International Women’s Day 2019

To celebrate International Women’s Day 2019, we have reached out to different departments in the business to learn more about some of the incredible women we have here at MarketMakers.

We are really proud to be recognised by Great Place to Work as a UK’s Best Workplaces for Women, and it’s been great getting to know a bit more about some of the women in the team – hope you enjoy!

Amy, SME Team Manager

Tell us about your MarketMakers story – MarketMakers often promotes and hires managers internally, so I had quite a unique induction where I was able to come straight into the business as a team manager, as I was the right fit for the role that had become available. Aaron (SME Operations Manager) has always been very supportive and if I ever have a problem, he is always very positive and diplomatic. We work really well together as I can sometimes be quite reactive where he is proactive, so we are able to tackle things together in the best possible way.

I was doing performance management in my last job for 3/4 years, but I moved from London to Portsmouth for a more client-facing role. I really enjoy that side of my position at MarketMakers, as well as people management and developing my team, but will always enjoy the buzz of the sales and renewals. 

What do you look forward to accomplishing in the future? – Pay rises are a big motivator for me and I’ll always push to earn more money, whether that be through commission, bonuses or my salary. Moving into operations management and field sales are two areas of the business that I’d be really interested in.

What is it about MarketMakers and our culture that you think inspires women? – As a sales business, which is traditionally a more male dominated industry, MarketMakers has worked hard to create an all-inclusive work space where anyone can get the right training and support to excel in their careers. This shows in our senior management team, which is full of really strong women.

I think that where we are right now is a really crucial time for the business where hard work and hitting your KPIs will always be recognised, celebrated and will get you where you need to be. I was an example of where they were able to break the mould in terms of recruitment and changing processes. Change is scary but change is good and it just means that there is more opportunity for everyone in the business.

What women inspire you? – Ava (Head of SME Operations) and Clare (Commercial Operations Director) absolutely inspire me. I think that they can both hold their own, and gender doesn’t really come into that. If you’re able to be direct and assertive then you can reach the higher positions within the business.

Gemma, Marketing Director

Tell us about your MarketMakers story – I came to MarketMakers in 2007, two weeks before my son Harry started school. I’d been recruited as a telemarketer within the marketing department to generate partnership opportunities for the sales team. I didn’t have much experience on the phones and was lacking in confidence having been away from full time work for a while but my manager at the time Lisa recognised something in me. Lisa was a fantastic mentor for me along with our founders Paul and Henry.

After about a year I was dealing with all of our inbound enquiries and a year after that was managing the business development team. I had a keen interest in marketing and began to build on my experience running email and direct mail campaigns, and was given the opportunity by my manager Kirsty to step up to the Marketing Manager role whilst still managing the rest of the team.

As my experience and skill set grew I took on more responsibility until eventually reporting directly to our MD as Marketing Director and joining the senior leadership team. My son, who was 4 when I joined MarketMakers, turns 17 this year and is in his last year of school!

What do you look forward to accomplishing in the future? – Mentoring and developing individuals in my team is something I really enjoy, and I have benefited from brilliant mentors during my time here including my current boss, our MD Tom James who I worked closely with for years when he was our Sales Director. I would like to continue with my own personal development and mentoring of others and am hoping to mentor a young female in senior school soon via www.thegirlsnetwork.org.uk. I still find working here exciting and challenging, I’m still learning every day.

What is it about MarketMakers and our culture that you think inspires women? – I was fortunate to have two really strong female leaders in my first 8-9 years with the business who believed in my potential and challenged me to be better. They’re both incredibly inspiring and transformed the way I approach my career (Lisa McDonough is now Chief Revenue Officer at Lead Forensics over in the US and Kirsty Dawe is MD of Really B2B).

Our senior leadership team is 50/50 male and female and I have felt equally mentored and supported by bosses who are men. At MarketMakers it’s really about who is best for the job, I don’t feel I am pitted against, or overlooked for my male colleagues. I was incredibly proud when we were named one of the UK’s Best Workplaces to Work for Women by Great Place to Work®.

What women inspire you? – I am inspired every day by women I lead in my team who are achieving great personal and team successes and of course my mentors Lisa and Kirsty. I like to think I get my positive, ‘get it done’ attitude from my Nana who was in the Women’s Auxiliary Army driving trucks in WWII at the age of 21, she definitely was inspiring to me.

Penny, Learning & Development Manager

Tell us about your MarketMakers story – I started with MarketMakers in August 2018 as an L&D Manager, which involves supporting the sales team, as well as the internal team managers. I’m currently studying for my CIPD which is something I’ve wanted to do for a really long time. Ultimately I would like to progress to a more senior management role in L&D which hopefully I will be able to do by August this year.

What do you look forward to accomplishing in the future? – My Certificate in Professional Development comprises of 6 modules surrounding L&D, the roles, responsibilities, methodologies of training and how you measure training effectiveness in businesses. It’s something that I do mainly at home but at work sometimes too to make sure I submit all my modules on time.

What is it about MarketMakers and our culture that you think inspires women? – I don’t feel discriminated against at all and I think I have always had equal opportunities. If anybody wants to achieve more, then it is there for them to do it. I don’t feel at all intimidated by the fact that some areas of the business are quite male dominated. If you have something to say then you are able to contribute towards ideas and suggestions about the way the business is going and the charities that we support etc.

What women inspire you? – Someone that inspires me is Tina Turner. I went to see her in concert many years ago (I won’t give away my age) and from what she started off with, what she went through and what she has made of her life, she is very humble about everything. I think this makes her very inspirational.

Likewise, Michelle Obama is a huge role model for women. She is out there and is very clear about what she wants to achieve and is very passionate about what she believes in, but portrays all of that very elegantly.

Hollie, Senior Campaign Executive

Tell us about your MarketMakers story – I came here straight from university in 2014 where I worked on the phones as a filler role until I found a marketing role. I loved MarketMakers and ended up staying here for 3 years, then I went on maternity leave. It was a really hard thing for me deciding to come back to work or not after having Reggie, but I had the flexibility on offer to apply for a position in the marketing department, which is an area I have always wanted to work in.

A lot of people were trying to put me off going back to work due to how hard childcare can be, but I’ve been really lucky as I have had so much support from managers and the business. If Reggie is poorly I have the flexibility to be able to make up hours and so I’m not missing out on wages etc.

What do you look forward to accomplishing in the future? – Professionally, I really look forward to growing on the team and becoming more involved in the marketing side of things, as I’ve always wanted to do creative marketing and design. Personally, I want to have more children and I know I would always be supported here, which encourages me to continue to be a working mum and stay with the business through this.

Now that I have found my place in marketing I can see my career at MarketMakers. I think there is so much support no matter what you want to achieve. I’m saving for a mortgage at the moment and I know that management will do whatever they can to help me, whether it’s training or support on money management.

What is it about MarketMakers and our culture that you think inspires women? – The progression here is exactly the same for men and women and there’s not one role that is gender specific. No matter what you want to do, there is support and flexibility to move roles and progress in an equal way. It is quite a women led business in terms of management and I like that as I think it’s really inspiring.

What women inspire you? – My Mum and Aunt have played a huge part in my upbringing and we are all very close so they inspire me as they are everything that I want to be. This sounds cringey, but I think that women in general are so inspiring, especially working mums. I didn’t know how hard it was going to be. I think it takes a different kind of strength to be able to leave your child with someone else, work a full time job and then go home and continue working in a different type of environment.

The different paths that women are choosing to take in this age constantly amaze me. I think this is an inspiring time to be a woman, and personal and professional progression is going to continue to be celebrated by men and women which is great.

If you would like to know more about a career at MarketMakers, then email our recruitment team on recruitment@marketmakers. 

Tags: BalanceforBetter, careers, International Womans Day, IWD19