INTERVIEW RIN HAMBURGH PHOTOGRAPH SEAN MALYON
When I joined MAControls, a small pharmaceuticals engineering company, as an admin assistant, I had just finished university. I knew I wanted some sort of admin or PA role, and it was a small company with two directors and a bunch of engineers working as contractors. They weren’t really businessmen, they were subject specialists, so I knew there was a lot of scope to do a good job and help with things such as processes and procedures. But I had no idea that I’d end up co-owning the company within three years!
Our managing director, Mike, had always struggled with health issues but, in 2016, he ended up in hospital and we weren’t sure he’d ever come out. Luckily, he did – in fact, he’s still alive and well today – but he knew that something needed to change and announced that he’d be retiring. I don’t know why he decided that one of the trainee engineers, Jack – who was only 22 at the time – and I would be the best people to take over. The business had grown by then and we had several staffworking in the office and more contractors. The clients knew us, but we were both young and I worried that people wouldn’t take us seriously.