Tell us a little about your current role and career
I’ve been working in PR and marketing for more than 13 years. I’ve a number of great roles including Marketing and CRM Manager for a global leadership development company. I spent five years working with amazing clients like Thomson Reuters, Panasonic Europe and News International. I was responsible for creating engaging marketing and CRM campaigns as well as overseeing and managing large scale training programmes across the world.
In 2014, I started my own marketing consultancy specialising in helping small - medium sized businesses with their strategy, PR, comms and social media as well as project management and events. That is when I discovered Clearbox - a PR, digital and social media agency. I started working with Clearbox as a consultant and was part of a small team working on one of its clients. That client was Amazon and we still work with them today - seven years later.
My role at Clearbox has developed from freelancer to Project Manager to Account Director and now General Manager. I am responsible for leading our team, with a focus on shaping and growing the business. It’s my job to ensure the teams are integrated and working cohesively together, shaping the direction of the agency, providing leadership and strategic guidance to our clients and our staff. My role includes a variety of business, team and client management as well as new business development.
Is there any aspect of the your job you particularly enjoy? And any aspect you don't enjoy?
My passion is people and relationships so I particularly enjoy working with the great team and clients we have at Clearbox. We pride ourselves on our excellent client service - striving to consistently surpass our clients expectations. In order to do this, we need to develop great relationships and build a culture of trust with both our team mates and our clients.
We have an amazing diverse team of people working in the agency. I love being part of someone’s career journey, and to watch them develop and grow as they progress is so rewarding.
We have an impressive roster of clients at Clearbox and they are great people to boot. We are treated as an extension of their PR teams and we’ve worked hard to build great relationships based on trust and expertise. We place a lot of value on the client/agency relationship so none of our interactions are transactional.
What career advice would you give to your younger self?
Understand it takes time to build a career. You need to be patient and realise that everyone has to start somewhere and it’s usually somewhere near the bottom. I understood this when I started my career but I was probably guilty of being impatient and wanting to grow and progress super quick. There are no shortcuts though - it takes hard work and consistent focus to develop and progress. That’s one piece of advice I would give to the younger generation - slow down, enjoy those early years with less pressure and loads of time and space to learn. Work hard and it will pay off.
Why did you decide to join the PRCA NI Committee?
It’s always great to be surrounded by like-minded people - the PRCA NI committee gives me the opportunity to network and socialise with peers from my industry. It’s so useful to be able to share ideas and challenges. I also wanted to give something back - so joining the committee was a no-brainer. The PRCA is an amazing organisation offering so much value to the industry and it’s great to be a small part of that.
Will you take away any positives from the past 12 months?
The past 12 months have been so difficult for so many people but I believe you should look for the positive takeaways in every situation. For me, it has been the reminder to remain grateful and thankful for the things we usually take for granted - good health, friends and family, relationships, stability, a job to go to! In saying that, I never want to homeschool again and I’m ready to say goodbye to Zoom meetings forever!
Read our previous 'Meet the Comittee' Q&A with Riki Neill & Geri Wright.