Deb Akins

When she joined our business 10 years ago, Deb Akins was drawn to the direct impact she would have on the customer experience and hoped our portfolio of Westfield destinations would one day offer her the opportunity to move interstate.

Since then, Deb has positively impacted customer experiences every day and recently made the move from Sydney to Adelaide to take on the role of Regional Facilities Manager. Deb told us her story.

Deb presenting a service recognition award to Wajih Mawassi, a member of our cleaning team at Westfield Bondi Junction.

Attracted by the focus on the customer

Prior to joining Scentre Group I spent several years working in the sporting/leisure industry in various facilities roles. I was attracted to the shopping centre industry because of the impact I could have on the customer experience all day, every day.

Scentre Group was an obvious choice given the iconic Westfield brand and leading portfolio of destinations across Australia and New Zealand, which I hoped would one day lead me to moving states. I was also drawn to the flexibility on offer.

I was fortunate to work across several Westfield centres in Sydney as Facilities Manager before being appointed the Senior Facilities Manager at Westfield Bondi Junction. More recently I was promoted to Regional Facilities Manager in South Australia, allowing me to move interstate as I had always wanted to do.

Career development means lots of opportunities

Scentre Group supports team members to continually develop their skills and achieve their career goals – whatever they may be.

Over the years I had the opportunity to work on multiple additional projects. These opportunities extended my network and provided me with a more comprehensive understanding of our business, which includes over 70 job types across design, construction, operations, leasing and marketing.

Becoming a Regional Facilities Manager was always part of my desired career path and I discussed this goal with my leaders. They were very supportive and before I knew it, I was offered the Regional Facilities Manager role in South Australia.

Scentre Group’s focus on training internal talent and providing career opportunities across the business means I now have people in my team who come from non-facilities backgrounds.

Our Facilities team plays a central role in delivering positive customer experiences for the tens of thousands of people walking through our doors every day, so people with a customer mindset and focus on operational excellence, but no technical background are very successful with us.