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In brief what is your job title & role?
“I am co-founder of the Future Laboratory and one of its futures directors. In essence this means that I oversee all research and insight programmes into identifying what’s new and what’s next in cultural change and how said changes are set to impact on consumer thinking and the
 kind of brands, products and services consumers are likely
to need over the coming decade. We do this for a wide
variety of clients including Gap, The New Yorker Magazine, Unilever, Proctor and Gamble, Standard Life Bank, Nokia, Vodafone, L’Oreal, American Express, Levis, Nike.”
What does an average day / week consist of? (If there is such a thing!)
“Rise at 5.30 am, listen to shipping forecast, make coffee ( double expresso, milk, no sugar please) then walk dog by the river – Wapping, tower of London, Trinity Square, back through city. Plan day ahead with Chris Sanderson co-founder of the Future lab (company called future lab by the way because we have a Labrador called Jasper, also a company co-founder and post boy), then answer emails ( we have clients in US, Aus, France and Germany as well as the UK). Get to office by 9.30 am ( just along the street & above Mr Goraj, importer of fine silks and essential oils) where we do editorial and progress meeting. We now have 20 people in the office, so meetings take longer than usual but all know what’s required so things usually click on pretty smoothly.
On a typical day I may also do an interview for Radio Four on consumer topic of general concern ( organic food, Obesity, new trend in drug taking among urban 20 something’s etc), then an interview for Channel Four news on how and why Tesco seems to be taking over world- Tescopoly was a phrase we coined to describe this process. Client project work usually takes up most of my morning (writing, editing, scanning data for insights fro clients like Unilever, Glaxo, The New Yorker, Australian Vogue, Proctor & Gamble, American Express etc), then editing Viewpoint magazine in the early afternoon – dealing with correspondents, arguing over visuals, checking with art dept and visual trend team about overall visual direction of the issue under review) followed by time spent on our quarterly newsletter. Although quarterly we always seem to be working on next issue, so this means discussing possible story content with team, and making sure our networker in 25 cities world wide are also contributing ideas.
Lunch is a long cherished memory, and the only way you get out of the office is to pretend that Jasper needs to visit one of the trees we’ve planted in the East end as part of our on-going commitment to Trees For Cities charity.
The US comes awake in the afternoon, so you deal with US clients (the New Yorker magazine, American Express) and US correspondents for our lifesigns network.
Early evening there is usually a client crisis to tackle. I usually loose my temper and everybody in the office has a good laugh behind my back. At the end of the day , 7pm or such Jasper gets antsy, attacking litter bins, his ball, an Sian’s lunch, which means its time to take him walking. Which we do… Down to the Thames for a swim. Here fab views, shining lights, river boats, seagulls, the occasional lone liner pushing its way up towards tower bridge. Bliss. Then the mobile goes, a client from Oz, or Singapore…more work, barks from the dog, and before you know it, there’s an alarm clock ringing. Mmm isn’t that the shipping forecast? Haven’t we done this before…must be a dream…”
What are the best (& worst) aspects of your job?
“Thinking about things most people never have time to think about, not having enough time to think about things most never have enough time to think about.”
What qualities do you most look for when you are employing a graduate?
“Stamina, curiosity and the ability to hold two opposing ideas in their head at the same time and see merit in both.”
Any words of wisdom / anything you wish you had known at the start of your career?
“Yes, be curious and never take no for an answer. Oh yes, and always be rude to your elders – they probably deserve it!”
Quick Fire:
Highest Qualification: Fellow at Nottingham and Trent University
First Job: “Pirate Radio DJ but was sacked- was meant to read ‘the Space Shuttle Columbia has departed form cape Canaveral,’, but was so nervous actually it as ‘the space scuttle Colombo has departed from Kate’s Carnival..’”.
Favourite Brand /Label: “Commes des Garcons.”
Favourite Music: “Breton boat songs.”
Favourite Film: “La Dolce Vita.”
Favourite Book: “Five Go to Mystery Moor (one of the best Enid Blyton books).”
Person You Most Admire: “Marcel Wanders.”
Must Have Item For Next Season: “Moleskin notebook.”
Favourite Holiday Destination: “Marrakech.”
Place / Person / Or Object That Has Most Inspired You: “The poet Hart Crane.”
In brief what is your job title & role?
Fashion Merchandise Editor: Style a wide selection of pages including still life celebrity and real people. Manage all own fashion shoots including, location hunting, selecting photographers, models and hair and make up artists and manage all own budgets. Organise the team around fashion weeks in London, Paris Milan and NYC as well as attending myself. Duties include all travel accommodation, appointments etc. I am also responsible for the merchandising on the magazine and liaising with advertisers. I also do T.V work for the magazine ranging from a series on style secrets, to reporting live at Ascot to GMTV. I also have input into the new web site including blog entries and Fashion News.
What does the average day / week consist of?
“An Average day consists of many things including appointments with design houses; going to fashion shoots both here and abroad. Going into the fashion cupboard to decide on outfits for the magazine. General admin incluing budgets and expenses and just generally rushing around as there are not enough hours in the day!”
 What are the best / worst aspects of your job?
“I get to experience things that would never normally come your way from going to the Brits to meeting the King of Spain on a 100ft Yacht to being taught a dance lesion in LA by J Lo’s ex husband Chris Judd. I’ve got to travel the world and meet some really amazing people. The worst is that you have to do long hours and some weekends which can be a pain sometimes. The perks are really good but the pay is awful.”
What Are The Best/Worst Aspects Of Your Job?
“I get to experience things that would never normally come your way from going to the Brits to meeting the King of Spain on a 100ft Yacht to being taught a dance lesion in LA by J Lo’s ex husband Chris Judd. I’ve got to travel the world and meet some really amazing people. The worst is that you have to do long hours and some weekends which can be a pain sometimes. The perks are really good but the pay is awful.”
Are there any ‘words of wisdom’ you would like to pass on or anything you wish you had known at the start of your career?
“Get as much work experience as possible as it’s the only way into the industry. Don’t ever expect to be earning mega bucks the industry in paid really badly!!”
What qualities do you look for when employing a graduate?
“Work Experience, enthusiasm and a big smile on their faces. Also looking to part helps.”
Quick Fire:
Highest Qualification: BA HONs Fashion Design
First Job: “Gap Visual Merchandiser.”
Favourite Brand /Label: “High Street Top Shop/ Designer Derek Lam.”
Favourite Music: “The Verve – Bitter Sweet Symphony.”
Favourite Film: “Meet Joe Black.”
Favourite Book: “Perfume.”
Person You Most Admire: “Gwen Stefani.”
Must Have Item For Next Season: “Something from Burberry.”
Favourite Holiday Destination: “Ibiza.”
In Brief What Is Your Job Title And Role?
“Corporate Sustainable Development Assistant. My role is to assist our business colleagues in implementing the Marks & Spencer Corporate Social Responsibility strategy (Plan A).
My key areas of responsibility include sustainable sourcing
in particular Fairtrade and sustainable raw materials (such
as wood, palm oil, soya), and additionally animal
 welfare issues.”
What does an average / day week consist of? (If there is such thing?!)
Every day is a new day in this role! You never know what to expect! I work on a number of ongoing projects such as Fairtrade, and the sustainable sourcing of raw materials, and as such I am every day trying to keep up to speed with all of the issues, and any new developments. I also work very closely with NGO’s such as WWF, Greenpeace and Fairtrade Foundation to help to develop our policies, and ensure these groups are kept up to date with our work and consulted along the way.
Are there any words of wisdom / anything you wish you had known at the start of your career?
“Expect anything or anyone that may come along! It can be difficult coming out from studying when you are used to having almost complete control over your life, and heading out in to the big wide workforce, …. Then you enter the “new world” of
work and you have to be ready to move at a different pace than you might be used to, and deal with people you may never have had to deal with before.”
What are the best / worst aspects of your job?
Always start with the best! It is a very satisfying role. I am lucky to see the best of both worlds – being able to work in a corporate capacity, but also work very closely with charitable organisations. I don’t know whether I would classify it as the worst part of my job…but it is often challenging to have so many people across the business to work with on a variety of CSR issues. With so may people involved in so many way, things can often move a lot slower than you would have hoped! But at the same time, working with such a range of areas from buying function s to marketing and design, makes my job really interesting!!
What qualities do you look for when employing a graduate?
“Enthusiasm and a willingness to learn and challenge themselves.”
Quick Fire:
Highest qualification: “Bachelor of Arts (Public Relations) – RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.”
First job: “Public Relations Assistant.”
Favourite brand/label: “M&S!”
Favourite film: “It is a very hard call between Shawshank Redemption and Zoolander!”
Favourite book: “A Piece of Cake.”
Favourite holiday destination: “Anywhere in the Mediterranean.”
Person/place/object that has most inspired you: “The developing world, there is so much we can do to help.”
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