engineer by training with a master's in project management and construction. However, I've not done a day of engineering since I graduated, and I managed to fall into procurement and commercial roles within the infrastructure sector. 

I have always been a transport girl. In fact, three-quarters of my career so far has been between Network Rail, Bechtel on Channel Tunnel Rail Link, and Serco. I've managed the cycle hire program and the DLR. 

So, it was focused on railways and infrastructure, with the last one being the Transport for London on their accessibility programme. And then I fell into data centres, by complete surprise, and I didn't even know what a data centre was the day I came into that career. I was looking after their procurement for equipment and construction with Colt Data Centres, and then following on for Vantage. 

So, I went from being a very locally focused person to going all global, which is the beauty of data centres versus being in the public sector. 

Sarah 

I bet. And what I always believed is that happy and successful careers are heavily influenced by certain people along the way. 

I'm keen to hear who has been your biggest influence, the impact they've had, and how you use that to guide you moving forward. 

Marynet 

I have to be grateful for my parents. Starting with my mother, who was an incredibly energetic and passionate person, her work ethic taught me everything I know in this world. And had it not been for my parents, I wouldn't have had the education and the career that brought me here. 

But from a career perspective, the person I would always remember was my first female boss, Amanda, who was probably my age back then. I was a 24-year-old graduate. What happens with graduates is that you normally don't give them the best of tasks. I was a bit fiery at the time, and I went to my boss and said, "I think this is a bit less than what I can do, and I can help you." 

And she said, "I'll give you the opportunity that someone gave me 20 years ago." She gave me my first ever procurement task, which was something small, a $20,000 contract. But it taught me all the principles of procurement, even at such a small scale back then, and also gave me the opportunity to grow. So, by the time I left that company, from working on $20,000 contracts, I was procuring $3.5 million  contracts for something in construction, in oil and gas. 

Ever since that time, I have vowed that whenever I'm given the opportunity, I will always give it to someone else and mentor them because you only grow in this industry, and in life in general, by always giving back. And one day, hopefully, my daughters will find a good enough boss who will actually give them that opportunity as well. 

Sarah 

Yeah, I think that's so important, often those people who’ve heavily influenced us never know the impact. Sometimes they're aware of it and sometimes they're not. And so, it's lovely to see how you pay it forward in how you lead, mentor and guide others.  

When I looked at your career and reflected on all the conversations that we've had over the year, I saw a really clear thread through your career and your life of not taking the obvious or the easy path, which I love, by the way. 

So, was setting up MissionProcure and NexConnect Hub a natural progression for you instead of taking the obvious big global, corporate, secure role? 

Marynet 

When I set up MissionProcure, I thought there weren't many consultancies out there that are purely procurement specialists. But it's not just about best practices and how to do things. 

Part of it is also the relationships you have in the market. Part of it is coming from a client background. So, when I go to clients, and you talk to those who would have been your counterparts at one point in time, you say, “I understand the complexities you go through. I understand your frustrations and your pinch points, and our consultancy, we don't want to just place people in positions and grow in that way.” 

I'm keen to offer a very strategic oversight and help clients give them the procurement strategies that are agile enough to grow as they grow. It's not just about project by project because when I was in their place and I had consultants doing that, they didn't really care about the bigger picture. They just cared about the task at hand, whereas I'll go in and give clients that very honest feedback. 

And then NexConnect naturally came. It was quite funny, someone said, “Oh Mary, you're good at putting people together. Why don't we throw some money behind the bar for you and you can put on an event?” And I thought to myself, OK, but if I were to do an event, I don't want it to be like anyone else’s. 

I wanted it to have a purpose. I want to not just bring people together from a networking view but actually give back to the industry in one way, shape, or form. Because, as an industry in data centres, each company is very good at doing its own thing, but they don't come together like other sectors do to work together and attract talent, for example, or to talk about things that are pertinent to the industry, particularly talent. 

Sarah 

I think that's right. And that's what I loved about the event when I came, the one that was hosted with JLL. It brought together so many different leaders from different disciplines within data centres to tackle that challenge. 

Marynet 

And the one before, which would have been great had you come, was about attracting veterans into the data centre space. We, as data centre professionals, have a crisis of talent. There aren't enough people. 

The idea is that we, as an industry, don't really like people coming from outside. And that's true of everyone, whether it's people who work in the organisations, suppliers, or anyone else. 

“Oh, you haven't worked in data centres…then you probably don't know what you're talking about.”, which is not actually the right approach. 

The reason is, and I'll take myself as an example, I was an outsider some 5-6 years ago, and I'm sorry, if we can build railways, nuclear stations and all of that, then surely we can build data centres. Or if you do marketing or recruitment, and it's not just the construction side, it's everything. 

With the one on the veterans, for example, we focused on those transitioning from the military and looking for careers. And the great thing is, these guys and girls have fantastic skill sets and know-how again, coming on ships and army bases, but they're probably behind on how to write a CV. They’ll come and draft their CVs, put them into LinkedIn or apply for jobs, and the chat bot will automatically reject them and never find a way into the industry. We, on the other hand, need people with that kind of talent in commissioning, operations, engineering, on all fronts. 

The idea was to bring the two together. So we brought people who have already made that transition into the data centre space, ex-veterans, and they were talking to their comrades on, “What is a data centre?”, “What does it mean?”, “What kind of careers do you have and what roles can you do?”, and “How to transition from this to that?”. And then the second part was talking to the industry leaders and saying, “Guys, do you see that fantastic pool over there, why don't you actually go and look at them?” It's not a career fair; it's just opening ideas, and minds, and hearts. 

And then, naturally, the second part was the young people. Again, being a mom of teenage daughters who are going to start looking for careers, and in fact, one is even looking for her workplace internship. Talking to the young generation and telling them, do you know what a cloud looks like? What's a data centre? And again, that it's not just dirty boots and construction. There are so many careers that you can have within our industry. 

Oli 

Well, it feels like there's a growing narrative. Although there is a lot more work to be done around that education piece in terms of experience that can be relevant to data centres when I'm speaking with clients or people within the industry, there does seem to be more of an open mind about that. But nonetheless, it's still a bit of a bridge to gap, I suppose. 

A statistic I heard the other day was that 75% of the people working in data centres are currently over the age of 45. Not that 45 is that old, but bringing in new talent into the industry who may not have the experience is still proving slightly challenging in certain sectors. 

Marynet 

Again, part of it is also, well, the data centre industry itself is not an industry that advertises itself. Have you ever walked and found billboards advertising developers, a career in data centres, or even a career firm? You'd never know they exist. 

I've been in construction for 15 years, and I didn't know what it was. My previous boss had to explain that it's just a big building full of servers and very expensive equipment. So, it's a self-made problem. 

Also, as I said before, we don't like people from outside the industry. As you said, most of this generation are over 45 years old and are within 15 years of retirement, but there are not enough new people coming in. 

So, we need to be open-minded from the very start, getting people into internships and graduate programs, and attracting talent from outside the industry altogether, whether it's oil and gas or something that's quite mission-critical. We could also maybe start advertising ourselves a bit more because you've got a whole lobby of people who are protesting against the existence of data centres.  

Obviously, if they can't WhatsApp their friends, then they'll start to know the value of DCs. So, we need the positive press to attract local communities, showing them that this building, which might be pretty or not, is going to create jobs for the local community. 

Oli 

Yeah, that really chimes with a number of panel discussions that I've been a part of lately, that it's the education of the broader kind of talent piece. 

What that could look like, from skills that can be brought into the data centre industry to skills that can be brought externally within the wider public and so on. 

To show that this is a data centre, and this is what they're bringing to our daily lives. I think there's still a bit of misunderstanding about how critical they are to everyone's daily lives at the moment. 

Marynet 

And I think this is where also the industry needs to come together as competitors and as different parts of the ecosystem, starting from the top hyperscalers all the way down to the colos, and every single supplier in that supply chain ecosystem. If we all work together, we'll start to bring this positive message to the communities and different industries as well.  

For example, within my organisation, there aren’t a lot of people with actual data centre experience. As long as they have the right talent, the right skill set for the job that's being asked, it's something that they can learn. And I'm happy to teach people that, as long as they have the right work ethic, that's important. 

Sarah 

Do you work with the hyperscalers down to the colos? Is your client base every element of the data centre developers and operators? 

Marynet 

We’re more focused on the start-ups first. So, the people who actually need that kind of support for introducing them into the supply chain and putting a procurement strategy together, that kind of works for them as they grow, rather than going straight to the tier ones. 

Sarah 

Yeah, because they'll have their internal teams. I suppose what I was interested in understanding is with the startups, for example, do you find they have a different approach to talent and attraction than the more established tier ones? 

Marynet 

Depends sometimes, because most of the start-ups would have been created out of people who've left their previous companies and brought together, so they would all know each other from the beginning. These would be like the founding partners if you like, and then they tend to bring people that they kind of know because that will earn them the trust of the investors as well, rather than attracting people from completely outside the industry. 

Sarah 

Yeah, interesting. We did a lot of work with the data centre scale-up back in 2020/2021, and we actually placed a lot of ex-military with them, and they were great in their vision for understanding the value of diverse thought. But actually, at the same time, they've now gone to a more traditional model. Those that you want in a scale-up phase are different to those that work in the kind of business-as-usual phase. 

But if you think about how we attract and retain more talent into the industry and sustainability, which I know that you're very passionate about, these are really important topics to younger generations, and I would argue that they are a great pull to attract people. 

What are you finding to be the hot topics within the industry that you think will translate to really brilliant careers? 

Marynet 

First, I think about AI. Everyone hears about Chat GPT or Open AI. How does this work? And with younger people, actually, AI means that this industry is booming more than ever before. When we used to build buildings that had capacity X, now we are looking at 10 and 100 times that X, which translates into more jobs and more investment. 

One of the things we've been looking at doing is also going into local schools again, kids who are secondary school age about to choose their GCSEs or about to get into that career path. The year eights and nines, trying to explain to them what a data centre is and how you get into that career. What are the different paths that you need to be pursuing? 

Universities would also be a great point of entry for young people to come in, such as university career fairs or graduate career fairs. I've not seen anything like it in the data centres like you would see with other sectors. 

We've recently opened up our office in Dubai, and one of the things I was talking about with one of the major telcos there is attracting young ladies. Going into girls’ schools in particular, making that positive impact in the community and attracting young Emirati girls into a career in engineering, data centres or other avenues. Again, coming from a Middle Eastern background, we Middle Eastern ladies tend to think, “Oh no, we don't want a career that might inhibit our ability to move on and have a family and all of that.” 

So, there's this whole negative perception in some people's minds. Still, it's actually coming back to say, yes, you can have a career in an industry like data centres, it is difficult and very demanding, but you can also have a family. There are a lot of examples in there so it’s about bringing in the right ones, and how you actually make that balance. 

Sarah 

Who have been the big examples of that whom you've come across? Apart from yourself, which have been significant? 

Marynet 

I mean, obviously, Dame Dawn is fantastic. Dame Dawn is just an amazing woman who has an absolutely influential career. Jackie Wild from TSL, for example, who is a mother and owner of a major contractor company.  There is another lady called Monica Murali, who is a chairwoman of a supervisory board and a major Polish contractor that I work with, but also is a mum of three and quite a passionate businesswoman. 

  
There are a lot, and they all deserve to be celebrated. I mean, I'm sure I've missed out on many, but there are a lot of them. But also, as you would have noticed in the stats, there aren't many women in the data centre industry. Again, it's a very male-dominated industry, worse than the railways or maybe equivalent to what the railways were 15-20 years ago. So that's another thing we need to tackle in talent. 

 
Sarah 
That’s why, with the likes of Dame Dawn doing what she’s doing, although we’re biased as we placed Dawn at Pure. She's always done a huge amount for women in engineering, but I love how much she is making the sector human. And I think that's one of the bigger things for me personally. 

Oli 

From a leadership perspective, if you consider the kind of mindset that given how quickly everything's evolving in the data centre space, and some of the challenges we've talked about there, along with that speed of evolution and speed to market. 

From a mindset perspective within leadership, are there any key elements or traits that you feel are going to come to the fore, or that you'd like to see more of within existing leadership? 

Marynet 

Planning, there was a little bit of a slowdown in the last six months, due to the hyperscalers pausing their developments and other companies who just slowed down. 

But companies that are leaders are quite clever in terms of planning and anticipating what's coming next. Planning is not just about the construction or the physical build, but also talent, because this would be a great opportunity for you to pause and find out who's unfortunately being made redundant, for example, from other companies that are slowing down. And you can start to attract and invest in that talent early enough. So, when the tsunami of work comes, you're ready and prepared.  

Looking at things from a strategic standpoint, it's not just about the projects that will happen this year or next year. It's about how to future-proof your organisation and make your strategies agile enough to grow or even shrink when needed. It's having that flexibility. 

Relationships is another one. Leaders need to have the right relationships within their own organisations and with their supply chain. What would give Company A leverage ahead of Company B with one of the major suppliers when you've got others, like the hyperscalers they're working with? So, part of it is relationships. 

If you've always been open with your suppliers, giving them visibility of your pipeline and wanting to work with them, that will definitely give you that leverage ahead of others. It's all about the pricing, and you have to give me the best terms and all that. Yeah, but why would I? I have others who want to work with me. 

And it's just being human, open, and honest with the people that you work with. I kind of saw that on two occasions in the data centres. Unfortunately, five years ago, I lost my husband, and I'd only been in data centres for about a year. The number of people who genuinely reached out to support or buy flowers or messages was the first moment of realising, “Wow, this is a lovely industry”.  It's small enough, and people actually stick together on certain occasions. 

When I left and before I started MissionProcure, people weren't sure what I was doing, everyone was keen to help me land my next role. It's out of pure love and respect, and people introducing you to others, and willing to give you all the information. These are things that leaders actually have to capitalise on. 

Oli 

Yeah, it's interesting though, isn't it?  It's balancing the short-term here and now with that long-term view. And actually, that fantastic culture that is within the data centre industry, I suppose, that kind of network. And the fact that you say, it is relatively speaking, small enough that that community has a good sort of feel about it. 

But actually looking at that, it’s how we can grow that to take it further forward for the next 5-10 years. 

Marynet 

Yeah, never burn your bridges in this industry, everyone knows that. 

Sarah 

I think the data centre industry has the best networkers, and I've just found that they’re nothing but open and embracing people, who come together to overcome challenges. 

I suppose I've got two questions. One is around sustainability and could probably be an entire conversation on its own. 

I'm keen to understand what draws you to sustainable supply chains, as I understand that that's your particular passion, and how does that translate in the day-to-day part of the sustainability? 

Marynet 

There are quite a number of aspects to it. One thing that is really a passion of mine is impacting the local communities, not just the workforce, but also trying to use more local suppliers where needed. I've come across organisations that go to local communities, from country X to country Y, and they don't benefit the local community in any aspect. I mean, I've seen it to the extent of people bringing their own catering from back home. And then you start to wonder why the local communities don't like data centres at their doorstep. 

An important part is for companies to enforce how good their corporate citizens are and how they will benefit the local communities. Using the local supply chain also means you can, for example, use waste heat to heat local swimming pools or local fisheries in the Nordics and supply heat. 

 There are all these very clever tactics and schemes that suppliers can come up with, but the best ones who would do that would be the locals because they know what their local communities need. 

The one thing that we also might want to do better is, again, part of the positive influence I've not seen yet: not a lot of DC developers or people from the ecosystem are going to build local playgrounds, for example, or go into the local schools or make it a point to recruit from the local university or local communities. 

That's the part of sustainability that I'm more passionate about, it’s the people side and the local communities. And how do you benefit? You can hear their opinions as part of all these angry protesters. You can actually sit and hear their opinions, and how do you bring some of their opinions, if possible, into our designs and into the way we do business as data centres? 

 Sarah 

It always boils down to people for you, doesn't it? 

Marynet 

For me, it's people. 

Sarah 

That’s great. I suppose the last question is, what are you most excited about from a talent perspective over the next five years within your industry? 

Marynet 

Bringing more people from outside the DC space and young people, particularly young girls, into the industry. Again, within my own smallish consultancy, that's what we're doing. We're opening the eyes and hearts of the industry to look beyond the people, from going around and robbing A from Company B that you've always worked with and bringing them here. It's not about talent acquisition; it's more about talent development. 

So that's my passion for the next few years. You'll see a lot of initiatives that we are working on, we’re hoping for the support of the ecosystem and wonderful people like yourselves at Capstone to support on that front. Mentoring younger people and bringing them in and supporting people from all walks of life to come into DCs because that's what we need. 

Oli 

And for people slightly earlier in their career path, are there any words of advice that you might pass along to them in terms of them trying to move into the data centre sector, potentially, or just in general? Are there any particular parting thoughts you want to leave them with? 

Marynet 

Be bold in your career. Never lose sight of the people you meet along the way. I think that will be the first thing. Build good relationships with integrity approach to work with honesty and with openness and be fair but decent to people because it will come round and bite you. 

Don't create a glass ceiling for yourself. Don't think that this is it, and I'm at the top of it. Keep pushing the boundaries, and there'll always be more ambition and space to grow. 

And then if you've built a successful career, then definitely using it to help someone else along the way. It comes back to that opportunity that you talked about right at the beginning. 

Sarah 

Yeah, exactly. Marynet, thank you so much, that was brilliant. I could carry on for hours, as I'm sure we have done in the past and will do in the future. We would definitely love to support you and the NexConnect Hub and anything that you're doing, and be a partner and ally to you. There are some real shared values there, plus it's always good to see each other in person. 

Marynet 

Definitely. Sarah and Ollie, thank you; the conversation was wonderful. Thank you for all that you guys do with Capstone. I mean, the mentoring program is just fascinating. I'm learning from my mentee, probably far more than she is, and I'm really enjoying it. She's great.