Honestly, I fell into it after university but have enjoyed it so much I’ve stayed in it for my entire career! It is the combination of both parts of the industry that keep me engaged: the tech – which is always challenging the status quo and evolving to enable the latest trends and ideas to be executed and the advertising – which is likewise striving to keep relevant, accessible and measurable.

Hudson MX is an advertising technology business providing media buying and accounting solutions through a cloud-based SaaS platform. Given my experience in the media industry and specifically with media agencies, I am excited to help with the Hudson MX expansion within the US and into new markets – offering the media agencies a much needed alternative to the legacy suppliers.

Earlier in my career, I was responsible for reducing costs (“read layoffs”) while keeping staff motivated and continuing to grow revenue. It was a huge challenge for me both personally and professionally. This period really helped me grow my leadership skills and business acumen. I learnt that it was not a negative to feel the emotions but in fact crucial to have empathy to encourage growth and productivity within the team, despite tough decisions being made.

Despite it being over 15 years ago, I always remember the mentorship and leadership that Mathilde Sanson gave me. I worked for her during many changes in both my personal and professional life and she was always there to offer advice, direction or to challenge me! She was exactly the sort of role model that I needed at the time. She led by example and by making me question my decisions and goals rather than dictating the solutions. I have since always tried to replicate that as I manage others. Great managers make a huge difference but I believe having a mentor is just as key to success. Mentors tend not to be involved in your day to day business so can offer potentially a more objective opinion.

Always go to a meeting with an agenda – even if it’s just for coffee. Have a plan of what you want to learn but also what they might find useful. That might sound a bit calculating but it’s actually really important and shows respect for the person’s time. Meeting because you like someone is nice but it won’t build a lasting relationship if neither party benefits from it.

Surround yourself with great people who push you every day to be better than yesterday.
You should never be 100% comfortable in a role – very cliché I know, but push yourself out of your comfort zone, try new things and see what you can learn.
Try and be the one who offers help even if it’s not your area – being part of a growing business requires everyone to get involved.

Passionate, diligent and above all honest

I know where I don’t want it to be: still talking about pay gaps and diversity within the workplace and bluntly having topics such as “women in tech” should be a thing of the past!

I do think there will continue to be huge changes in the ways that we all work together – one positive from this pandemic is understanding how technology can enable people to work from anywhere, continue to study and connect with people in a more seamless way. This will of course impact advertising and the way people expect to be served content be that advertising or programming.

Specifically for the ad market, I hope that no longer will junior employees be expected to spend most of their time keying in data and other manual, mind numbing tasks but rather they will be able to spend time creating ways to engage audiences, tell the brands story and navigate through the myriad of ways to advertise that are unimaginable today but will be born over the next decade. Of course I’m going to say technology will play an even bigger part in the future but I genuinely believe that agencies need more robust, flexible ways of working with partners, clients, and the ecosystem to grow, thrive and deliver more value for brands. The key for everyone is to be future proof and to work with partners who can adapt to changes as they happen.