“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them”.
Me, in 4 minutes.
If you haven’t watched the video - below is a quick summary.
When traveling, they say it’s the people that make a place - well I think the same is true of work. To get the right people in the right seats, you have to understand the person. Well, that’s the purpose of this site - to hopefully give you a deeper glimpse and feel into who I am, some of what I’ve done, how I work, what I value, and the things I am most proud of. Hoping it resonates.
I am a proud dad who’s into digital, brand engagement, innovation & NPD. I love guitar, music in general, surfing, traveling, and learning. I am fascinated by psychology and what motivates people.
From start-ups to global conglomerates, and many things in between, I am very fortunate to have worked in - and with - some incredible brands and people around the world; including having lived in Sydney for 8 years and gaining dual citizenship. I’ve led, created and grown teams, and driven positive transformation in multiple roles.
Over the last 19 years, I’ve sat in various seats both client and agency sides, and also within the commercial and NFP spaces. During this time, I also traveled the world for a year - 19 countries and 3 continents. Epic.
It doesn’t really matter what I say about myself - it’s what others say about me that does.
“Having met - and worked with - hundreds, if not thousands of individuals at this point in my career, Si continues to stand out as one of a small number of genuine one-of-a-kind superstars that I have had the pleasure to work alongside. On top of this, I can honestly say that he is one of the nicest, hardest-working, committed, talented, and most influential individuals you will ever meet.
Si is an absolute joy to have on any team and a genuine team player. He enjoys making people feel good, is relentlessly positive and is a wonderful manager and mentor, always looking to inspire people to be their best. On top of this, he has decades of experience across a wide range of strategy, business and marketing related areas of endeavour.
I would recommend Si absolutely without reservation. “
— Mark Bower. Executive Creative Director at Woven Agency. My boss for 28 months at Woven and previously for Coolpink for 51 months.
“Si was an agent for change within our organisation. He is a dedicated individual who not only develops ideas and strategy but then has the communication skills to convince others to embrace them and the management skills to deliver projects. Si cared as deeply about the quality of our product as he did about the overall customer experience. One of his many legacies to our organisation has been to create a multi-device sports TV product that we believe will be a standout internationally in the sports broadcasting industry.”
— Conor Woods. Head of Pay-Per-View Main Event at Foxtel. Managing Director & my line manager for 43 months at Setanta Sports APAC.
“Si is a rare and talented individual. He truly lives his passions and excels at everything he’s passionate about: from his profession in Digital Marketing to his other life interests around coaching and personal development, music, sport and fitness.
It’s rare to find someone more driven and committed to achieving and usually over achieving every goal he sets himself, which makes him a guy you can rely on. “
— Oliver Mistry. Founder at At Your Table & Compare TV. Colleague at Coolpink .
“This is the easiest recommendation to make. Si is a driven, smart, endlessly curious individual who lives and breathes vision & strategy with a keen focus on how to get things done! He’s brilliant at bringing teams together and inspiring creativity and action. Just get in a room with Si and the impossible becomes possible!
As a leader, he spots talent and spends time building potential. He’s authentic, open and loyal. Si lives and breathes digital, brand and strategy. He intuitively links people and process to an end goal and has the tenacity and drive to see it through. I’d employ him in a heart beat and am proud to say that as a result of our working together we’ve become great friends.”
— Tracy Griffin. CEO at The Big Issue Foundation. My line manager at Scope for 27 months.
“Si is one those rare people who is equally as comfortable with big strategic, innovative, and visionary thinking as he is with getting his hands dirty with the simple day to day practicalities of just making stuff work really effectively and efficiently. He’s passionate, dedicated, and loves crunching numbers to demonstrate the commercial benefit of everything he does. And he’s a leader who cares deeply, for his work, and even more so for those in his team. He’s been an inspiration to me (“how can I be more like Si!”) and is always willing to share his knowledge and experience to support others in their own journeys to success. “
— Ceri Balston. Head of eCommerce at RSA. I’ve managed Ceri at Woven, and also worked together as colleagues at Scope.
“Si is an absolute powerhouse of a strategic thinker, his attention to detail and passion for customer and data-led strategy is second to none.
I’ve reported into Si for over a year now at Woven and have learnt an incredible amount and am always stunned by his unique, logical, and exceptionally clever approach to every project we have worked on. His wealth of experience shines through every day. Couldn’t recommend him enough. “
— Miles Williams. Direct report at Woven.
Achievements.
Being a dad to three awesome little Scallywags boys tops everything else.
Growth & Brand:
Leading, developing, and implementing a growth strategy, brand proposition, and strategy-first approach to work that I am proud to say has achieved the following: increased Enjoy Digital’s turnover by 44%, retained all major retained clients through exceptional work being delivered, won a number of high profile new clients, and won numerous industry awards such as a Drum Retail award and Profilic Norths Large Agency of the year award.
Leading the growth strategy and more than doubling Wovens turnover in 28 months with key client growth and many new client wins. Also includes winning multiple awards such as Creative Pool’s Small Agency of the year both in 2021 and 2022, along with growing Woven’s Hubspot partnership from Gold to Platinum tier.
Leading all aspects of the children-focused award-winning Mindful Monsters subscription product. From brand, acquisition, customer retention and engagement, I am proud that it benefited over 10k monthly customers and generated over £4m in revenue. (Heading up the team that generated over £10m in revenue per year).
Growing a start-up Pan-Asian HD PayTV sports channel via digital channels from zero to 17 pay TV platforms in 10 countries, in 18 months.
Leveraging digital to assist NBCF to raise over $37.5M in 18 months.
Strategy:
Leading and implementing the brand, inbound marketing, brand engagement, analytics, digital transformation, and growth strategies from an agency side for many clients; Valspar, Northern, Ronseal, Brompton, Knight Frank, Hanes, Carrier, Princess Yachts, Champion, Arrow, Shelter, Optus, Garrard, Nestle, Heineken, Audi, and many more.
Transformation:
Set up digital, strategy & planning, CRM, innovation, client services, marketing & sales teams from scratch within multiple organisations to transform business focus, approach, growth & success. This included people, processes, and culture.
How can I help you?
My core areas of expertise, experience & professional passion.
Leading, building, & nurturing teams.
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Strategy: Brand | Marketing | Engagement | Analytics.
I am a strategic thinker. I enjoy getting to the truth of something and then building out a plan from that. Be that creating a new brand, to an engagement strategy, to lead generation, or an awareness campaign. Strategy has been at the heart of all my roles and experiences.
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Growth & Business Development.
From prospecting to pitching, to developing strategies, implementing, and then managing them. All of my previous roles have been targeted-based, and have always driven business growth. Acquisition, retention, revenue, awareness, and many other micro metrics underneath.
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Innovation & NPD.
I am innately curious - always wanting to know how things work and thinking up ways to do something more effectively. My time as Director of Innovation at Scope honed my skills of design thinking, failing lots and fast, working iteratively, gaining audience feedback quickly, and getting the most from a small budget. (And generating over £4.5m)
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Digital Transformation.
I am fortunate enough to have always been a digital native - and someone who always took an interest in marketing, advertising, sales, CRM, and operational tech. I’ve led company-wide digital transformation by establishing new teams, platforms and processes both as a client and as a supplier.
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Client Services & Project Management.
Building and nurturing relationships to deliver outputs on time/budget has always played a major part in many of my roles. I am Agile PM certified to professional level and have been in and led client services teams. Trust, integrity, proactivity, and a can-do and candid approach, is why many of my clients have become (and remain) friends.
And finally…
Having a blast while doing it. I’ve met a TON of great people along the way, many of which I still know and have become fantastic friends with. It makes me super proud to see many people I have managed be successful.
How I work.
No matter the role I have been in - here is my ‘modus operandi’.
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Insight led.
Whether it’s talking to the audience, undertaking marketplace analysis, or getting under the bonnet of analytics. I always make data and measurement a major part of the process.
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Objectives.
What are they? What does success look like, and why? What are the targets and KPIs, and in what timeframe.
Always start with ‘why’.
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Audience.
Who are they? What are their objectives, motivations, influences, and pain points.
Where are they? Do we have personas?
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Be Creative.
Creativity has many forms. Ideas can come from anyone. Seek and source ideas, ideate often, and be destinctive.
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Brand & Experience.
Brand is the sum total of interactions, consistency is key. All brands must have a clear and actionable purpose. People want more than the rational benefits. Beyond a seamless experience, story-telling is king.
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Prioritise.
Prioritise tasks based upon effort/investment/time versus business impact. Get buy-in on this and then deliver on an agreed roadmap. MoSCoW is good for this, and a kanban view is good for visibility.
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Fail fast.
We all fail, it’s an essential part of how we grow and learn. A culture that seeks to learn from mistakes is one that thrives.
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Test & Measure it.
Before anything goes live, it’s just a well-considered hypothesis.
Test it, measure it, review, refine, and optimise.
My values.
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1. Be honest & deliver with compassion.
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2. Nurture myself so I can nurture others.
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3. Where there is a will, there IS a way. Tenacity.
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4. Do it with passion. I am all in.
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5. Listen more than talking.
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6. Have fun doing it.
Showcase.
Growth | Strategy | TransformationThe Challenge | The Opportunity:
Enjoy Digital is a digital experience & performance marketing agency. I have been fortunate enough to be part of the team as Growth Director & Board member since September 2022.
The agency landscape is tough right now. Lots of agencies saying they can do lots of things; really well. Decision making has become elongated, cut-through has become harder, people have become more risk adverse, commitment is tough.
A clear proposition and brand, a dedicated growth team & strategy, championing and instilling a growth mindset agency-wide, a CRM at the heart of all efforts - and a kick-ass team; have all been key for success.
My role:
My key remit is to lead the business growth strategy and am ultimately accountable to achieve, measure and track all commercial opportunities and forecasts. I am responsible for half of the business leading three teams:
- Insight & Strategy
- Client Partnership
- Marketing & Sales
Results:
Growing total turnover by 44% & sales revenue by 28% amidst the backdrop of a challenging landscape.
Retaining & growing existing clients - and importantly delivering fantastic success & growth for them including; Sherwin Williams, NISA, Camira Fabrics, Fortune Brands, AgeCo, Brompton, Northern, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and Bank of Ireland.
New client wins including: Northern, Brompton Bikes, Cloud Nine, Arrow, and Corinthia Hotels (to name a few).
Multiple award wins such as:
Best Umbraco Commerce Solution - 2024
Retail - The Drum Digital Industry Awards - 2023
Prolific North Large Agency of the year award - 2023
Best B2C Website Award for Valspar & Virtual Assistant - UK Growth Awards - 2023
Best Partner Solution - Umbraco 2023
Woven Agency - Growth.
Growth | Strategy | LeadershipA keynote talk I did on ‘experience debt ‘ & what brands should do about it. Proud our event got featured by Creativepool.
Summary:
From people, processes, marketing, and culture, ‘growth’ has been my focus. Proud to say during my 28 months I doubled the business turnover and we delivered many world-class strategies/work.
My role:
Leading the Client Services, Planning & Strategy, and Marketing & Sales teams to grow the business through relationship-based long-term strategic partnerships.
Board member & business equity holder.
Results:
More than doubled the business turnover in 28 months; growth from both existing & new clients - more than £4.5m in revenue.
19 new clients won.
Moving Woven from Gold to Platinum Hubspot partnership tier.
98.1% client happiness score (clients surveyed weekly).
Creativepools ‘Small Agency of the Year” winners in two consecutive years - 2021 & 2022.
Mindful Monsters.
Innovation | Growth | Strategy | Start-upThe Challenge | The Opportunity:
Scope needed to diversify how it generated income. Like many within the third sector; they were over-dependent on a handful of traditional channels of fundraising. With rising recruitment costs and a growing stigma often ignited by the news toward face-to-face fundraising, ROI was rapidly decreasing. It needed to think differently.
My role:
I took a newly created children’s mindfulness subscription product called Mindful Monsters and led a team to roadmap, champion, and implement all core elements required for its growth. Product optimisation, marketing, retention-customer journey, business modeling & forecasting, brand & character building, & diversification of the product & the marketplace.
Results:
Over 12k paying monthly subscribers who said their children benefited from this multi-award-winning subscription product.
Over £4.5m raised at a positive ROI.
A book launched with Scholastic.
The product spun off and launched in schools, the NHS, holiday clubs, and various services, as well as a print-on-demand eCommerce store.
International interest in the brand by extremely well-known global children’s animation, film, and TV studios.
An advert we created to showcase this fabulous product.
Setanta Sports APAC.
Strategy | Transformation | Digital
The Challenge | The Opportunity:
Setanta Sports (now BeIN Sports) were an international independent subscription based sports broadcaster available in 47 countries in over 55m households.
The Australian satellite office was a growing Pay-per-view sports channel that had a relatively small marketing budget yet relied heavily on costly traditional ATL channels, resulting in a high customer CPA. Digital marketing was an alien concept. Also, a growing subscriber base but little post-purchase comms and added value was resulting in high subscription attrition rates post key events finishing.
My role:
Through a test and learn approach in order to prove results and gain internal confidence. My role included setting up, championing, and pivoting the entire marketing and communications output and spending to one that was 95% focused on digital and inbound marketing.
Brand marketing, customer engagement, and the development of Setanta Sports Plus; a multi-device sports i-player app played a key focus of the role too.
Results:
A business that was transformed from the inside out in terms of its confidence, reliance, success, and capability of digital-first marketing.
Importantly, the volume of subscribers greatly increased, whilst CPA and subscriber attrition dramatically decreased. Profitability soared.
Digitally led growth - Market launch and expansion of a new Pan-Asian HD sports channel from zero to 17 pay -TV platforms within 10 countries, in 18 months.
National ‘Are You Up For It?’ marketing campaign for Setanta’s coverage of Euro 2012 exceeded subscription targets by 160%, whilst lowering the desired CPA by 74% (subscribers were in the tens of thousands).
Being the undisputed 5-a-side lunchtime football champions!
Previous roles - the what & the where
Present: Enjoy Digital | Growth Director
Woven Agency | Chief Growth Officer
Scope | Director of Engagement & Innovation
Creode Digital Agency | Co-Owner/Digital Strategy Director
Shelter | Head of Digital Fundraising
National Breast Cancer Foundation | Head of Digital Marketing & Social Media
Holler | Senior Digital Strategist
Traveling the world | 19 Countries in 3 Continents
Setanta Sports (Now BeIN) | Head of Digital & Comms | Digital Marketing Manager
M&C Saatchi | Integrated Digital Account Director
Coolpink Digital Agency | Head of Business Development / Account Director | Business Development Executive / Manager
I have always left positively and have testimonials I am proud to share from all my former managers and colleagues. Reasons for leaving my roles have been: moving to Australia, visa (when initially in Australia), leaving Australia, practical life stuff, and simply seeking a new challenge/growth.
“The best way to predict the future, is to create it .”
I am always keen to connect with like-minded people and continually grow both personally & professionally. You only get one life - I want to live it.
Professionally, I want to….
Work for a business that has clear ambitions, vision, & values.
Grow/build something I will be proud of.
Be part of a culture that has a growth & can-do mindset where collaboration & professional growth are richly embraced, & where people get a genuine buzz from solving problems & smashing targets.
Work in an environment where debate & candor are championed but always delivered with compassion & integrity.
A job that makes me feel I am making a genuine & positive difference to a problem.