Meet the air quality crusader on a mission to stop toxic air

Francesca Brady, right, founded AirRated to drastically improve the quality of air in our homes, offices, schools and gyms. Photo: Getty Images

Francesca Brady, right, co-founded AirRated to drastically improve the quality of air in our homes, offices, schools and gyms. Photo: Getty Images

Francesca Brady is co-founder and CEO of indoor air quality certification business AirRated. She won the 2024 Veuve Clicquot Bold Future Award.

After my Masters degree in environmental geosciences, I started a lifestyle business selling drawings and furniture at Spitalfields Market. It was a temporary stop gap; I wanted to get creative after a heavy academic university life.

My first proper job was at a property technology start-up company. I worked in admin initially as I was so niche in terms of what I studied. I wasn’t geared up to go into finance or marketing, and I didn’t know what I was good at.

Read More: ‘I wasn’t an obvious choice as partner but our firm’s success is down to retaining talent’

I was booking meeting rooms and making tea, but I started to naturally fall into a sales role. Perhaps it was the scientific communicator in me that knew how to understand this complex topic of property technology, all the variations of air quality sensors, and how they worked with smart building management systems.

Steve Smith was head of sales and in the beginning his force of nature personality took me by surprise. You have people who are clever and switched on in academia, and Steve was the same, but once I got to know him I could see how supportive he was of me trying to find my feet.

“As long as you are honest with me, I don’t mind what you do,” he told me. “If you are, we can sort it out together.”

From landmarks like Battersea Power Station to student accommodation across the UK, AirRated is involved in countless projects to improve indoor air quality nationwide. From landmarks like Battersea Power Station to student accommodation across the UK, AirRated is involved in countless projects to improve indoor air quality nationwide.

From landmarks like Battersea Power Station to student accommodation across the UK, AirRated is involved in countless projects to improve indoor air quality nationwide.

There’s no doubt that he influenced my management style today.

The first client I secured was at the Met Office. I had worked hard to get a meeting and was overjoyed when Ralph James agreed to it. I took Steve with me on the train and sent an email to Ralph, who messaged me back saying he thought the meeting was tomorrow. I was horrified. I looked at Steve knowing his honesty mantra, but still I called Ralph immediately.

He said he couldn’t fit me in but I could blame the mix up on him. Steve found the humour and Ralph did find 10 minutes in the day. We have stayed close ever since and he continues to be supportive of young engineers.

I don’t normally mess up and I am my biggest critic. People can sense that, and they try to make me feel more confident in myself.

I thought if I was in Ralph’s team at the Met Office I would have the best boss. In fact, if you could combine both Steve and Ralph they would be the ideal ‘super boss’.

Read More: ‘I want my staff to feel good’: The company that operates without job titles or clocks

Steve had such a calm nature in the direction of travel he wanted us to go in. To such a degree that even if it was the wrong direction he had so much conviction that I was fully invested in where he was going.

He would change his mind but not with a knee-jerk decision, he would justify and communicate why he was making the turnaround. These are all things I aspire to in my management.

We would work from home on Fridays, but Steve would never call to see what I was up to. It never felt like he was micromanaging and I felt like I had autonomy in my role.

Francesca Brady, right, co-founded AirRated to drastically improve the quality of air in our homes, offices, schools and gyms. Photo: GettyFrancesca Brady, right, co-founded AirRated to drastically improve the quality of air in our homes, offices, schools and gyms. Photo: Getty

Pensions specialist Tracy Blackwell and Francesca Brady attend the Veuve Clicquot BOLD Woman Award Ceremony. Photo: Getty

I saw a gap in the market at the property technology company. They had lots of different sensors and tracking devices, and they were monitoring air quality performance in buildings.

I understood the business case for why people should invest in the tech, but I saw there was very little context on the smart buildings front to bring the data to life in a way that was valuable for people to use and understand.

People are buying monitors, but how do we capitalise on the data they are receiving? The tech exists and creating a ratings system was something that I could build.

It was a natural spin off. I had exposure to business, the academic understanding of how to take it further and I acted as the figurehead. I wouldn’t have described myself as a business CEO, more as an advocate, someone who was passionate about getting it off the ground. We did that in 2020 with my co-founders Olga Turner-Baker and Oliver Spriggs.

Read More: ‘We had to write down our peers’ strengths – our boss mailed them to their parents’

It’s not mandatory to track and rate the performance of air quality in spaces, which I find incredible. And when COVID hit it was about a duty of care and peace of mind coming into spaces.

Our product was built for commercial spaces and we had to pivot into multiple other sectors in retail, residential and industrial settings.

Using the platform I had at the Veuve Clicquot Bold Awards, air quality is something that isn’t talked about a lot and if I could talk about it in a room full of influential people maybe we can get the message out there to demand results in term of both internal and external pollution.

Francesca Brady will join Veuve Clicquot’s newly launched Bold Open Database, the first global, open and innovative database, aimed to bring together female entrepreneurs worldwide

Source link

Visited 1 times, 1 visit(s) today

Related Article

MN dog wins 'Most Valuable Puppy' at Puppy Bowl

MN dog wins ‘Most Valuable Puppy’ at Puppy Bowl

article Foxtrot from Pet Haven of MN (Animal Planet/Warner Bros. Discovery / Supplied) (FOX 9) – A Minnesota dog earned the top individual honor at the Puppy Bowl on Sunday. Puppy Bowl MVP What we know: Foxtrot, a Collie from Pet Haven of Minnesota, was named MVP (Most Valuable Puppy) of Puppy Bowl XXI on

Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl half-time show was one big tease

Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl half-time show was one big tease

Mark Savage Music Correspondent Reuters Kendrick Lamar is the first rapper to headline the Super Bowl as a solo act “I want to play their favourite song… but you know they love to sue,” said Kendrick Lamar, a couple of minutes into his Super Bowl half-time show. Everyone knew what he was referring to. Not

Ecuador election ends in a 'tie' prompting run-off in April

Ecuador election ends in a ‘tie’ prompting run-off in April

Ione Wells South America correspondent Reuters The campaign was dominated by the incumbent, Daniel Noboa’s hard-line approach to Ecuador’s violent drug gangs Ecuador’s presidential election will go to a second round after a closely contested first-round result failed to produce an outright winner. The electoral authorities called it a “technical tie” after the incumbent centre-right

Donald Trump to announce raft of new trade tariffs including on steel

Donald Trump to announce raft of new trade tariffs including on steel

João da Silva Business reporter Reuters President Donald Trump has said he will announce a 25% import tax on all steel and aluminium entering the US, a move that will have the biggest impact in Canada. Trump also said that there would be an announcement later in the week about reciprocal tariffs on all countries

Taylor Swift speaks to musician and actress, Alana Haim in the stands. Pic: Reuters

Super Bowl 2025: Donald Trump makes history – as Taylor Swift booed | US News

Celebrities including Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, Sir Paul McCartney and Bradley Cooper were out in force for arguably America’s biggest sporting event of the year – the Super Bowl – as the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. But it wasn’t just the stars of music and acting who were among the crowds to

Taylor Swift, Jay-Z and Donald Trump among stars in New Orleans

Taylor Swift, Jay-Z and Donald Trump among stars in New Orleans

50 minutes ago Thomas Mackintosh BBC News, London Reuters Taylor Swift – pictured in between two of the Haim sisters – watching boyfriend Travis Kelce’s Chiefs at her second Super Bowl appearance One of the biggest sporting events in the world is under way in New Orleans as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the

US President Donald Trump stands as US singer-songwriter Jon Baptiste performs the National Anthem ahead of Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, February 9, 2025. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

Who Was Missing From Donald Trump’s Super Bowl Entourage

President Donald Trump’s posse at Sunday’s Super Bowl game in New Orleans included Eric Trump, Lara Trump, Ivanka Trump and her son. But as the other members of the first family watched the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles vie for the championship, first lady Melania Trump was nowhere to be found. Melania Trump

US News Live: Super Bowl and close referee calls: Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles get controversial flags

US News Live Today February 10, 2025: Super Bowl and close referee calls: Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles get controversial flags

US News Live: Get real-time breaking news updates on the biggest event unfolding in the United States, including election, politics, economics, crime, viral and more. US News Live: Super Bowl and close referee calls: Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles get controversial flags US News Live: Get the latest updates and breaking news from the

Frogmore Cottage

Duke of York ‘strikes deal to make money off Pitch@Palace contacts’

The Duke of York has reportedly struck a deal to earn money by sharing contacts he made through his Pitch@Palace initiative. Prince Andrew could earn millions under the deal with Startupbootcamp (SBC), based in the Netherlands, from the project which aimed to connect entrepreneurs with investors. Pitch@Palace has faced scrutiny since Yang Tengbo, an alleged

Palestinians cross back to their homes after the Israeli army withdrew from the Netzarim corridor, as part of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas. The corridor was created to separate the Gaza strip into northern and southern areas. Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa

Israel pulls out of key Gaza corridor as Cairo to host crisis talks

Following the latest hostage-for-prisoner exchange under the current ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the Israeli military withdrew from the strategic Netzarim Corridor in the Gaza Strip on Sunday. The corridor divides the coastal strip into northern and southern halves. The army’s departure means internally displaced people can return from the south of the Gaza

CFPB

White House Orders Consumer Protection Agency Shutdown

The Trump administration has ordered an effective shutdown of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), directing the agency to stop investigations, suspend rule implementations, and cease supervision activities. Russell Vought, the newly appointed director of the Office of Management and Budget, issued the order in a Saturday night email. Newsweek reached out to the White

Palestinians making their way past the rubble after Israeli forces withdrew from the Netzarim Corridor on Sunday.

Israel completes withdrawal from key road dividing Gaza as part of ceasefire deal

CNN  —  Israel completed its withdrawal from the Netzarim Corridor on Sunday, a key road that splits Gaza in half, as part of its commitments under a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Palestinians have been filing through the area by foot, car and in some cases, by donkeys video footage showed, although those traveling must navigate

Boy, 17, charged with attempted murder in Northampton

Boy, 17, charged with attempted murder in Northampton

Mark Bulstrode/BBC A man was stabbed on Wednesday in Northampton and was said to now be in a stable condition A 17-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder after a man was stabbed. Police were called after a 29-year-old man was attacked on Monarch Road in Northampton on Wednesday between 18:30 and 18:45 GMT.

Sir Richard Branson and crew after landing from Virgin Galactic's test flight July 11, 2021.

Will Virgin Galactic Abandon the Space Tourism Business?

Virgin Galactic may have found a better way to make money in space. In June 2024, space tourism pioneer Virgin Galactic (SPCE -4.67%) launched its Unity spaceplane with a planeload of space tourists for the last time. In the months since, the company has continued working on its new spaceplane, dubbed the Delta class. Expected

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x