Monday
The week kicks off, as it always does, with a quick 30-minute management meeting with m/SIX’s UK MD Dan Harris and chief technology officer Ross Barnes. We share our regular updates, discussing what we have on this week and some good news on a recent pitch that we are just finalising the commercials on. Much of my morning is then spent preparing for a big session later in the week with our founding client TalkTalk.
I meet with our group chief marketing officer, Christian Hinchcliffe, to talk about our next partners’ offsite meeting. As a true partnership, all of the agency leads in The&Partnership try to get together once a quarter to share ideas, work on new projects and figure out the new products and services we can bring to our clients. I love these sessions as it is a great opportunity to spend time with the other agency leaders across our group, and inevitably it includes a glass of wine or two and some good banter – well we do all work with Johnny Hornby!
It’s 5pm and I rush to get ready for the Pride of Britain Awards. I have not been before but Kelly and Dags have kindly invited me and I am really looking forward to it.
At midnight, I walk through my front door exhilarated by the incredible stories I have heard this evening, and share a quick debrief with my husband Mark on the wonderful evening I’ve had – thanks ITV.
Tuesday
The day starts with a breakfast meeting with my Virgin Money client, Paul Lloyd. Paul and I make time to catch up once a month outside of the normal rhythm of regular meetings it’s our chance to check we are on track and also gives us time to think ahead
I head back to the agency and meet Conor McNicholas, chief executive for AllTogetherNow, The&Partnership’s content agency. We have our quarterly board meeting at 12pm today with Johnny Hornby, Peter Walker, chief financial offier for The&Partnership, and Steve Parker, managing director at ATN. We are presenting our budget plans for 2016 and are keen to make sure we have our ducks in a row. An hour on we have discussed world domination with Johnny and all has gone well – phew.
I head over to The Charlotte Street Hotel to meet my new Just Eat client, Lucy Milne. We won Just Eat in July and are really enjoying working with Lucy, Barnaby (CMO) and the team - they are an ambitious bunch and so we need to constantly innovate to ensure we maximise the incredible growth the business has seen.
In the evening I head home to have supper with Mark and also my step-brother Zach, who happens to be in town tonight.
Wednesday
The wider agency board meets for a 30-minute weekly catch-up, and then I head out to BAFTA to see the lovely Lindsay Clay in action at the Big Think 2015 session. Andy Duncan, the chief executive of Camelot, gives a compelling talk about how marketing needs to carve out its seat at the top table. I find myself making copious notes to share with my team when I get back to the office.
In the afternoon we have a big client session; it proves to be a fantastic meeting and the highlight of my week. Buoyed by the meeting I jump into a cab to meet my good friend and ex-colleague Louise Court, editorial director at Hearst UK. We have not seen each for a while and so there is constant chatter and we find ourselves staying much later than we had planned to.
Thursday
The day starts with a coffee with another of my Just Eat clients, Rachel Pollard, the global digital director. Rachel has recently moved into the global role and I want to be sure we are giving her as much support and help as possible. We talk about various projects and share some ideas. Ross joins for the last half an hour and Rachel and Ross do a quick 20 minutes’ chat on tech stack stuff.
My next stop is a Quarto Publishing Plc for the Audit Committee meeting. Audit meetings are not my favourite but I do love the Quarto business. Quarto publishes some of the most well-known and beautiful illustrated books in the world, and chief executive Marcus Leaver and his team are a pleasure to work with.
Friday
My day starts with my favourite breakfast meeting – the agency new starter breakfast. This is where I get to meet all the wonderful new talent that has recently joined.
We have been growing quickly and have hired a number of new people - there are eight new starters today. My typical format is to ask them to share what their first few weeks have been like; I am keen to hear their ideas and suggestions on things we might do differently. I also ask them to share a personal secret.
I have a lunchtime call with the president for m/SIX in North America, Ilana Nolte. I am in the US next week, so we are planning the trip and try and squeeze in as many client meetings as possible. m/SIX is growing fast in the US, and a lot of our time today is spent talking about possible candidates for the various roles we have available.
I end the week talking to the chairman of Get Connected, a young people’s charity I am a trustee for. We are planning a conference for the staff and volunteers, we want to make sure it is an exciting and fun-filled event. Get Connected helps 240,000 young people a year and, without the charity’s staff and 80-plus volunteers, they would not be able to do the work they do.
I head home looking forward to Saturday’s rugby. Katie Vanneck Smith, my Dow Jones client and good friend has invited me and Mark to the England vs Australia game. I only hope we win, or it will be a very short World Cup for the host nation!
CV
Favourite Media: The Times and The Sunday Times
Biggest inspiration: My husband
Dream Job: X Factor Judge
Not a lot of people know this about me: I love cats: small cute domestic or wild ferocious scary!
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