Stratum Consultants has a long history in the Bay of Plenty supporting customers with their land development projects. With a growing team of more than fifty based at Tauranga, Rotorua and Te Puke offices, comprising Civil Engineers, Structural Engineers, Geotechnical Engineers, Resource Management Planners, and Surveyors, the business is proud of its role in the changing landscape of the Bay of Plenty region.
Mel joined Stratum Consultants in 2022, and the appeal of the business was instant. “The company had a great reputation for quality professional services, was progressive in their thinking and had established itself as being people centric” says Mel. “I had come from Quotable Value (QV) as the Chief Operating Officer, although also being a Registered Valuer meant I had a real passion for property. Stratum Consultants was a great fit for me in so many ways, and I feel incredibly privileged to have been selected for the CEO role”.
Mel’s credits her time at QV to gaining exposure to a wide variety of roles and projects across operations, technology, marketing, and human resources, and was fortunate to have some excellent mentors to complement her formal qualifications but describes a steep learning curve since joining Stratum Consultants. “The team at Stratum are impressive, with highly qualified technical professionals doing outstanding work in their field. I am learning a lot about different stages of the property lifecycle that I hadn’t been exposed to previously. However, what is abundantly clear is that their expertise combined with local knowledge is a definite strength.”
The breadth of services provided by Stratum across the engineering disciplines, planning, and surveying means there is also a wide range of customers and project types, but having grown up in the Bay of Plenty, spending her childhood in Maketū and Te Puke means Mel has a strong familiarity and appreciation for the region, its land, and its people.
Outside of Stratum Consultants Mel is a proud Mum to four daughters, including identical triplets, so the people centric approach at Stratum was extremely important, and this is something Mel feels passionate about nurturing as part of maintaining a strong employee value proposition in such a competitive marketplace for property professionals.
Further testament to Stratum’s people centric approach is the recently implemented 36-hour work week where its three offices close at noon on Friday to give every employee a long weekend, every weekend. Mel says, “the willingness of the Directors to support the implementation of such an initiative is amazing.”
So, what’s next for Stratum Consultants? “We have an exciting time ahead of us as we continue to grow alongside our customers, and I am both grateful and excited to be part of it with our team.”
