Monday Meets Marteen Fraser-Davis - Team Assistant

We're wrapping up our special Black History Month Monday Meets series with an inspiring conversation with Marteen F. . Marteen supports our Asset Management team, juggling diaries, meeting deadlines, and showcasing her InDesign skills.

Discover how Marteen's unexpected journey brought her into the property industry, and how her rich heritage, rooted in the Windrush generation, has profoundly influenced her career path.

1. How did you get into the property industry?

Completely by fluke… my best friend works at CBRE and heard a job was opening at Derwent London and encouraged me to apply.

2. Has your heritage influenced your career journey?

My heritage is very important to me and influences every aspect of my life. All my grandparents are from different islands in the West Indies and emigrated to England during the Windrush. Despite West Indian people being known as chilled and laid back, each of them worked hard to build lives over here and have instilled good work ethics in their children and grandchildren.

I am most influenced by my Nana, who was a nurse at Whittington Hospital. She is known for her caring personality and always went above and beyond for her patients despite the adversity she suffered in the early days. I try to do the same within my work, trying to help those around me as best I can, making their lives easier. I also adopt their laid-back attitudes in the sense that I bring a sense of calm to situations and try to problem solve in a stress-free manner. At the age of 90+ my girl still goes raving – I want to be just like her when I am older.

3. What does Black History Month mean to you?

Black History Month means a lot to me. I am fascinated to see all the forgotten faces in history that we were never taught about. It's great to learn about something other than slavery too, and topics that I can bring to my 14-year-old daughter, encouraging her to aspire to achieve more. I’m inspired by examples of black excellence from people we can look at and relate to.

4. What do you enjoy most about your role?

Coming from a very repetitive, cyclical background of being a finance manager, I enjoy the fact that no two days at Derwent London are the same. I am kept on my toes, and the different conversations around the Derwent buildings keep me engaged and driven to help achieve the company's wider goals. I really enjoy interacting with my colleagues around the office too.

5. What are some of the key challenges you face?

Funnily enough, I am employed to assist and organise my Asset Managers, but staying on top of my own personal goals is a struggle. I am so focussed on everyone else and trying to be one step ahead.

6. What advice would you give to someone looking to get into what you do?

For anyone looking to do a mid-life career change, I'd say just do it. I have no regrets, and your future self will thank you for taking the leap of faith.

For anyone trying to get into my role specifically – be organised, think ahead, have a positive, can-do attitude, and show initiative. The rest will follow.