Experience

Inside Out Community™

• Non-profit Organizations

• Founder & Partnerships

  • Jan 2013 - Present

  London, United Kingdom WE ARE THE UK AND EUROPE'S FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY FOR IN-HOUSE CREATIVE TEAMS. (Formally the Inside Out Awards) Our new membership brings our in-house creative leaders everything they need to have creative impact and influence – we will help you to expertly navigate your in-house leadership role. www.theinsideout.community “Being part of the Inside Out Community is vital in many levels, but simply connecting with like minded folk who all share your passion, your… Show more WE ARE THE UK AND EUROPE'S FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY FOR IN-HOUSE CREATIVE TEAMS. (Formally the Inside Out Awards) Our new membership brings our in-house creative leaders everything they need to have creative impact and influence – we will help you to expertly navigate your in-house leadership role. www.theinsideout.community “Being part of the Inside Out Community is vital in many levels, but simply connecting with like minded folk who all share your passion, your pain and your value on gathering valuable insights and experiences is the reason I came in the first place” Andy Huns, Head of Creative Services, Chelsea FC “It’s been great learning from peers and other senior leaders in the field. Sharing challenges and learnings with the community has been essential to my own professional development.” Harshil Varsani, Head of Creative, TotallyMoney “Breakfast Club - I am your biggest fan! With a bunch of super smart and interesting in-house leaders providing each other with peer to peer support, the conversation and advice is second to none. I have seen the immediate added value the sessions bring to me, and subsequently my team. I am so happy to have discovered this wonderful community.” Emma Baines, Global Head of Creative, Tony's Chocolonely —— I created the awards in 2013 after being so frustrated at the lack of representation and opportunities to celebrate the in-house creative teams I had been leading before I set up my own agency. Fast forward ten years later and we accidentally built a wonderful, highly collaborative and engaged community of house creative leaders at some top brands such as LEGO, what3words, Waitrose & Partners, Deliveroo, Gymshark, Shelter, Gousto, PwC, to name just a handful. I am seeing some tectonic shifts happening in business and branding. I am betting my money on in-house creative leaders finally getting design and creativity into the board room. Show less



D&AD

• United Kingdom
• Design Services
• 300 - 400 Employee

• Creator of 'Better Together - a toolkit for creative relationships'

  • Jun 2023 - Present

  London Discover how to cultivate a culture of trust and mutual respect within your creative relationships. ---- "I truly loved the masterclass. It was absolutely refreshing to not only be able to work through questions and issues that I was curious about solving, but to hear those that others were trying to tackle as well. Emma was wonderfully respectful and great at listening to our areas of interest/concerns and applying solutions. Would definitely recommend the class to… Show more Discover how to cultivate a culture of trust and mutual respect within your creative relationships. ---- "I truly loved the masterclass. It was absolutely refreshing to not only be able to work through questions and issues that I was curious about solving, but to hear those that others were trying to tackle as well. Emma was wonderfully respectful and great at listening to our areas of interest/concerns and applying solutions. Would definitely recommend the class to others." "Emma was a very knowledgeable and approachable teacher. Really found this session very effective and will take away a lot into my day to day working life! Loved hearing everyone else’s points of view too. Thank you so much!" "Really great course, learnt a lot and have a lot of tools to take back to my company. In person workshops make all the difference." ----- In today’s fast-paced and dynamic work environment, having great creative relationships is essential to career, project and team success. Discover the secrets to building strong and productive relationships from Emma Sexton, leading to better briefs, better work, better teams, and a better culture. Through engaging exercises and interactive discussions, you’ll learn the tried and tested tools which will help you to identify where you can improve in creating stronger, and more collaborative relationships. Are you ready to discover the secrets of building strong and productive creative working relationships? A creative working relationship toolkit is a transformative opportunity for anyone seeking to unlock their full potential. By exploring innovative approaches to communication, creativity, and problem-solving, you will gain valuable insights into the building blocks of successful collaborations that drive excellence in any creative endeavour. https://www.dandad.org/masterclasses/course/toolkit-creative-relationships/ Show less



BLINK

• Australia
• Online Media

• Advisor

  • Nov 2022 - Present

  Emma’s 28-year career working in agencies, leading in-house creative teams and as an entrepreneur, has given her a unique lens on the business of creativity and growth. In 2013 she launched creative agency Hands Down!® providing strategic brand design for future-focused tech brands, from high-growth start-ups to giants like Google, Snapchat and Silicon Valley Bank. It was also one of the first in the UK to become BCorp. As if being a Creative Expert In Residence at the King's College… Show more Emma’s 28-year career working in agencies, leading in-house creative teams and as an entrepreneur, has given her a unique lens on the business of creativity and growth. In 2013 she launched creative agency Hands Down!® providing strategic brand design for future-focused tech brands, from high-growth start-ups to giants like Google, Snapchat and Silicon Valley Bank. It was also one of the first in the UK to become BCorp. As if being a Creative Expert In Residence at the King's College Entrepreneurial Institute and a Designer in Residence at Imperial College London’s Enterprise Lab wasn’t enough, Emma is also the brains behind the Inside Out Awards™ Europe’s only awards for in-house creative teams. Emma has advised over 120 start-up ventures, from vegan ice cream to AI, helping them leverage design, creativity and branding to achieve success. Show less



allpoints

• United Kingdom
• Advertising Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Brand Advisor

  • Sep 2022 - Present

  Highly experienced brand advisor and ex-agency founder who has worked with brands such as Google and Snap. Creative Expert in Residence at King’s College, London. Emma knows how to ensure a brand drives the business objectives.



Hands Down Agency

• United Kingdom
• Design Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Founder

  • Jan 2013 - Present

  I 'sunset' the business in June 2022 (have a listen to the Secret Leaders Podcast for the full story), Formally a remote first strategic B2B brand design agency and one of the first creative agency in the UK to become a BCorp. Some of our clients included Google, Snapchat, and Silicon Valley Bank. Create Better. More coming soon. “Emma is a phenomenal entrepreneur, bad ass, visionary, branding genius and much more. She built a fully remote agency before such a thing existed. She… Show more I 'sunset' the business in June 2022 (have a listen to the Secret Leaders Podcast for the full story), Formally a remote first strategic B2B brand design agency and one of the first creative agency in the UK to become a BCorp. Some of our clients included Google, Snapchat, and Silicon Valley Bank. Create Better. More coming soon. “Emma is a phenomenal entrepreneur, bad ass, visionary, branding genius and much more. She built a fully remote agency before such a thing existed. She is a top class design thinker and strategist and one of the smartest, commercial people I know.” Show less



King's College London

• United Kingdom
• Research Services

• Creative in Residence

  • Sep 2017 - Present

  London, United Kingdom Advising the King's 20 Ventures at the King’s Entrepreneurship Institute on brand design, design strategy, visual storytelling and creative execution. "A master of the branding arts! Emma worked with my co-founder and I to build the foundations for our sports wear brand (www.hard-yards.com) that we are incredibly proud of. Emma is very skilful at communicating complex branding/design theory in a way that was accessible and most importantly practicable for James and I as novices I this… Show more Advising the King's 20 Ventures at the King’s Entrepreneurship Institute on brand design, design strategy, visual storytelling and creative execution. "A master of the branding arts! Emma worked with my co-founder and I to build the foundations for our sports wear brand (www.hard-yards.com) that we are incredibly proud of. Emma is very skilful at communicating complex branding/design theory in a way that was accessible and most importantly practicable for James and I as novices I this area. Emma very much took on the role of our guide in this process, allowing us to lead the development which certainly shines through in the final result. I can't recommend Emma highly enough to anyone looking for similar support!" Harry Carr "Emma is a genuine supporter and mentor within the startup space. I met her through Kings20, and has since been inspired and empowered by her work. She single-handedly was able to help us craft our marketing, branding, and communication at Musemio, which helped us gain traction, partners, and grant development. But more importantly, she is able to meet you where you are and push you to the next level in your startup journey." Kaitlin Fritz Show less



Imperial Enterprise Lab

• United Kingdom
• Education Administration Programs
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Creative in Residence

  • Aug 2018 - Present

  London Supporting and advising the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs on design, branding and effective communication.



The Ned

• United Kingdom
• Hospitality
• 500 - 600 Employee

• Membership Committee

  • Jun 2016 - Jan 2023

  London, United Kingdom



talkRADIO

• United Kingdom
• Broadcast Media Production and Distribution
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Broadcaster / Presenter / Producer

  • Jan 2017 - Mar 2020

  London, United Kingdom The Badass Women's Hour is an award winning radio show and podcast reflecting the conversations women have over drinks or across the dinner table. As friends we knew these conversations were happening but we didn't see them reflected in the media, so we set out to change that. We want to share insight, opinions and lessons-learnt with as many women as we can (and some men too), bringing a bit of Badass to their daily lives.



Flock Global

• United Kingdom

• Co-Founder

  • Nov 2014 - Dec 2017

  London, United Kingdom A curated global network of entrepreneurs built on collaboration. Founded in 2014 by entrepreneurs Emma Sexton and Megan Thomas with the vision of a world where business is done entirely collaboratively, where giving and taking is equal, where people don’t seek to compete and there is room for all.



A Herd To Run With

• Co-Founder

  • Jan 2015 - Jan 2016

  London When it comes to trying new things and being professionally or personally vulnerable, we often prefer to know that there are others on that journey with us - it feels somehow safer and enables us to be more bold and brave. A Herd To Run With is a sociable ‘herd’ where people interested in creating better and new ways of working, can come together to share, collaborate and redesign work as we know it to make it better – for everyone.



SheSays

• United Kingdom
• Advertising Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Director

  • May 2007 - Dec 2014

  SheSays is an award-winning global organisation running free mentorship and networking events to over 3000 women in the creative business. Why? Because we want to see more women at the top. And since we are all about doing we also offer courses, career management and a collaboration platform called shout.



The Mind Gym

• United Kingdom
• Health, Wellness & Fitness

• Design Manager/Creative Director

  • Oct 2011 - Dec 2012

  London Strategically leading the design team, developing their capabilities and ensuring they became an inspiration within the business. Enabling the team to grow from 3 to 13 with in 12 months with the capability to deliver globally. Whilst heading up the design team I led the Creative Direction of the Mind Gym's new brand identity and ensuring the internal design team played a key part in the concept development and final execution of all materials.



opnuu

• Netherlands
• Retail

• Co-founder / Brand Communications

  • Jan 2010 - Oct 2012

  London, United Kingdom Opnuu was a business idea born after two friends said "wouldn't it be great if we could share our wardrobes with our friends online". I was involved in the start up team and came up with the name and logo. Opnuu was closed down in October 2012 due to lack of funding.



Added Value

• United Kingdom
• Market Research

• Head of Expression

  • Aug 2010 - Oct 2011

  London, United Kingdom Head of Expression at Added Value, WPP’s leading and most established Brand development and Insight consultancy. The source of Marketing Inspiration. I headed up the creative team of five enabling them to deliver great creative impact and inspire a more creative culture. The team became the catalysts for creativity in the business, increasing their pitch conversion rate by 25%, and kickstarting an internal initiative that was rolled out to all the global offices.



EXO Design

• Design

• Founder and Design Director

  • Jan 2007 - Aug 2010

  Over my four years at Lexis PR I successfully transformed their in-house design team into Exo - a highly profitable integrated design agency. I increased turnover by 143% and profit by 40% by generating an external client base. I leave behind a team that still has the potential to go on achieving much more.


Lexis PR
• United States
• Staffing and Recruiting
• Head of Design

  • Aug 2006 - Jan 2007

Point 6 Design
• United Kingdom
• Design Services
• 1 - 100 Employee
• Senior Designer

  • 2002 - 2006

MICE International
• United Arab Emirates
• Events Services
• 1 - 100 Employee
• Designer

  • 2000 - 2001