From the grandeur and glamour of Buckingham Palace to the challenge of affordable housing for Cornwall. It's quite a change of scenery for Beth Lawton, Coastline's new Head of ICT, who - until recently - was Information Systems and Telecommunications Manager for the Royal Household.
Having spent several years coping with the challenges that a royal wedding, the Queen Mother's funeral and state visits can bring, Beth is ready to embrace a whole new set of challenges - which may be no less demanding!
Beth will be taking responsibility for all of Coastline's IT and communications networks, and helping the Company to move forward in its mission to provide more much needed affordable housing locally.
Her previous job has created considerable interest and intrigue amongst colleagues however and she is certainly bringing some unique experience to the County.
Beth explains: "I worked at Buckingham Palace for over six years - and working in that building brought some interesting IT challenges in itself. Being a listed building of such national importance brought some problems with putting in new IT systems, cabling and suchlike!
Beth was also responsible for bringing the Internet into Buckingham Palace. She explains: "Getting the Palace online was a major achievement. It changed the way the Royal Household worked and I guess there are not many people who can say they've done that!"
And although Coastline's offices don't quite live up to the grandeur that is Buckingham Palace, Beth believes there are some similarities: "Everyone at Coastline is very focused on what they do and on working together for what they believe in, which is a very similar mindset to those serving the Royals!"
During her time at the Palace, Beth played a key role in providing IT support and setting up incident rooms, technology and communications channels for the Queen Mother's funeral and various state visits. She also oversaw the IT arrangements for the Queen's Golden Jubilee, setting up several extra offices with all the necessary technology and making sure the BBC had all the necessary IT facilities at their disposal.
"The Golden Jubilee was one of the highlights of my time working for the Royal Household," says Beth. "I had the privilege of seeing the "Party at the Palace" and the "Proms at the Palace" - which were both fantastic."
As much as Beth will miss the Royal Household, she's looking forward to her work with Coastline: "I was looking to work with another organisation that is driven by social values. As a not-for-profit organisation that is striving to make a difference in Cornwall, and in the lives of many individuals, Coastline was exactly the sort of Company I had a desire to work for."
