A Q&A with Mary Keane-Dawson
Mary Keane-Dawson, Time Out Group, CEO
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About Time Out Group
Time Out Group is a global media and hospitality business that inspires connection and joy by capturing the soul of the world’s greatest cities through its two divisions – Time Out Media and Time Out Market. Time Out launched in London in 1968 with a magazine to help people discover the exciting new urban cultures that had started up all over the city. Today, across the Group’s digital and physical platforms, Time Out’s professional journalists curate the best things to do, see and eat in 333 cities in 59 countries.
Because I realised that if I wanted a seat at the table (especially the Board table) in the future then I would need to understand the impact of ad tech so that I could help clients make the best strategic decisions.
Right now I am consulting with Kiln Transformation (brain child of former Channel CDO Ben Williams) as well as developing my NED portfolio. I want to build my future on the advisory side, so that I can serve others utilising my long experience with talent and clients across sectors.
I think that my biggest challenge ( and it probably remains so today) is that by always being my authentic self – someone who values collaboration over the cult of the “I” – my style of leadership and team work have often been at odds to the sycophantic ‘rub along and say nothing’ cultures that historically the industry has cultivated – especially in large corporations.
My first great client mentor was Sir Ian McAllister, who gave me a seat on the Vehicle Launch Committee (VLC) Board for Ford’s first A Class vehicle the phenomenally successful Ka. I was the only non-Ford employee and only 28 years old. My great boss and mentor though will always be John Zweig, who was Global CEO of WPP Specialist Communications Group, who bought our company SPAFAX. He continues to be my greatest inspiration – ex- Vietnam veteran, incredible jazz guitarist, inspirational human being and all round good guy.
If words fail you or are too difficult to say in the moment, then sing…..Elvis Presley
Keep your priorities and objectives clear. Your LIFE is your priority, do not get subsumed by the business. Get a mentor and talk to them about your career plan. Finally, and most importantly, NEVER EVER WORK FOR (OR WITH) NARCISSISTS.
Honest. Entertaining. Passionate.
That my friend is the $64 million question…or rather the $64 trillion question by 2032……I believe we will see more and more extraordinary developments in AR and CX that are probably in the meta-mix now, but haven’t yet gotten the traction required with consumers. I’d like to see micro payments become part of the ad mix as well as a genuine creator economy. Whatever, I see more and more predictive analytics tools emerging and probably the emergence of new elite consumer walled gardens….whatever, it will be interesting and I hope I’m still around to be a part of it!