What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received in your career so far?
In the early years (many years ago) of my career, one of my mentors once said to me that hard work coupled with patience paved the way for great success. At the time it didn’t make sense as I had nothing to benchmark against. Looking back, I think it’s one of the greatest pieces of advice I’ve ever received, because it did check out in the end.
What is your favourite part about your role?
The calibre of clients I’ve been able to support since I joined Portland has not only contributed to diversifying my horizons, but also adding more strings to my bow. Be them leading philanthropies, United Nations agencies or initiatives, development finance key players – all of them have allowed me to tap into my creativity, think outside the box (in an institutionally non-institutional way), and above all deepen my sector knowledge and expertise.
What has been your favourite experience at Portland so far?
I have so many ! Whether it’s leading press trips in various parts of the world to show and tell the impact of some of the work my clients support or lead; or working on a cross-team (with great award-winning potential) creative campaign for a leading development key player, most of the work that I do gives me purpose and more importantly the buzz that I need to get going.
In recognition of Women’s History Month, what piece of advice would you give to other women starting out in comms, or in this field of work?
I would say: Be curious and do not be shy of taking up space. I would add: take the time to listen, observe, and digest … because that’s what really helps hone sharp strategic thinking – much needed in our industry!
What do you do to switch off from work?
Do I even switch off? Right, I would say when I am really ‘off’ work, I do enjoy cooking, trying out new recipes and calling my mother to sense check some of my ‘chemical engineer’ type mixtures to ensure the final result is not a disaster. And, traveling the world – sunny places mostly!