As the founder of Atmos International, Jun’s passion for people and equality has been a fundamental part of the company’s success. As CEO she continues to focus on her colleagues' welfare and opportunities to develop. Starting out in the 1980s she admits that her workplace wasn’t exactly full of equality. Working for an international petroleum company, Jun quickly discovered that she had to adapt to the culture of a white male engineer in order to progress her career. It was especially challenging for a newly qualified female engineer who originated from China.
It wasn’t until her move to one of the company’s UK operations that she gained a mentor who supported her as she developed her career. Gaining additional qualifications in leadership and management, Jun was quickly taking on more projects and was eventually asked to help solve a problem with the implementation of a leak detection system. Determined to make the system work reliably on as many pipelines as possible Jun took the opportunity to start Atmos International.
It was a bold move, one which would see her launch the company from her small house in Manchester, before moving to small offices where she would grow the business into a global company. Now employing over 180 colleagues worldwide, Jun has encountered many obstacles along the way. The reason for her success? An overriding belief in what she was doing. Her vision to provide every pipeline with leak detection was not only a responsible thing to do but one which would make a successful business.
Jun’s passion has not been about growing a corporation but a company with people who are passionate about what they do. She laments that there are still not enough women in the company and is keen to support her female colleagues in what they do. With skilled engineers, project managers and researchers delivering great results, Jun’s leadership is one that all colleagues admire.
She says: “My journey is not unusual, but it is not commonplace within the engineering world. A female, Chinese engineer building a business with global offices and employees is not always the easiest thing to do. I have learned a lot not only from being a business owner but as a leader.”
She continues: “I’m passionate about people. We take a lot of time to ensure our colleagues are happy and motivated. For our female colleagues across our offices, I encourage them to take up all the opportunities presented to them. Whether that is STEM engagement projects in schools and our community or our professional development schemes as a partner of the IET”.
“It is all of our responsibility to make sure our workplace is an equal place for all. I am therefore proud to see my colleagues embrace the International Women’s Day 2020 #EachforEqual initiative.”
