Lucy is Head of Crew Services at Burgess. She has over 30 years’ experience in HR and training, and a solid track record in IT, database management and analysis. Her natural leadership skills and practical, pragmatic and fair management approach make her the go-to for all crew-related requirements, from recruitment and employment to diversity in the workplace. Lucy made Partner in 2019.
Prior to Burgess, Lucy worked for an overseas aid agency writing sponsorship and employment databases to send primary healthcare medics overseas to developing countries. She later spent eight years at international shipping company Cosco (UK) Ltd – the fourth largest shipping company in the world at the time – as Deputy General Manager of General Services where she was responsible for all HR, IT, legal and administration matters, including crew safety matters for the vessels while in UK ports, crew management, and overseeing the implementation of SAP as the company’s global tracking system. She followed this with an MSc in Human Resource Management.
'Working for a UK-based Chinese company gave me a unique insight and solid foundation in how to manage people from different cultural backgrounds,' she says. ‘Crew management is what I enjoy the most, so when an opportunity arose at Burgess, I happily accepted.’
Lucy joined Burgess’ crew management department in 2006, bringing a wealth of expertise in employment law to the company. She has since successfully grown the number of Burgess crew from 600 to over 2,000 and personally manages around 12 Burgess yachts. In 2009 she initiated the opening of Burgess Crew Services (Guernsey) PCC Ltd, an offshore crew employment company and wholly owned subsidiary of Burgess set up to meet new social security requirements and streamline the process for employing and paying crew who work on Burgess managed yachts.
'I approach every challenge, action and objective with an open mind and believe collaborative troubleshooting is the best way forward,' she says. This came to the fore during the global pandemic when Lucy and her team were instrumental in assisting around 900 crew who were displaced around the world and spearheaded the implementation of a large mental health and wellness campaign.
