Tell us a bit about Lumen
Lumen is an engineering consultancy that specialises in the energy sector. They have 50 staff across Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia, with a head office in Christchurch, which is where Ben started working for them. They also have offices in Auckland, Wellington, Adelaide, Melbourne and here at Basestation in Tauranga.
Ben leads a team of nine engineers in Lumen’s Energy & Carbon team. His team works with large energy users such as commercial buildings and industrial manufacturing sites, helping them reduce their energy usage and carbon emissions.
There are also teams at Lumen that work on transmission lines design, electrical asset management, structural design projects and corrosion protection assessments (including marine structures).
Ben shares that he’s actually been working for Lumen since he left uni, back in 2013!
He took some time out to go travelling with his partner, Sophie in 2018, and was offered a role when he returned. When he came back to Lumen in late 2018, he was based in the Wellington office. Upon finding out they were going to be having twins (after just having their first kid), the whānau relocated to Tauranga to be closer to his wife’s parents, who had conveniently just retired!
What do you like about Basestaion
One of the things Ben enjoys about being at Basestation, is that the people who are here really want to be here! He likes being around smart, motivated people who also enjoy coworking. Ben notes a lot of people who are here are business owners, entrepreneurs or in a similar position to him - work for a company but remotely. Because of this variety of people from different backgrounds, it means conversations with other residents are hardly ever about work. There’s also an absence of office politics or conflict, which is really similar to the culture at Lumen.
Ben also loves the location, being so central and also close to his home.
How long have you been at Basestation
If you are a big commercial building owner or industrial manufacturing plant, and you want to look at ways to reduce your energy usage and bill - get in touch.
Please give a short pitch for businesses/customers or a call to action - we’d love to help promote your mahi
If you are a big commercial or industry building, and you want to look at ways to reduce your energy usage and bill - get in touch.
Finally, please tell us a little bit about yourself.
Ben is father to Fletcher, who’s 3, and identical twin girls, Maeve and Tessa, who are both 2. He spends a lot of time looking after his young family and supporting his wife.
Before family life took over, Ben enjoyed playing golf and cricket - both sports that aren’t very compatible with raising a young family, Ben admits. He does enjoy exercise, and so will go for a run when he can, and often goes to The Gym (just around the corner from Basestation) during his lunch break.
Ben also does most of the cooking (for the adults he adds!), he likes to cook Korean or Italian dishes.
His partner Sophie works part-time as a lawyer, so all three children attend daycare. Having his mother-in-law close by means that she can help out with the children if work takes him or Sophie away from home.
He jovially mentioned that for a while, when his twin girls were younger, he found it hard to tell them apart. They are now getting to an age where they like to trick people and pretend to be each other, but Ben reassures me that they aren’t very good at it! He adds, when the girls were young, they’d paint one of the girl’s finger nails to distinguish the two of them!
Recently, Ben confesses, he put them in the wrong beds at his in-law's place - something his wife and mother-in-law are happy to tease him about!
To learn more about Lumen, please visit their website here. If you’re in a similar position to Ben with a young family, working remotely, and looking for a space where you can get work done with likeminded people, get in touch with us. We have many options to suit all budgets and requirements.