***Self indulgent post but after 30 years, why not***
4 July 1994, fresh out of the University of Plymouth (or PSW as it was when I began), I walked through the doors of Portakabin in York and began a career that would take me into the worlds of #marketing, #PR and #internalcomms.
First in the marketing department then moving to the in-house studio (where I was ‘Creative Writer’ - my favourite ever job title!), I had a great six years there. I should point out that “You’ll end up in a box one day, why not make it today” was never a serious suggestion - honest!
It was a brilliant introduction to the world of work and I made friends for life.
I moved south to join Surrey Fire and Rescue Service as Publicity Manager and I loved that job. Amazing people doing amazing things and I’m incredibly proud of the role I played as one of the first non-uniformed Critical Incident Stress Debriefers, supporting frontline colleagues. It was a great initiative - even if we were known as The Cuddle Club!
I also spent time on secondment managing Surrey County Council’s website and intranet, and I was webmaster for the Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed inquest website…
After a brief break traveling in Australia and New Zealand when Mrs S was made redundant, my focus switched to internal comms, with a contract with National Express LTD. And then more than 10 years followed in defence. First with Europe’s largest defence company, BAE Systems, then the world’s largest defence company, Lockheed Martin.
I never expected a stint overseas but I learned so much during my two years in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with BAE Systems Saudi Arabia.
And working on the separation of Lockheed Martin’s IS&GS was hard work but another brilliant experience, going from blue to purple as we joined Leidos.
With hindsight, Leidos was the first time I felt both comfortable and confident with who I was as a communicator - a lot of that is down to my managers during that time - thank you!
And then joining Deloitte over five and half years ago was a daunting prospect, but definitely the right choice for me.
I feel as though I have found my tribe and the work builds on my experience over the last 30 years, but I’m still learning… and that’s because I’m surrounded by great people doing great work.
It’s not always been easy and when I’ve wobbled, I been fortunate to be surrounded by people who have supported me and I’ve emerged stronger.
Don’t think that’s it and this is the end, there's plenty of life (and increasingly outdated cultural references) in the old dog yet, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the next few years hold in store…
To everyone I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the last 30 years - thank you! You’ve each played a role in helping me become the comms professional and indeed the person I am today.