Development and External Relations Director

• Sep 2019 - Present

Development and Marketing Director

• Jan 2015 - Sep 2019

Responsible for all areas of Development and Marketing for Reed's School and the Reed's Foundation.Raise funding to support the Foundation, a 203 year old charity to provide educational opportunities for children who have lost one or both parents and come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Including negotiating direct sponsorship opportunities for named pupils with Trust, Foundations, Livery Companies and Corporates. Run the Annual Foundation Appeal, the longest continuous running Appeal in the U.K.Structure and run fundraising programmes for capital initiatives at Reed's School.Define, manage and implement all marketing for the School and the Foundation including branding, prospectus, website, printed materials, advertising and social media. Manage Alumni relations programmes for the Old Reedonian community, including events, communications, online and events based networking and careers development.Lead Reed's outreach programme, The Primary Forum, offering courses and events to over 1200 children from 40 Schools in disadvantaged areas of London and Greater London. Show less

Managing Director

• Nov 2009 - Dec 2014

Owner & Managing Director Founded and ran a distribution and brand management company with exclusive rights in the UK and Europe for four existing brands from the US and Australia. Negotiated exclusive distribution contracts with pre-existing brands for the UK and European markets ­Purchased inventory based on seasonal sales forecasts and existing orders with varying terms from brand owners ­Created marketing and sales forecasts for each brand ­Adapted products and branding for the UK & European marketplace Established both wholesale and retail sales channels specific for each brand depending on target customer analysis and product positioning. ­Developed and maintained client base of over 450 wholesale clients, from large retailers (e.g. John Lewis) to small independent shops. Primarily through trade shows, direct sales, catalogue, and own internet site ­Leveraged a multi channel strategy to develop retail clients using alternative branding to minimise wholesale conflicts. Channels used include branded website, shows, catalogues, third-party website, flash sales and advertising ­Advised and, as necessary, managed clients’ digital marketing programmes for the UK and European markets including the use of Facebook, Twitter, blogs, newsletters. Set-up and managed an inventory, warehousing, and distribution system for over 2300 unique SKU’s out of two company leased and managed warehouses. Coordinated regular shipments arriving from China, Tunisia, Australia and USA. Show less

VP

• May 2004 - Nov 2009

Head of Product, UK Cards Responsible for Citi branded, co-branded, and business card products within the UK. Led new customer acquisition strategy and implementation. Established cross functional teams from product, finance, decision management, credit, and creative services to test channel (including direct mail, partner, advertising and digital marketing), product, target customer mix in order to maximise overall campaign performance, measured by response, approval, activation, and longer-term profitability. Developed and led a robust product development process from idea initiation through to launch and ongoing management in order to optimise performance across multiple customer segments and channels. Successfully launched nine new propositions/features since starting the product development team. Supported New Business Development initiatives from initial tender stage through to product launch. Led project to improve systems flexibility to support rapid launch of new co-brand and white label partnerships. Successfully launched three new co-brands: Audi, bmibaby, and Shell. Responsible for developing and executing the strategy for Diners Club UK corporate and consumer cards following the sale of Diners Club International to Discover. Show less

Senior Associate

• Sep 2000 - Dec 2002

Provided strategy and corporate finance expertise to clients to multinational organisations • Strategy – Created European entry strategy for a U.S. consumer based mobile applications business – Assessed global strategy for consumer goods company, including sourcing, partner scan, channel review, and marketing strategy – Developed multi-product financial services platform for global insurance company, including identifying third party suppliers, distribution channels, and necessary servicing functionality – Defined European strategy for global petroleum company, identified key markets, drivers for success and acquisition/joint venture targets – Recommended structure for joint ventures to hedge against risk of failure and optimise short-term financial and strategic synergies • Corporate Finance and Risk Management – Developed proprietary and asset-backed trading strategy for global multi-utility company, including risk management, organisational and technical requirements – Developed valuation methodology and valued gas storage assets given physical constraints of facilities and team-developed projections of long-term volatility of European gas market – Conducted break-up valuation of global multi-utility company as they prepared sale of non-core businesses Show less