Building Things That Last

Twelve Father’s Days have passed since my dad died, and still, his presence is deeply felt. Not just in memories, but in the way I live, work, and lead.

Half of my working life was spent in the business he built from the ground up. He left school at 14 to labour for his own father’s groundworks company. By the 1980s, he had transformed that modest subcontractor into McNicholas Construction—at one time the largest private employer in Hertfordshire.

My own entry into the business was almost accidental. I was 13, riding in the back seat on the school run, when I spotted a plot of land. That evening, I told my dad. The next day, he bought it. That site became our head office.

At 14, I was batching invoices in accounts during school holidays. By 20, I was full-time. Eventually, I became HR Director, helping to steer the company’s people strategy as we grew from 500 to 3,500 staff. It was a wild, fast-moving time—but it shaped me.

He was a visionary. A trip to the US in the 1980s sparked the idea to bring cable TV to the UK. He remortgaged our house to fund the project. We laid the first cable in Windsor. Before long, we were expanding into telecoms, water, gas, rail, electricity, and wind energy infrastructure. His teams laid much of the fibre-optic cable still beneath our streets today.

He wasn’t one for meetings. Never had an email address. But he got people. He treated board directors and site labourers with the same attention. Tough and driven, yes—but also kind. We didn’t always see eye to eye—especially as a woman striving for leadership in a male-dominated, family-run business—but I learned to hold my corner. And though he didn’t say it aloud, I know he was proud.

At his funeral, the hearse paused outside our head office. Staff lined the road in silence—some waving, some in tears. It moved me deeply. He built things that lasted. Not just infrastructure, but relationships. A business. A family. A daughter.

Now, I remember him with gratitude—for his grit, his boldness, and his belief in action over words.

To all the fathers and father figures who open doors for others: thank you.