Hanging Up The Chinos
Hanging up the Corporate Cleats
I’m a fan of the NFL (American Football) and there seems to be a trend for retiring players to put a photo of their boots hanging from a peg when they are retiring from the game. I’m not exactly retiring from the game but I am hanging up the must-wear ‘fashion’ item of the corporate office – the khaki chino.
While the chinos gather dust in the cupboard, I am going to be embarking on a new adventure with my partner Kirsty as we launch our own marketing & PR agency.
I have had a brilliant time at Medtronic over the past 9 years and am really grateful to the awesome people I have worked with and the supportive bosses I have had during my time with the company. The people who work at Medtronic are passionate about what they do and about helping the people whose lives are touched by the products they make. Even though it is a massive global company, I have been lucky enough to have the autonomy and trust to work on projects or suggest ideas that I believe will work, even if they have not been tried before.
Among the highlights for me has been organising, planning and presenting nine annual Kick Off Meetings, getting more and more adventurous and creative each time – from ‘experimenting’ with a 3-minute facts and stats video nine years ago all the way up to the most recent This Morning-style ‘Live TV show’ experience, complete with ad breaks filmed by different teams. I am proud of the free PR workshops we put on for hospital press teams and patient organisations, and all the campaigns over the years that have shown how medical technology can make a difference to the lives of patients.
There have been a few projects recently in Medtronic that reminded me what I love about communications (particularly our awareness campaign on mechanical thrombectomy for stroke patients) and that has given me the passion to start a new business with Kirsty working on projects that make a difference – whether it is supporting start-ups to get their message out there, helping someone figure out what they want to say, or launching something cool that really benefits patients. We want people to love working with us and to be proud of what we achieve together.
If you are interested in finding out more about the chino-free, next chapter then please get in touch.