From an early age, Donella expressed that she has always had a hammer and some nails in her hands on a construction site. Growing up, Donella shared, “My greatest mentor has always been my dad, Barry Armstrong. When I was just 12 years old, he used to own a division of Masterton Homes, and I would work in the display home. Dad has always been really involved in the construction industry, and he built a lot of our own homes, too.”
From there, at the age of seventeen, Donella worked for a joinery manufacturing company doing design and estimating and then onto a well-known kitchen business where for over 20 years her role evolved into becoming their Operations Manager. Donella said, “From there I then moved into the commercial industry, grew from site manager to project manager, working my way up to become a senior project manager.”
Some of Donella’s greatest career highlights so far include working as the Senior Project Manager on “The Nielsen Park,” a heritage-listed historic site located in Vaucluse, Sydney.
Now, three months into her role as Operations Manager for Cadence & Co we asked Donella what do you love so far about your role? Donella said, “Everything. There are so many things that I love about it. I love being a part of a team, implementing new systems & processes to help the business grow and work as efficiently as possible. It is an exciting time to be at Cadence & Co and to play a part in helping them succeed and grow further. Not to mention my team also won the 2024 Cadence & Co Golf Day! The Directors Darren & Mark are both such lovely people. They genuinely care about their clients, their team, and it is beautiful to be a part of that. It is rare to see that in the construction industry and I feel so grateful to be a part of that.”
Donella shared that for any young woman looking to get into the Construction Industry, she said. “It is great to see the stigma fading. It was bad growing up, but with that, it gave me resilience and inspiration to move forward. So, for anyone thinking of doing it, go for it!”