Andy has been in the company for almost 3 years, and brought a wealth of experience and leadership in managing sensitive reputational matters, providing strategic counsel and crisis communications.
He joined as Account Director in the London team, and he has now moved his way up to Director of Corporate Affairs. We’ve asked him 3 questions, to get to know a bit more of his career journey, aspirations and on his life at Hume Brophy in general.
Interviewer: What does a typical day look like in your position?
Andy: I’m keen to avoid that well-worn agency cliché, ‘no two days are the same’. The sheer variety of sectors we operate in, and the range of clients and personalities we deal with, certainly keeps us on our toes.
But the thread running through every working day as Director of Corporate Affairs is the need to be alert and alive to the factors that affect a client’s reputation. How are prevailing media trends shaping the way in which policymakers and the public view a particular organisation, or sector? Is the Government’s outlook favourable? Are our clients reaching the right audiences, with the right messages, at the right time?
A typical day is about reviewing and recalibrating our approach to tackling these challenges – then providing our clients with the highest quality advice to support them in meeting their goals.
Interviewer: What’s the company and team culture like?
Andy: There are plenty of global agencies with offices dotted all over the world, whose consultants never engage with one another. Hume Brophy stands apart because we work just as closely with our colleagues in Brussels, Dublin, Singapore and elsewhere as we do with those sitting on the other side of the office – or more likely, on the other side of London.
Hume Brophy has recognised that hybrid working is the future, and that central to the success of this approach is creating a sense of One Team. That is in no small part about shared values and ensuring everyone is bought into them. Our team is defined by mutual respect, a strong commitment to delivering exceptional work, and an understanding that ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’.
Our work may be serious, but we try to have fun doing it. We encourage our colleagues to enjoy what they do while they are at work and embrace full lives away from their desks. That’s why we finish at 3pm every Friday, without fail, enabling people to get on with their well-deserved weekends.
Interviewer: How is Hume Brophy different to other companies you’ve worked for?
Andy: Hume Brophy has the strongest, most effective and most empathetic leadership of any company I have worked for. Our senior colleagues lead from the front to make our colleagues lives better and develop their careers. That culture of understanding and adaptability filters down to create a culture which sees talented people thrive.
It’s also a fundamentally meritocratic culture which offers plenty of opportunity. Colleagues at all levels are offered the chance to working on different briefs, in a wide range of sectors, and learn the ropes in a variety of disciplines. As an integrated campaigning agency, we don’t see ‘public affairs people’ or ‘PR people’ – only great consultants, providing high-level advice and developing world-leading strategic campaigns.