To give you an idea of the sort of person Kim is, when I asked her if she’d mind me naming her as my secret work weapon she replied; "My God, not sure if that's an indication of how bad your days are!" Kim is our TV producer extraordinaire and her evil sense of fun has kept me going through trials and tribulations at work and at home for many years, beginning when I came back to work from maternity leave.
Old ladies used to call my new baby boy ‘wilful’. Returning to work for any new mum is difficult but even more so when you have a truculent baby. The brief awaiting me on my first day back in the office was a TV shoot for Dove and I was lucky enough to have Kim as my producer.
I’d arrive on set each morning on the verge of a nervous breakdown but within an hour Kim would have me roaring with laughter. She was the only person who could help me to see the funny side of my son’s behavior and that levity was invaluable in helping me get through the early years of being a working mum. She even had a picture of him on her wall.
As my kids have grown and my has job changed from copywriter to CCO of Ogilvy, Kim has continued to be my secret work weapon. A quick detour to her desk in times of trouble has helped me keep a sense of humour and perspective. She’s seen enough of agency life over the years to know that there’s no such thing as a new problem and that most ‘crises’ deserve little more than a bit of eye rolling and an evil chuckle.
If proof of Kim’s wisdom were ever needed it’s the fact that she has always chosen to eschew a ‘Head of..’ role. She’s more than capable of leading and managing but Kim prefers concentrating on what she loves the most; creative people and creative work. And that’s why this creative person loves Kim.
Emma de la Fosse is group chief creative officer of Ogilvy & Mather UK