From apprentice to operations manager, and everything in between
Why Pace?
The main reason I like working at Pace is because my role is specifically designed around my key strengths. Because of this, coming to work never feels like a chore. I love learning from the talent around me, and no day is the same. It’s the perfect balance of hard work and fun.
When working in a creative environment, being organised is not necessarily a given. But this is who I am. I’m organised and I love looking at the details.
So, the part of my role I enjoy the most is being able to apply a skill that comes naturally to me to any given situation or project, where I can really make a difference. I’ve been at Pace exactly a year.
Career beginnings
I started my career as a 17-year-old admin apprentice in the graphic design and printing industry. Without a degree or any higher education qualifications to my name, I learned about businesses and the packaging industry from some incredible role models.
From here, my career grew from strength to strength: the job titles became more impressive, and at the peak of my career I was headhunted to work with a couple of big household brands in Melbourne, Australia.
I fulfilled this role for a couple of years, before finding my groove working away from home for a variety of agencies and household names in London, Milan, Rotterdam, Leeds and York. This was until I eventually felt homesick enough to come back to Hull and settle down.
Throughout this 25 plus year career, my role was steadfast and familiar - project managing high volumes of global packaging design for well-known brands and retailers such as P&G, Nestle, Mondelez, Unilever, Asda, and Haleon.
Moving into marketing
After having an extended maternity break and a long think about how automation was playing (too much of) a big part in my day-to-day role in the packaging design industry, I felt it was time for a change.
I’d always admired the fast-moving pace and diversity of marketing. It felt more future proof than what I’d been doing previously. So, I was thrilled to become operations and delivery manager at Pace in 2024.
I hadn’t realised I’d always wanted to do this role until I started doing it at Pace. Then everything made sense. Being organised and operational, responsible for project delivery is what comes naturally to me.
So yes, I guess I did always want to do this role without knowing it until now!
Interested in finding out more about Katie’s work at Pace? Find out more here.
