Continuing our Inspiring Leaders series, we spoke to Carla Sousa, Marketing and Communications Director at Chubb Fire & Security Ltd. Carla has been at Chubb for just over three years and has been a driving force in helping bring the business into the digital age and has been an influential leader in changing mindsets. Read on to discover where Carla developed her drive, ambition, and determination.

Growing up in Portugal

I was born in a smallish town called Barcelos in northern Portugal. Here’s some trivia information – if you are familiar with the chicken chain Nandos, their logo and fable on the walls is underpinned by Barcelo’s rich Roman culture of folk tales – a day visit to the town is a must, especially on Thursdays as they host the largest flea market in the country – you can get anything from fresh produce, shoes, clothes to livestock. The streets are decorated with ceramic roosters, showcasing the town pioneering in the ceramics industry and, more recently, an iconic symbol of Portugal. Growing up there, we were part of a small, very close community. It was aunties and uncles right next door to each other, making it a really supportive environment. I have happy memories of playing hopscotch and hide and seek outside. You knew when it was time to go home when the streetlights came on or one of the parents shouted their child’s name. That was the signal for everyone else to go home too. The town was small enough for everybody to know each other but big enough so you could still be yourself and develop your own personality. I went to primary and secondary school there. I enjoyed school – I was always a consistent middle achiever. Never the most academic, but I always did OK.

From the Iberian Peninsula to southern Africa

Halfway through my secondary school, we uprooted from Portugal and moved to South Africa. I was 15 at the time. Suddenly I found myself in a very different culture lacking a fundamental skill – the ability to speak English. All I knew was “hello” and “how are you”. I didn’t have much to go by and was starting from nothing. I joined an all-girls school, which was a new concept for me. Girls at that age can be very cliquey, and no one needed an extra friend. As if the move wasn’t traumatic enough, the next 12 to 18 months were probably the hardest periods of my life, where I felt at my lowest and very lonely. At school, I was given a set of books and a tape recorder. I was told to sit in the back of the class – it was more the storage cupboard, and I literally had to teach myself English every day. It got to a point where I didn’t want to leave the classroom at break time. Because if I went outside, I would still be on my own – I felt so out of place.

An inner strength

But then something changed. I became resolved. I developed a drive to push myself out. After a year or so, I started to think about what my life would be like if I was stuck in that room. At this time, the school said I needed to repeat the year because I hadn’t sat any exams. But I persuaded the headteacher to let me prove I wasn’t just the person who couldn’t speak English. I sat my exams and wrote in broken English, infilling with Portuguese. The plan worked – I passed and was moved up to the next school year. I went from being invisible to being part of the class. Although it was such a challenging time, it has built the person I am today. It taught me the value of determination, resilience and hard work and that I should be fearless and not afraid to put myself out there.

A fledgling law career

After secondary school, I hoped to go to university to study law. But unfortunately, I couldn’t afford it, so I joined a local college and started to learn business administration. While there, I came across a job board advertising a role to work for a Portuguese lawyer. This was my opportunity to get into the field. I got offered the role and worked on many criminal cases first-hand, and I was exposed to the law, legal processes, and a network of other lawyers. I worked there for about four years and made it to the point where I became a paralegal. But at that time, South Africa was going through a rough patch – economically, socially, and politically. My boyfriend (now my husband) and I thought it was time to go to Europe and see what opportunities we could find. We left South Africa and went to the UK to visit some of my husband’s family. But after only a couple of weeks, I felt pretty ill, so much so that I went to the hospital to get it checked. The doctor came to give me the results and told me I was pregnant. I was about seven months and relatively high-risk, which meant we couldn’t travel and couldn’t return to South Africa. So, the decision was sort of made for us – we were staying in the UK.

23 years later, we’re still here! I do take thee

As a Portuguese national, I was able to get a work visa, but my husband couldn’t. So that was when we decided to get married. It was the only way that he could guarantee his stay in the UK with me. It was very low-key, just me, my husband, and two witnesses. We turned up, exchanged our vows, got our paperwork – our walk out. Once we were outside, I remember bursting into tears. I turned to my husband and said, “My parents are going to disown me.” Not only do I have to tell them that I’ve just got married, but they’re going to be grandparents, and I’m staying in the UK. So, three huge life moments that they couldn’t be here for.

Straight back to work

I had to start working and earn money. I started doing some temp work, mainly administration jobs. I tried to do paralegal work then, but because the law I studied in South Africa was different to British law, it would have taken way too long for me to get up to speed and find a job. It wasn’t long before I had my first child, and within 6-8 weeks, I was back at work. Over the coming weeks and months, my husband’s work paperwork came through, and things started to get better. We now have three wonderful children who have had all our love and nurturing, and I’m proud of who they are becoming as people. But even before becoming a mum, I always knew that a career was important to me.

Becoming a great leader

I had some great managers and mentors who believed in me and gave me great opportunities. I’ve grasped each opportunity with both hands, which has helped me get to where I am today. My legal mind helps me in situations when I need clarification on something. I analyse things and break them down to try and understand them better. That certainly helps me communicate new products or solutions to our customers at Chubb. I’ve been here for three years and can’t believe how quickly it has gone. Before Chubb, I worked as a communications consultant at Three Mobile after spending 18 years at Johnson Controls. When a previous manager and by far the most influential mentor called to share the exciting things happening at Chubb, I knew then that I needed to pursue the opportunity. When I joined, Chubb was on a transformational journey. I needed to steer the business to digital. Digitalisation would allow us to be agile and flexible to meet our customers’ needs and be present in different channels. I started to work on getting us a new website, social platforms, customer communication tools, ways of engaging with people, and creating a platform that wasn’t just about making noise by pushing messages out. It needed to be two-way. The other thing I needed to change was mindset. People used to say to me, “ohh you can’t do that.” Or “we just don’t do it that way”. And I didn’t accept that. I’m a disrupter – in a good way. I like to consider things from different angles. If the methods before didn’t work, how can we roll up our sleeves and look at a solution that will allow us to get it done this time? Let’s try it again with more energy, more vitality and do it together. Critical to this is to include people on the journey; they start to see small wins and then believe and want to do more. I am a fair, forward-thinking leader. I believe in empowerment. I 100% trust my team and empower them to learn and develop as marketers and communicators. I make resources, tools, and knowledge available to them, but in return, I expect a high level of delivery. I believe in being diverse and inclusive too. Everyone should have the same opportunities. Like in my career, I was given chances to prove myself, so I am passionate about providing the same type of opportunities for the next wave of leaders.

Quick fire questions:

What’s your favourite food?

I’m a foodie, so I love almost everything – turnips and green beans, however, have no place on my plate. But I will try everything else, whether it’s meat, fish, shellfish, vegetarian, or vegan.

Do you like cooking?

I enjoy cooking, but I am getting bored; it’s becoming mundane. That comes with having most of the responsibility to cook for the whole family daily. But when I’m in the mood, I really try to cook something different.

Have you got a signature dish?

I’m not sure it’s a signature dish, but I always get loads of good comments on my traditional British roast – particularly the potatoes. Pretty much everyone who eats my potatoes goes away saying they are the best potatoes ever.

What are you watching on Netflix at the moment?

I watch so many things. I’ve just finished Emily in Paris, the Meghan and Harry story, and I’ve just started the Rig on Amazon Prime. In terms of series, I usually know halfway through the first episode whether it is for me or not.

What kind of music do you like?

I’m the same with music, movies, and entertainment; I like lots of things, but I’ve never been able to memorise the name of the artist, the names of the songs, or the albums. Kanye West, to me is one of the greatest artists. As an individual, it’s questionable.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you want to go?

Our next trip is likely to be visiting my husband’s mum, who lives in Zimbabwe, and the last time we saw her was 7-8 years ago now. But if I could go anywhere in the world, that would be the Maldives. It’s our 25th wedding anniversary in a couple of years – so what better place and time to do it?

Do you like sports?

I grew up playing football, basketball, and kickboxing, but I don’t do those anymore. I still go to the gym and exercise at home (not as often as I should), and I’ve just started riding a bike, as I’m taking part in a cycling challenge later this year.

Who has been your biggest inspiration?

There are many people who have inspired me, but the most inspirational is Nelson Mandela. In South Africa, I voted for Mandela to become the country’s first black president in 1994. The country was coming out of the apartheid era, so it was a real historical moment that will always be remembered. The fact that he was a freedom fighter, he was captured, and then released and went on to be president is genuinely inspirational.

If you could host a dinner party with three guests, who can be living or past, who would you choose and why?

OK, obviously, Nelson Mandela! Imagine listening to his stories of confinement in Robin Island. The civil injustice and the rise to becoming a president – uniting a country. The second has to be Cristiano Ronaldo. I love football, Cristiano is Portuguese; he is the most capped Portuguese men’s player, has the most international goals, and is arguably the greatest footballer ever. One of my sons aspires to be a pro footballer – I wonder if he could open some doors! The third would be Nicki Minaj. Now Nicki is fascinating – she knows her audience so well. She connects with ‘barbz’ on all levels through her many personas. Her authority goes beyond the modern-day influencer with creative ways to encourage her followers to be good citizens of the world. Now, I know her music isn’t for everybody – I, too, struggle with some lyrics that encourage women’s empowerment. But she has maximised her social media prowess and I’m sure I could learn a thing or two from her to support my work. So, dinner with these three people would be fantastic.