She’s an ardent fan of Gaelic football who’s keen to promote a level playing field in the workplace.
As operations director at Elland-based energy management company Orchard Energy, Colette Costello heads the firm’s 40-strong back-office teams helping business clients improve their energy efficiency and get the best value for money from their energy suppliers.
It’s all about helping businesses secure advantageous supply contracts and adopt energy-saving measures that will enable them to boost their profits.
Based at the firm’s offices in Park Road, Elland, Colette’s role includes supporting her team managers, working on tendering, fostering relationships with Orchard Energy’s 20-plus suppliers and making occasional trips to liaise with senior staff at the firm’s regional offices in Scotland and Bristol.
Colette clearly enjoys her work.
“We have a close team of people,” she says. “We work hard but we have a lot of fun, which is nice. It makes you want to get up in the morning.”
Her achievements since joining Orchard Energy six years ago were recognised last Friday when Colette won the Leadership Award and was a finalist in the Business Woman of the Year Award at the national Network She Awards in Llandudno.
The leadership award recognised Colette for excellence in her role, commitment to developing her own career and being an inspiration to other staff.
Colette, who returns regularly to her native Ireland to visit family, joined Orchard Energy in 2009 as pricing analyst before being promoted to associate director in 2013 where she was instrumental in building the operations department and growing its numbers three-fold.
Colette joined the board of directors last October when she was promoted to operations director, having been identified by the board as the ideal leader to drive forward the department and continue its growth.
With 50% of her team being female, she feels passionately about equal opportunities and recently introduced a buddy system to help new starters settle in.
She also recognises that sometimes, females’ needs are different to their male counterparts, and was instrumental in creating a space for mothers returning from maternity leave to allow them to express milk and rest in private.
“My team is 50-50 men and women,” she says. “Three of my managers are women and two are men.
“I try to encourage everyone to make the most of their skills.”
Colette was born in Co Cavan, Northern Ireland, close to the border with Eire.
She was raised on a farm close to a “tiny village” and studied IT at college.
Colette worked in the IT department of an insurance firm for eight years in a variety of roles from change management to IT analyst before deciding it was time for a change – and went backpacking around Australia for two years with her dad and sister.
To earn some money, she worked at a petrol station – or roadhouse – in the Outback in Queensland, where she also met her fiancé, Craig.
Part of the second year in Oz was spent travelling along Australia’s west coast before a six-month stay in Sydney.
Colette returned to the UK to resume living in Halifax.
After five years living in Mytholmroyd, Colette and Craig have bought a new home at Salterhebble, which they are busy renovating – and plan to marry in February next year.
Following her career in IT, Orchard energy provided a complete change of direction for Colette.
“My background was IT – processes and analytical work,” she says.
“I’d registered with a recruitment company and I was sent for an interview at Orchard. I liked the company. The work was completely different and the more I got into it, the more I enjoyed it. It is constantly challenging.”
Colette said: “Our aim is not only to help companies get the best price, but also to look at how to make them more energy-efficient.”
It’s all the more important in an uncertain environment that companies can plan their energy needs, she says.
The businesses operates with clients of all sizes in a variety of sectors across the UK – from large manufacturers in the North East to iconic sports stadiums like the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
While a lot of her time is taken up by work, Colette’s spare time is devoted to improving the new house she shares with Craig and planning their wedding.
“We bought an old mill cottage and there was a lot of work needed on it,” she says.
“We’ve done a lot of the work ourselves, so I’ve got into DIY and gardening! We put a partition wall between the kitchen and the living room.
“I’ve also become a cat person. We had cats and dogs on the farm back home and they were always very much outside. Now we have a kitten who’s completely spoilt.”
Colette says: “I get back to Ireland as often as I can to visit family.”
But one thing she misses is Ireland’s distinctive ball games. Colette has a keen interest in Gaelic football and camogie – a stick-and-ball team sport played by women, which is similar to the men’s game of hurling.
Colette played the sport at school and has also spent time coaching the women’s game.
“I’ve tried to find if there are any teams playing over here,” she says, “but the nearest is in Manchester and that’s a bit far.
“I try to watch a couple of games when I get back to Ireland.”
Colette Costello
Role: Operations director
Age: 33
Family: Fiancé Craig
Car: Land Rover Discovery
Holidays: I spend a lot of time in Ireland. Otherwise, I like somewhere with lots of sun, sitting by a pool with a cocktail in one hand and a good book in the other
First job: Picking mushrooms and working in Tesco’s
Best thing about the job? It’s challenging – but it’s good to be challenged every day. The market is ever-changing and that keeps you on your toes
Worst thing about the job? I can’t think of anything I don’t like about the job
Business tip: It’s really important to empower people in business. You can’t have a business relying on just a couple of people. Empower people to make decisions.
Orchard Energy
Work: Energy management
Site: Park Road, Elland
Phone: 0844 581 0844
Email: info@orchardenergy.co.uk
