23 Dec 2025
Phoebe Moses CMEngNZ CPEng spent the first six years of her career in the building structures team at Beca and says she worked with some amazing engineers and on some incredible projects. These included the New Zealand International Conference Centre and Horizon Hotel, AUT’s Tukutuku, and the B201 building at the University of Auckland.
During this time, Phoebe also led internal structural sustainability initiatives and achieved Chartered Professional Engineer status. She then completed a master’s degree in sustainability in Edinburgh before rejoining Beca in Aotearoa, leading the carbon assessment and advisory side of the business. Phoebe, who was named Sustainability Champion at the 2025 Engineering New Zealand ENVI Awards, uses her structural engineering background every day and enjoys integrating the two technical areas.
What’s on your bedside table?
A reading lamp, my phone, a digital room thermometer (my husband is obsessed with knowing the room temperature), a glass of water for my cats (Nutmeg and Basil), and generally four or five books on rotation. There are a couple of “should” reads which last a few months, and a couple of “enjoy”’ reads which only last a week or two. Currently, my “should” reads include Rising Strong by Brene Brown, and Mātauranga Māori by Hirini Moko Mead. My current “enjoy” reads are The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, and Piranesi by Susannah Clarke (a reread).
Let’s focus on those books – why did you choose them?
I found Rising Strong at the op shop last month and it’s one of Brene Brown’s books I have never read and always wanted to. I was gifted Mātauranga Māori for my birthday recently and it went straight to the “to-read” list!
How do they help you in your career?
As a people leader, you can never be reminded too many times of the importance of building trust and empathetic connections – Brene Brown has an unparalleled ability to make you think about how you can better serve the people you lead.
As technical people, it’s easy to overlook our positivist bias towards a Western approach of knowledge (both in its development and application). Mātauranga Māori helps us engineers to see knowledge (who holds it and how they use it) through a different lens, which is so important to build cultural understanding and make us better, more holistic engineers.
Which group of engineering professionals is this type of publication most helpful for and why?
All engineering professionals who deal with people (should be everyone!) and operate in Aotearoa (again – should be everyone who reads this magazine!). The strength of our profession is in our people, and in our ability to develop complex solutions with a multitude of perspectives/drivers/inputs. Both those books develop us in those areas.
What is the top publication you would recommend to other engineers and why?
The Māori in Engineering podcast, hosted by Alyce Lysaght. Māori are underrepresented in the engineering profession and this podcast is awesome for platforming those who are – hopefully to make it more accessible and attractive to rangatahi Māori deciding on their career pathways.
What book has most influenced your career?
Donut Economics by Kate Raworth. I read this book while doing my master’s in sustainability and it was pivotal in my decision to transition from the structural engineering profession to sustainability consulting.
What book is on your “must read” list but you haven’t had a chance to read it yet?
Mr Surveyor Thomson by John Hall-Jones. It’s about John Turnbull Thomson – an old-fashioned Victorian-era polymath who was an engineer, surveyor, and artist – as well as the first Surveyor-General of Aotearoa.
What do you read for fun?
A lot of fantasy and sci-fi (particularly female authors from the 1960s–1990s, think Ursula Le Guin and Patricia McKillip), 19th and 20th century literature and anything by Robert MacFarlane.
Speed Read
Ebook/paper copy My guilty pleasure is the Libby (Auckland Library) and/or Kindle app on my phone – so easy for a quick read when waiting for an appointment or travelling
Borrow/own I have a serious book addiction and had to downsize by many boxes worth when I married a minimalist but do have a pretty substantial home library.
Bookmark/turn down page Neither – I optimistically look at the page number, instantly forget it, and when I go to open it again spend a couple of minutes flicking through pages to find my spot.
This article was first published in the December 2025 issue of EG magazine.
