Marketing & Business Development Strategist with a love for the creative industries.
Strategic Consultant
Any creative industry heavily reliant on pitching and project wins, needs a strategic new business / business development plan in place. Always.
The volatility of the market across multiple sectors and territories means nothing is ever guaranteed.
Fluctuations, circumstances out of immediate control can make or break a financial year and have a bombastic impact across the team, wider group and importantly, the revenue short and long term.
Everyone needs a Plan B, and often a Plan C too.
I help design agencies build sustainable new business and marketing strategies—without the corporate consultancy nonsense.
After spending over a decade inside some of the UK's leading creative agencies, I've seen what works and what doesn't when it comes to business development and marketing. I've watched brilliant agencies struggle with empty pipelines because they had no system. I've seen talented teams stay invisible because marketing was always "tomorrow's problem." I've experienced the feast-or-famine cycle that comes from reactive new business.
Now I'm helping other agencies build the strategies, systems, and clarity they need to grow sustainably.
Agency side to your side
Here's what I learned from the inside: most creative agencies are brilliant at the work and terrible at marketing themselves.
They know they need a new business strategy, but everyone's too busy with client work to build one. They know marketing matters, but it gets deprioritized every single week. They have lapsed clients they should reconnect with, but feel awkward about reaching out.
So nothing happens. Until suddenly the pipeline is empty and it's a crisis.
I started consultancy because I'd seen this pattern too many times. I knew I could help—not with generic business school theory, but with practical, pragmatic strategies based on what actually works inside studios like yours.
In a nutshell
With a history degree from The University of Birmingham, I moved to London in a recession, cutting my teeth in Executive Search recruitment and becoming one of the top billers in the company.
I lasted as long as my sanity would allow before jumping into the beautifully colourful world of design. At leading international retail design studio HMKM, I discovered my professional passion: Business Development, Client Services and Marketing—working alongside incredible brands with extraordinary retail ambitions. When HMKM were acquired by Interbrand (Omnicom), I worked with the leadership team to preserve our unique positioning within the global network."
After a deviation and a stint at a global PR agency, I returned to design with award-winning retail design agency Checkland Kindleysides, helping them craft their new business and marketing strategy and execution.
Post-pandemic and maternity leave, I went to work with travel design agency Wanda, crafting their first new business and marketing plan. I’ve also worked with global brand design consultancies Design Bridge & Partners and Elmwood - both extraordinary places to end up.
The creative & design industry is my natural habitat. I'm fluent in the challenges across interior design, executive architecture, brand identity design.
Working with me
I'm based in London and work with creative agencies across the UK (and occasionally internationally).
Engagements are typically 4-6 weeks for project-based work, or ongoing monthly partnerships for retained support.
If you're a creative agency that's serious about building sustainable new business and marketing—and you want pragmatic support from someone who actually understands your world—let's talk. Not sure if we're a fit? Book a free 30-minute consultation and we'll find out.
