Greater Than 11%

For episode 97 we are joined by Claire Blyth, founder and managing partner of Red Setter -  a specialist PR agency for design consultancies and corporate design teams. Claire is also the co-founder of The Design Community Hub - a digital platform… for professionals across the design world to give their time, knowledge and expertise to support the next generation of designers. Claire shares how poor career guidance at school lead her to study science, but on graduating a chance meeting in a pub set her off on the design path and she hasn't looked back. She also discusses as design touches every part of our lives the importance of ensuring diversity is embedded in who gets the opportunities to contribute and the process, to avoid a world designed to work for one type of person. Claire is generous and open with her experiences and shares her mission to chip away at the things she can change - she is in it for the long game. If you are considering a career in design, do reach out to her brilliant initiative - The Design Community Hub to find support, guidance and community. A joyous and reflective episode. Enjoy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------

For episode 96 we are joined by Katherine Maskell, Head of Sales at Blink - a British production company producing everything from commercials to long-form entertainment. Katherine details what the Head of Sales role entails at Blink -  it is definitely not what you are thinking. Moreover, it is about representation. In a nutshell, it is about knowing the talent and capabilities of the directors Blink represents and making connections with different agencies, writers and producers to bring them together for new commercials or music videos etc. She also shares how her various roles from account director to recruitment consultant unseemingly connected on the surface prepared her for this very role which she is very passionate about. She talks about the importance of culture in workplace and trusting yourself when it doesn't feel right to make a change. A fab episode with some beautiful reflections. Enjoy. ----------------------------------------------------------

For episode 95 we are joined by Ellie Hale, Managing Director at The Agency Collective - an organisation focused on helping agencies be better through their core values and their members' collective action and connection. Ellie originally completed a Batchelor of Laws but straight out of her degree she pursued acting, something that is still her passion and love. She discusses she didn't necessarily have a plan in terms of her 'career,' but as someone who is creative and interested in people, she fitted naturally into business development and managerial roles. In 2019 Ellie joined The Agency Collective, firstly as their Chief Community Officer but took up the Managing Director role - soon after. She also founded Mindfulworks in 2018 after she lost a close friend to suicide. Mindfulworks supports companies and individuals with Mental Health First Aid Training. It teaches how to spot triggers and changes in behaviours, and to have the confidence to start some meaningful conversations with colleagues and friends. Ellie has the most soothing of voices - we could listen to her all day. She is also super passionate about diversity and change within the media and comms industry and is proactively contributing to social equity in the sector both in her role and through The Agency Collective.  ---------------------------------------------------------------

Siân Blackman is Account Director at The Diversity Standards Collective (The DSC), an organisation which offers brands and agencies the opportunity to get behind the data - and closer to diverse views and opinions from across the globe -  to drive better representation - into communications. She shares her journey from studying English Literature and how with hindsight, she can see her thinking around representation was forming through her final dissertation without her being necessarily aware of it at the time. Siân talks about her creative journey, working firstly at Creative Brief for over five years before joining The DSC and how she has learnt to manage her anxiety when it appears (she even gives a few tips). She also discusses the incredible work that The DSC are doing, with big and small brands to ensure there is a greater representation of lived experience at the point of conception of a campaign / advert. Not sure what an account director or account manager does? Heard of Client Services but still unclear about what their responsibilities are? Siân does a great job of explaining the roles and functions of an Accounts team. Such a fabulous discussion with a truly kind and generous being - a treat to listen to. Enjoy. ---------------------------------------------------------------

For episode 93 we are joined by the co-founders of Good Shout - Amy Kean & Nicola Kemp. Amy Kean is a creative sociologist, advertising strategist, poet and author and Nicola Kemp - a journalist, editor and event host recently brought their incredible talents together to create training products that facilitate social learning practices -  to help people experiment with their own voice, talent and thinking - and they named the company - Good Shout. In this episode, they share why they started Good Shout and the importance of embracing your weird and accepting we are all experiments. It was such a great discussion and it could have gone on and on, as these two women are as much fun as they are intelligent.  ----------------------------------------------------

For episode 92 we are joined by Vick Bain who has worked in the music industry for 25+ years and recently has set up her own company VBain Consultancy. She shares her creative journey - the first in her family to enter higher education becoming a musician (another first in her family) and then moving into the management and business side of the industry rising to CEO of The Ivors Academy (formerly the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors). When starting her own business in 2019 to focus on campaigning, researching and training on all aspects of diversity in the music & creative industries she focused on a project she had wanted to tackle for some time - analysing the gender of who was on the rosters of over 300 UK record labels and publishing companies. Her findings were published in the report ‘Counting the Music Industry' and demonstrated, with data how few women are supported financially by the music industry in comparison to men. This research evolved into the F-List - something that set the UK music industry alight in 2020 (listen to find out more). Vick is an empathetic, generous campaigner and leader and it was an honour to discuss her career and be in awe of how her persistence has brought about change (and continues to do so). Enjoy ----------------------------------------------------

For episode 91 we are joined by Creative Producer and founder of:  I LIKE NETWORKING -  Isabel Sachs. Isabel shares her journey to discovering a creative life as a result of studying International Relations degree in her native Brazil. Not enjoying the course, she found solace in getting involved - at first running on film sets for friends and slowly she got more involved in all things creative. She decided to channel her energy into founding her own company. A brilliant choice as it evolved into an award-winning cultural agency, which she grew into a huge success with it producing 50+ events a year - including tours, managing artists and a theatre company, but in 2015 she decided to sell the business and move to London. In the UK she worked for a number of companies in her capacity as a creative producer within the arts, cultural and entertainment sectors but when the Covid pandemic hit in 2020 she was made redundant. It is from this I LIKE NETWORKING was born. To date I LIKE NETWORKING has established: a mentoring scheme… and there have been 150+ mentees that have received support. There is an online community of approximately 30,000 people actively engaging with the platform There has been a podcast series And there have been a number of events! Isabel shares her journey, the importance of networking - it not being cringe as portrayed in movies - and her ambitions for a more equal and diverse cultural industries. Enjoy -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

For episode 90 we are joined by Amy Smith - Head of Talent for the Oscar-winning, world-renowned animation and visual effects creative studio - Framestore. Amy is uber passionate and committed to creating a more socially equitable global visual effects (VFX) industry. She shares all the initiatives she and her industry colleagues have been rolling out over the past decade to ensure they are playing the long game when it comes to diversity and inclusion in their sector. This includes; visiting primary schools, apprentice and intern schemes and getting involved in political campaigning for better creative education! SHE IS AMAZING! Amy breaks down in eloquent detail all the touchpoints and roles involved in creating a film with heavy VFX . She also covers the different processes and the types of people who work on an advert compared to a movie. She also shares how being made redundant from a dream job a few years back was devastating and took a lot of focused effort to both, find another role and manage her wellbeing. She reflects that experience has made her a more empathetic recruiter and Head of Talent. Amy's enthusiasm and drive are infectious! This is a fabulous listen to! Enjoy!  --------------------------------------------------------------------------

For episode 89 we are joined by producer and founder and host of Poducate, Anthea Agyekum.

We are back for Series 3 and are delighted to welcome both Samantha Hornsby and Mae Yip as our first guests after quite a lengthy hiatus. Sam & Mae are both the co-founders of Eric - whose offering has evolved over the past few years but is currently taking shape in app form. The Eric app (download here: IOS or Android)  is a hot house of hot house of all the best career advice. Beneficial to all, but with a prime focus on providing 16-25 year olds with little to no experience and with career advice and guidance. It is awesome! In this episode they share how they were originally guided away from creative careers, but found themselves distracted in the roles they took on early in their careers so decided to ditch them, join forces and found their own company - LY London and eventually launching Eric. There is a lot of laughter, a lot of candid honesty and they share their thinking on the next move for Eric (which could involve Beyonce

For episode 87 we are joined by the gorgeous Shanice Mears, Head of Talent & Co-founder of creative agency, The Elephant Room. Shannie shares her passion for fostering community and supporting others - being a bridge between talent and opportunity. She goes back to her creative roots and discusses her love of dance and how she shaped her talent and skills to work within advertising. Ambitious and wanting to connect with like-minded people she founded 'Girls Let's Talk' before she relocated from Birmingham to London and how her love for music led her to be a Community Manager for the London Chapter of shesaid.so - a brilliant organisation, which brings together a global community of women and gender minorities in the music industry. In 2017 she co-founded The Elephant Room with Dan Saxaby and they have just received the news that they have made the shortlist for The Drum Awards for Best Independent Agency of the Year and Best Approach to Diversity and Inclusion. Huge congratulations.

For episode 86, we aren't featuring a panel discussion as Crystal is on holiday but rather the amazing Chief Operations Officer and co-founder of market research agency Imagen, Cat Agostinho. When I say 'amazing' I mean it! I think Cat is one of the loveliest people - EVER. Keep an ear out for how many times I say 'awesome' & 'amazing' -think it is fair to say I went a bit fangirl!!! Not only is Cat highly talented with a stellar CV, she is also the co-founder of dawn network and founder of her own Media & Marketing business - Agostinho Consultancy. She discusses some real challenges she has faced in her career and shares what she did to overcome them. She also talks with passion about her businesses, supporting others and the importance of walking (and looking up) when thinking. You can connect with Cat via LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/cat-agostinho/?originalSubdomain=uk) , find more about Imagen (https://imageninsights.com/) and how to get involved and how to attend a dawn network (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-london/) event.

For episode 78 we headed to South West England - to Bristol precisely and are joined, virtually of course, by Foley Artist, Louise Brown. To flag, we had a bit of a dodgy Zoom line at times, so there is a little static here and there but nothing too unbearable. Louise breaks down exactly what it is a foley artist does. From hugging bowls of water for a shark film to walking on the spot for up to 8 hours. Ok, it is a lot more complex than that, but you'll have to listen to the episode to hear it from the metaphorical horse's mouth... or should I say hoof? With a burning desire to work in the music industry, but with no understanding of how or any industry connections, Louise made the decision to jack in her job at a factory and do a BTEC followed by a degree in Music Technology. Whilst doing a summer job with an unplanned visit Pinewood Studios she discovered foley and this began a long and slow slog to break into the industry - even having to ignore and push on after being directly told by her boss at the time 'women can't do sound'

A note prior to details about this panel discussion.  We recorded this episode before the tragic news of the murder of George Floyd broke. We, like many others across the globe, are both shocked and angered by systemic and brutal racism that continues to cost lives, is completely and utterly criminal and causes engulfing waves of pain for individuals and communities. Greater than 11% has diversity at its core, is anti-racist and is both an ally and supporter for equality for all.  There is a proliferation of information on how to get involved, support, get educated on tackling racism and with the best will in the world and sincere desire to get contribute to change, it can feel a tad overwhelming. We have found the Obama Foundation’s (https://www.obama.org/) Meet Anguish With Action (https://www.obama.org/anguish-and-action/) website really valuable in terms of educating and reflecting on the current moment and how to get involved - even in small ways.  We also want to give a shout out to a charity promoted by a former >11% guest and absolute legend who we adore, Collette Phillips. Charity So White (https://charitysowhite.org/) is on mission to root out symptomatic widespread institutional racism in the UK’s third sector through education. If you have the means and are seeking to support anti-racism by way of financial donation, you can contribute to the vital work they do via this link (https://charitysowhite.org/donate) .   —- For this panel episode Crystal and Renee are joined by two Content Queens this week, Jenny Hollander, Director of Content Strategy for Marie Claire US and Lucy Ferguson, Editor for Think with Google in the UK.  They discuss changing content consumption appetites throughout Covid but by far the most interesting and bizarre topic discussed in Jenny's father's preoccupation with stuffed animals. The panel also shares their favourite pieces of Covid related content and the impact of Covid on their work.  Renee’s content recommends  View: Ruby etc (https://www.rubyetc.com/) . also on instagram (https://www.instagram.com/rubyetc_/?hl=en) . Watch: The Morning Show (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA7D4_qU9jo) (on Apple TV)   Jenny’s content recommends Read: Marie Claire: Death Surrounds Her (https://www.marieclaire.com/health-fitness/a32056330/nursing-during-covid-19-crisis/) Marie Claire: What will Covid-19 do to Pregnant Women’s Mental Health (https://www.marieclaire.com/health-fitness/a32106421/covid-19-maternal-mental-health/) & COVID-19 Is Keeping Women From Having Kids (https://www.marieclaire.com/health-fitness/a32210827/covid-19-fertility-family-planning/) Marie Claire: Surrogacy Is Complicated—Then Add a Global Pandemic (https://www.marieclaire.com/health-fitness/a32433196/surrogacy-covid-19-ukraine/) Marie Claire: Fear is a Virus (https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a31933716/coronavirus-asian-american-racism/) -  COVID-19 has triggered prejudice and abuse towards Asian Americans across the country. How do we stop the infection? Listen: You’re Wrong About (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/youre-wrong-about/id1380008439) Desert Island Discs (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qnmr) Watch: Little Fires Everywhere (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA8VU4wprhQ) (on Prime UK) Lucy’s recommends Read: Party in a Google Doc (https://onezero.medium.com/party-in-a-shared-google-doc-d576c565706e) Listen: FIP Radio (https://www.fip.fr/) View: Search trends via Think Google (https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-gb/consumer-insights/coronavirus-consumer-search-behaviour-google-trends/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6MCzrf7i6QIVzbTtCh21dwOqEAAYASAAEgKx-fD_BwE) Crystal’s content recommends: Read: Guardian - Grace Dent: If God wanted me to be a size eight, would he have made Birds Eye Potato Waffles so waffly versatile? (https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/may/08/if-god-wanted-me-to-be-a-size-eight-would-he-have-made-birds-eye-potato-waffles-so-waffly-versatile-grace-dent-food) Watch: Studio Ghibil - Spirited Away (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByXuk9QqQkk) Normal People (https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/clip/90e2b28b-2450-445d-84d4-8e92964a5bf2) (on BBC) Listen:  Esther Perel - Where Should We Begin (https://whereshouldwebegin.estherperel.com/)

For Episode 76, Producer Ursie Downes interviews Alison Stewart. Alison is a Children’s Media Consultant and has worked as an Executive Producer and Writer. Alison has worked for the BBC for over 13 years and her most recent role was Head of Production for BBC's CBeebies channel for pre-school children. Alison has had an incredible career and it was a pleasure to learn more about what she does and the project's she's worked on.

Film and ice-cream pairing, Too Hot To Handle and some world class empathetic entrepreneurialism which no management course could have taught. This episode is jam-packed with goodies. In responses to our recent instagram poll, 85% of contributors said their relationship with food and cooking had changed over the last few weeks, we wanted to explore this topic and recorded Food in a Time of Covid. We are joined by two absolute delights:

For episode 74 we are are joined by Los Angeles based Publicist and Communications Specialist, Anita Yardemian. She discusses the range and diversity of her job; strategy, brand management, PR, media and VIP relations, event producing and journalism. Anita shares how she has crafted and adapted the journalist element of her work to ensure she has more autonomy, creativity and more direct involvement in her community.  Working with big luxury brands, such as Westime & Ferrari. Big names such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kylie Jenner. Anita talks about how she manages the pressure and also on occasion, a big ego  - with empathy and embracing conflict as a way of creative collaboration. She also discusses the importance of networks, personal brand and how she is managing the current crisis. If you would like to connect with Anita or discover more of how incredibly brilliant she is you can do so at: www.under-luxe.com (https://www.under-luxe.com/) (we loved the 'Behind the Scenes' section and all decided we needed to head LA as soon as possible).

Intentional, optimistic and sharp are three words to describe this week’s guest - Brand Strategist and Founder of Brand By Me, Collette Philip.  She discusses knowing early on that she wanted to work for the greater good and be a leader. As as a child she focused her aspirations on becoming the UK's prime minister (something that she says is still on the table). Studying Business and German at University, she discovered she really enjoyed modules focusing on 'marketing' which resulted in her landing an Account Manager role at Grey’s London, as soon as she completed her degree. Spending a number of years in AdLand she realised she was finding herself continually in a cycle of sticky floors or bumping up against glass ceilings when focusing on her progression. She pivoted her career to working directly with charities and after 18 years of building and shaping other brands she decided to found her own - setting up Brand By Me in 2016.

This week's guest's illustrative work will have you weeping with joy at the beauty and tenderness she is able to evoke with her paints and pens.

Recorded just a week before lockdown and the last episode from our Edinburgh trip, this week's guest is the super talented Creative Director, Hilary Joiner. Hilary shares her career journey; studying fine art, rising to the level of creative director within the advertising industry, starting her own company - Little Ego and coming full circle to her current role as Creative Director at Stripe Communications. She discusses machismo culture and her belief that the antidotes reside in humility and empathy. She also talks about the importance of feeding your mind palace with inspiring, nourishing visual experiences. We are so looking forward to getting back to Scotland later in 2020. It is was with the help from Hilary that Greater than 11% were actually able to get to Edinburgh! We have heaps of love and gratitude for the support Hilary provided - she is a star

From a cupboard in Leigh-on-Sea to a pillowed corner in Nottingham and down to crystallised Cathedral City consuming in Chiswick, we kick off April with our 1st-panel podcast recorded virtually. Our special guest this month is our very own Series Producer, Ursie Downes. We discuss the unexpected highs and lows of lockdown life. We talk all things; routine, mental health and the impact of COVID-19 on our different workplaces. We cover Love Is Blind, the joys of jigsaws and share our top read, watch and listen recommendations for any extra time afforded by staying at home.  Dear listeners, we are here for you. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us if you're having a tough time, fancy a virtual cup of tea or need some advice.  You can find and connect with us on Insta: @greaterthanelven @reneevaughansutherland @crystal_maze @ursiegrace Stay tuned all the way to the outro if you'd like to the kitchen cacophony kindly provided by Crystal's husband, Chris #recordingfromhome. Stay safe.

✨ For the Third Episode of our Scottish Tour, Greater Than 11%'s Producer, Ursie Downes,  catches up with the vibrant and inspiring Hannah Taylor, Editor of The Delicate Rebellion Magazine (https://www.thedelicaterebellion.com) . Hannah is also Head of The Collective (https://www.thedelicaterebellion.com/reads/thecollective) , an online community that provides support and mentoring to creatives who want to boost their earnings or increase their business acumen.  ✏️ Hannah talks about her incredible career path, from leaving school at 15 to falling in love with publishing and diving into a masters degree a few years later.

The second instalment of our Scottish tour is hosted by Greater than 11%'s wonderful producer, Ursie Downes. For this episode, she catches up with the talented Susie Lowe, spectacularly brilliant Commercial Photographer with a whole host of impressive clients.  Susie's discussion on the strength and tenacity of freelancers feels particularly poignant in the wake of this week's news on the coronavirus. Susie shares her long love affair with photography - getting hold of her first camera at age 9! Having studied at Falmouth College of Art, she moved first to London and then back home to Edinburgh to grow her client base and establish her career. She talks about starting out and working in the industry as a woman (& having to deal with the nudie pics on the wall), she breaks down how she works through a brief and shares her joy collaborating with Emily Murray on The Pink House blog.  You can get in contact with Susie or see her varied (and sumptuous) work via her site: susielowestudio.com (https://www.susielowestudio.com/) We loved catching with Susie she was super patient with our makeshift 'on the road studio' & even reduced her gesticulation to help with audio quality!  Enjoy!

Ep 67 is the first episode from our whirlwind Scottish tour.  Discussing her love of art, we are joined by Nicky Wilson - Curator, Collector and Co-founder of Jupiter Artland. Nicky studied fine art at Camberwell College London followed by a masters in sculpture from the Chelsea School of Art. On graduating she won a British School of Rome Sculpture Scholarship. Her sculpting practice took a hiatus whilst she raise her five children but she having moved to Bonnington House, a grand 17th century manor house nestled into 100 acre estate just outside Edinburgh, she began thinking about how to bring her love of art into the landscape. Nicky & her husband began commissioning artists to make large-scale landworks and outdoor sculptures for the estate and in 2008 Jupiter Artland opened to the public. Nicky discusses her role, dreaming of sculpture and that sometimes the struggle is what makes something rewarding.

International Women's Day, overcoming fears, challenges of organisational transformation and the earth righting itself are just a few of the subjects we discuss with this month's panel with the legendary, Sam Conniff. Entrepreneur, Author, Consultant, Speaker, Mentor - what hasn't Sam done? He has also been officially ordained as a pirate - for real. ☠️⚓️ Founder of Bafta-winning content agency Don’t Panic, Co-founder of Livity; a creative agency using youth culture to design the future (they have been doing so for 19+ years), Sam also wrote ”Be More Pirate Or How To Take On the World and Win” -  a bestseller in the UK. A Speaker and Facilitator in high demand - he has been on many stages across the globe for some of the biggest brands from Apple to the Ministry of Defence. Sam not only inspired us, but he also made us laugh - heaps! He challenged us to face what scares us most and as a result, all three of us agreed to do stand up comedy! Say what?

For episode 65 we are joined by the incredible, the wonderful Steffany George, Head of Movement for the University of Essex’s East 15 - Acting School. Born and raised in Texas, Steffany trained as a dancer at the Virginia Commonwealth University moving to New York once she graduated. She shares that early on she had to juggle several jobs, barely make ends meet whilst freelancing as a dancer and found her path leading her more towards movement working with actors. She went on to teach at the prestigious Stellar Adler Studio of Acting for ten years before moving to the UK. She discusses her role as Head of Movement, working with students and neural pathways connected to the body and movement. Steffany generously talks about her biggest challenge - disappointment and the importance of self-care after completing a project. A really open and honest episode with an amazing dancer, teacher and friend. Enjoy.

Fresh from the Brits and seeing Lizzo perform (we are so jealous), this week's equally fabulous guest is Nishma Robb - Marketing Director for Google UK. Nishma walks us through her role - it is epic! Responsible for brand reputation, as well as leading the advertising and the industry marketing for Google UK, she talks about the importance of curiosity and building bespoke teams to meet the demands. A lover of stories, she shares that as a child she was set on becoming a journalist, but after doing a stint of work experience at Marie Claire realised it wasn't for her. Walking us through her formative jobs and roles, she reflects her need for security perhaps limited the number of leaps she was able to take, but inquisitive by nature she was always pushing to learn, establishing a very successful career early on. A proactive and consistent agitator for equality and diversity, Nishma is constantly advocating the need to attract talent from differing backgrounds to the creative industries. She talks about her own experiences; from calling things out, challenging agencies and reflecting on how to address diversity within Google's advertising (& beyond). Nishma is an inspiring leader who generously discusses her career & experiences - enjoy!

A little extra from episode 63 that didn't make it into the edit but we loved Leah's go-to for inspiration on all things witches, punks & Riot Grrrls. 'We are the granddaughters of the women you couldn't burn!'

For episode 63 we are joined by not one - but two incredible women - Jay Yule & Leah Airey. Jay is a dance artist and choreographer whose work is influenced by feminist philosophies, with a particular interest in the readdressing the audience and performer relationship. Leah is a Production Assistant at Shoot Europe - a production house based London. And together they collaborate on Viva La Vulva - a celebration of female and non-binary sexuality.  They discuss their careers, how their collaboration came about and their ambitions for Viva La Vulva. This is such a fantastic episode but sadly our recording conditions have impacted the quality of the audio - do be aware that the levels do vary a little throughout the interview. You can find out more about what they do and Viva La Vulva on their individual Instagram feeds: @jayrule and lia__air or via Jay’s website: jayrule.com

Must be love, love, love. We are kicking off February discussing all things love & creativity. Seriously, are there any better topics? And fitting to the occasion, we are joined by Humanist Celebrant, Zena Birch. She shares her creative journey, landing by accident her current role where she brings stories and ceremony together to annotate moments. We collectively discuss; Valentine's day and it's portrayal in the Media & Comms industry. We also talk about our experiences of our 'relationship status' in the workplace and reflect on the influence of 'being in love' has on creativity. Apparently, according to one of us, it gets in the way of being productive. Romantic! If you would like to find out more about Zena, you can do so here: zenabirch.com (https://www.zenabirch.com/) We also want to take this opportunity to let our wonderful listeners know how much we love them and do very much appreciate their devotion! 

A combination of commerciality, creativity and kindness - this week's guest, Jane English is a Business Director for British broadcaster's Channel 4 (C4). Whilst studying a BA in English, Jane was unsure of a career path or role suited to her. It was whilst in the waiting room to see the university's careers advisor, she happened upon a copy of 'Campaign' magazine and at that moment knew she had found her calling.  Positioned in Channel 4's in-house creative team, she talks about her role being made up of many strands; from strategy to nurturing and supporting the culture, ensuring C4 creatives can make the best work they can. Jane discusses learning to stay true to herself, having been underestimated owing to her 'being too nice' early on in her career. Naturally empathetic, she reflects that kindness sometimes results in hard nose decisions for the team. She also covers the launch of Channel 4's Menopause Policy in October 2019 - a first for the UK’s media industry! Its aim is to prioritise women’s health through private and temperature-controlled spaces, flexible working and paid leave if they are experiencing menopause symptoms. The ultimate objective is to destigmatise the condition and make it more visible - normalise something 50% of our workforce will go through. Jane is so inspiring through how she approaches her role, her drive to support others and her passion for making fantastic work. A gem of an episode - enjoy!

This week we are joined by multi-award winning Animation Filmmaker, Kate Jessop. She discusses her broad influences, which range from Jarvis Cocker to Dadaism and shares her creative journey - none of which she planned - from studying illustration, playing in bands, becoming a DJ and creating her own visuals which ultimately led her to filmmaking. She talks about her animation style and process, managing both her creative and mental wellbeing and reflects on her the difference between her and her forebearers working lives. You can see Kate's work & get in contact via her website: http://katejessop.co.uk/ and find her on both Instagram and Twitter @katejessopfilm.

A balm for the ears and soul - a soothing listen! This week we are joined by Creative Brand Consultant & Founder of Lemons Me, Davina Ajana. We discuss her extensive design talents and epic career history. She has worked for a number of major global fashion and beauty brands: Clarins to TKMax to Boden (and everyone else in between). She shares the reasons behind setting up her own Creative Brand consultancy:  giving her the freedom to explore her own creative style and the vital importance of being visible as a senior creative woman of colour. Focusing on startups and small business, her passion is to support - be present and nurture those going through the process - allowing them space and time to shape their branding. Davina also talks about Beenie Buds & Co - an online boutique toy store she set-up with her husband after she discovered she was pregnant and also being made redundant on the same day. Going strong, Beenie Buds & Co it celebrates it's 10th birthday this year.  She also discusses the importance of growing talent - nurturing and supporting younger, less experienced members of her team and how much she has always enjoyed this element of any role or team she takes on. Davina's approach and generosity to what she does are completely inspiring - nurturing is the word! You can find out more about Davina and Lemons Me here: lemons.me and Beanie Buds & Co here: beeniebudsandco.com

Prepare yourself for a wild ride! This week we are joined by the incredibly exuberant, Jennifer Clarke, Data & Transformation Strategy Leader. Taking us on her creative journey, Jen talks about starting out in printmaking before discovering her love of data when doing her Masters in Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburg. On graduating, she moved into an Operations Analyst role before landing a job as Digital Strategist & Product Manager whilst simultaneously moonlighting in a freelance capacity, as Strategy Consultant for the banking, health and retail sectors.  She also shares her experience at 'career transformation' event she recently attended, where she had to visualise a year before her own death to determine what was important her. Scary?! Yes, but she discusses how it completely reinvigorated her desire for change, prompting her to consult with her own personal board (made up of friends, peers and mentors) to work through ideas and thoughts on her next career move. An exciting year ahead by all accounts! Jen's positivity and humour are energising - enjoy!

We kick off the new year... the new decade with the wonderful Kate Bassett - Head of Content at Management Today and a journalist. We discuss our personal and industry reflections of 2019, our thoughts of new year’s resolutions and share what we are hoping to achieve in the coming year. Plus, there is a lot of talk about breakfast and Greggs vegan sausage rolls (Kate’s slightly obsessed). We wish all our listeners a super creative 2020.

For episode 56 we are joined by the incredibly talented Art Director and Illustrator Flavia Amaral, in our first anti-podcast for Series 2. Flavia shares starting out in the industry. Working hard, developing her skills to become an Art Director but also returning to her creative beginnings, drawing, and how vital it was she nurtured this too. She talks about her love / hate relationship with being outside her comfort zone and completely surprised me, reeling off a list of unpredictable challenges she has done  to ensure she pushes herself. One of those being 'clown lessons' - yikes! Her illustrative work is absolutely stunning and what a treat to have her share and design a bespoke element for our catch up. You can locate the anti-podcast on our Insta channel @greaterthaneleven (https://www.instagram.com/greaterthaneleven/) - it will be in our Story and then saved to our Highlights. If you would like to find out more about Flavia and her work you can do so here (https://www.instagram.com/flamaral/) or search for her on Insta @flamaral.

For episode 55 we are joined by the super-focused foodie founder, Laura Mimoun. Laura shares her journey from studying business to being a very happy marketer when one evening she and her husband discovered/created salad rolls contained within rice paper. They knew they were onto a good thing and took a leap to found Kaleido Rolls (https://kaleidorolls.com/) . I think you will be able to tell by the interview - I'm a fan! They are so delicious and super healthy! Laura discusses finding inspiration everywhere, managing the fear and uncertainty she sometimes feels and the responsibility to the team she has built around the business. The energy and determination in which Laura possesses is infectious - it will definitely rub off on you. Enjoy! **Please note - we had a few minor issues with aircon at the time of recording. The sound does dip from time to time but levels out quite quickly after the intro.

For our first interview for Series 2, we are joined by DJ & Label Manager, Alice Whittington - aka DJ Norsicaa. Alice shares how her love of music (and also hogging the iPod at office parties), led her to quit her job in education and administration to take a four-week course and set out to become a DJ. In the beginning, working long hours and often for free, it wasn't easy. But through grit, determination and with an ear for fantastic tunes & beats within a couple of years, she carved out a name in the music industry. Alice is now booked at nightclubs and festivals across the globe all year round and hosts a monthly show on Soho Radio and also on Foundation FM. Not only is she queen of the decks, but she also works as a Label Manager for Soundway Records, where she is responsible for the studio's PR, production, distribution, media, management and artist liaison.  Alice discusses the importance of being professional, learning to know and stand up for your value and being a completionist. She is super passionate about music and heaps of fun! Enjoy.

We are super pumped to be back with Series 2 of Greater than 11%. A few changes since we took a break at the end of September, all of which we cover in this episode but first and foremost we have tweaked the format a little.  The beginning of every month will feature a panel discussion with Renee Vaughan Sutherland, Crystal Eisinger and a special guest. In between, Renee will still be interviewing awesome women about their creative careers and roles. This episode was intended to be a warm and short 'hiya we're back!' but impassioned conversations bubbled up covering inequality, unequal pay and things got political - which is not surprising in the current climate. Ursie Downes is now the shows fabulous producer and in the coming months will also be involved in interviews and panel discussions. It is great to be back!

In this very special bonus episode, Founder and Host of Greater Than 11% is interviewed by Ursie Downes. Renee discusses her career journey, from working as a conveyancing and law clerk, moving to France to work as an au pair, to London to studying for her degree and working as an artist and Creative Director. In Renee's own words, she doesn't 'know balance' and she talks us through her busy creative life, managing a team at London video agency, Hub, working as an artist... oh and starting a podcast! We discuss who Renee is inspired by creatively, her favourite moments from series 1 and what's coming up for series 2! You can learn more about Renee and her work here: http://www.r-v-s.co.uk/

For our final episode in Series 1, we are joined by the incredible Composer, Hannah Kendall. Hannah discusses her early start in music: learning to play the violin at four years old. She shares how her love of all things music grew throughout her childhood and in her teens, she would go to the library each Saturday to loan Bach CDs. She confesses that she had never considered composition as a career, as she had never known or been taught about any women - or women of colour composers at school. She muses her career path as a result of an admin error when she was at university, which meant that she had to take an 'extra' class to make up her points to ensure she could graduate and it was in this class - 'composition' - that she found her calling. Hannah talks about her process; starting off with graphical representations of how she sees the music taking shape (this fascinated me) and the anxiety involved with starting a new project. Hannah 'keeps it real' whilst I consistently try and romanticise her creativity and talents in the interview - I have to be honest, I'm still in awe at what she does and creates, I mean just listen to her music (link below)! You can learn more about Hannah and her work here: hannahkendall.co.uk (https://hannahkendall.co.uk/) You can listen to her incredible work here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylxPYatC3w0 (& youtube for more). This concludes Series 1, thank you for listening and we will be back on air within a few short months.

This week's guest is the gracious Costume & Set Designer, Sophie Thomas. Sophie shares, after careful consideration, choosing a creative path over following in her family's vocational footsteps and becoming a 4th generation Doctor Thomas. After completing an art foundation Sophie chose the costume and set design course at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, realising it would give her more practical creative skills than an art degree. She discusses her love of collaboration within set & costume design and stresses the importance of the script to unlocking the creative imagination needed to take audiences on a journey within the theatre. With set & costume design roles mostly being freelance, Sophie shares her experience and some of the challenges she has faced as a result. Juggling jobs, late payments and trying to pay the rent meant that she had to reassess how she viewed both her role and her values. She discusses that putting in place some boundaries ensures she is able to keep being creative, healthy and happy. Sophie is articulate, thoughtful and wildly talented - a gem!

This week’s wonderful guest is Event, Marketing & Comms Consultant and founder of Flex Events, Emily Philp. Emily shares her creative journey to discovering event management and her own surprise that she founded her own business. She discusses the importance of resilience and having a sense of humour; both when running an event but also in managing her company, 'because things will go wrong.' She also stresses the importance of having networks, meeting people and connecting and gives her top tip for getting around the awkwardness that networking events sometimes exude, 'see it as going out to meet friends'. She talks about the value of taking risks outside your comfort zone in your career and that by breaking down a focused leap into smaller parts boosts your confidence (and is also a thrill) when you achieve it. It is evident in how Emily describes her career that she loves running events. Having witnessed her calm, creative expertise up close at Creative Equals' Rise event in May, I can definitely testify she is truly passionate and talented in what she does and how she does it. You can find more information about Flex Events here: https://www.weareflexevents.com/

This week’s amazing guest is Strategy & Operations Lead at Google, Crystal Eisinger. Crystal describes her approach and flavour to strategy and operations, stressing the most important element is ‘empathy,’ especially when it involves change. She discusses her life-changing ‘gap year’ in the industry with multinational professional services network, Deloitte, before she went to university. Sharing, that the knowledge and confidence she learnt, set her up to take more risks in her career - not fearing being fired as she has a solid set of skills to fall back on. She also discusses her hybrid approach to communication: storytelling through a combination of Marie Kondo’s ‘Spark Joy?’, Sam Conniff’s ‘Be More Pirate’ and Brené Brown’s ‘The Power of Vulnerability.’ A voracious reader herself, she talks about the book she is currently writing titled; ’How to Lean in When You’re Not the COO of Facebook’ - aimed at those starting out on their career path, giving practical advice and insight on intention setting. She also lets us in on her secrets for how she remains focused and zen: lots of Bikram yoga, tuning into to Radio 4, going fishing with her father, reading, plus a good dash of Love Island whilst enjoying chicken wings. Crystal’s courageous and thoughtful energy is infectious, she will without a doubt sweep you up in her creative fervour.

This week's guest, Sahdaish Pall is a creative polymath! She is an Author, a Board Game Creator (two to date!) and a Domestic Violence Service Manager but it doesn't stop there. She also is a co-founder in S.W.A.N, a Community Interest Group whose aim is to develop positive change in the community and to inspire, develop and empower women to live confident and fulfilled lives. She has also published a cookbook, written articles for the likes of the Guardian and won numerous awards for her talents and community work! Sahdaish discusses writing her two fiction books: The Perfect Match & The Perfect Dress, her process and how she self-published. She shares using the 'chick-lit' genre to broach and promote an awareness of domestic violence and how to find and access support and help. If you would like to find out more or buy the Perfect Match you can do so here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Perfect-Match-Sahdaish-Pall/dp/1326479423 or The Perfect Dress here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Perfect-Dress-Sahdaish-Pall/dp/1326479032 She also talks about her current project -  creating and launching her second board game titled 'Fair Play.' The game helps educate primary and secondary school students on systems of abuse, identifying unhealthy behaviours and how to respond and get support if need be. The game launched a week after we recorded the interview and has already been well received. If you would like to find out more about 'Fair Play' you can do so here: http://www.genderequalitymatters.co.uk/fairplay Sahdaish's creativity, kindness and energy are epic, she works on all her creative projects in addition to her full-time job as Domestic Violence Service Manager. It is a tough role, which often encounters some of the dark moments but she shares how she has learnt to focus on the positive changes that can be made in recovery for those that she works with.  She also discusses not getting the opportunity to go to university when she was younger and how this sometimes creates a dip in self-belief (despite all the bloody amazing things she does) and that she has to remind herself not to be too critical but rather focus her attention on reflecting on all that she has achieved. She is a huge advocate for giving things a go, being determined and making it happen. Sahdaish is INCREDIBLE! Her constant focus, on how to use her creativity to help other peoples' lives better, is so inspiring! Be ready to be blown away!

For episode 47 I am joined by the wonderful Global Head of Brand at Graze, Cristina Loaiza. A healthy snack company founded just ten years ago, Cristina discusses the fast pace at which Graze operates and how this helps keep the internal brand team nimble - being able to make decisions quickly. She talks about her challenge: not being quite sure what she wanted to do when leaving school and then university before she found (and fell in love with) marketing. She shares that for a period of time, she felt this early career uncertainty slowed her progression but with hindsight has discovered it has actually been a bonus - giving her more experience and a broader perspective. Cristina, one of the co-founders of Futures (along with the fabulous Visha Naul: Episode 43), provides an overview of how the Network is structured, her role within the leadership team and how important it was to her, to be able to create something that supported other women in the media and communication industry. Super energetic and to the point, Cristina lays out the demands and intensity of the Global Head of Brand role with effortless ease. Enjoy.

For episode 46 we are joined by PR guru and strategy ninja, Lucy Werner.  She is also the founder of The Wern: a specialist communications consultancy and training hub for startups, entrepreneurs and independent brands. Initially focused on being a journalist - she discovered and fell in love with PR after doing a week's work experience in her teens and becoming pretty shit hot once she got her foot in the door. She discusses the challenges of working in an agency versus in-house and how always being given the difficult clients was fantastic training but ultimately lead her to create her own path. Lucy is passionate about supporting other small startups and is super selective about who she works with. She shares the value of keeping your focus on your ambition and not being sidetracked by others notion of  the ‘ideal’ direction or route. We nabbed Lucy just before she went on maternity leave and are pleased to be able to congratulate her on her new addition to the family that arrived between recording and release of this episode! You can find out more about Lucy and The Wern here: thewern.com (https://www.thewern.com/)

This week we are joined by Director of Strategy & Innovation and podcast founder & host of 'Who's Next,' the fabulous Zara Bryson. Zara's energy is infectious! Not only does she discuss her role, but she also shares, with gusto, her love of maths, which is more about overcoming confidence blockers as much as it is about maths. Never been a fan of the subject? There is a chance you'll be a convert after listening to Zara's zeal on all things maths & problem-solving. With ambitions of being a human rights lawyer, she studied a Bachelor of Laws at Birmingham University. On graduating she sidestepped into market research. She quickly became frustrated with insight often being an exercise rather than a catalyst and became eager to move into strategy. A role shrouded in mystery, she wasn't sure of the route to reach her ambition. Having persisted & securing the position she was focused on, she talks with passion and energy about how much she enjoys her current job. Zara also shares the importance of asking for help or career guidance and through doing so, the potential to getting to where you need to be quicker. Zara also talks about her incredible podcast 'Who's Next' which focuses on shining a light on brilliant women and providing inspiration for all. She shares the reasons behind her initial procrastination getting it started, how much she has enjoyed the process and the connections she has made. You can find it on Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/whosnextpoduk) , Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/3SbXGwU6mjN1JV6C7qBuCi) and most podcast platforms. You can also follow 'Who's Next' on Instagram: @whosnextpoduk for updates and emoji-tastic posts!

For episode 44, I am joined by Manger of Brand & Campaign Planning, Evelyn Marfo-Sakey. In between making me laugh a lot, Evelyn shares her career journey starting out as a secretary and realising quite quickly that she wanted to be doing something a little more exciting. Through her own tenacity, she moved into an account planning role within a creative agency. A job she loved and set her in good stead for her current role as Manager of Brand & Campaign Planning. She discusses the differences between working for agencies compared to an in-house creative team for a brand and the evolution of her role, for her current employer TJX Europe, who is responsible for brands such as TX Maxx and Homesense. She talks about progression challenges, biases and microaggressions that were previously part of her work life and the revelatory hindsight she experienced when she recently read, ‘Slay in Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible' by Yomi Adegoke & Elizabeth Uviebinené. Evelyn is heaps of fun with lashings of cheeky energy - I could have easily chatter to her for hours! Enjoy! You can find out more about Slay in Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible here: http://bit.ly/30Gzks1

An energetic treat of an episode! Visha Naul is Google’s Marketing Lead for Industry Partnerships, but this isn’t her only role, she is also one of the co-founders of WACL’s (Women in Communication London), Futures Network. Futures offer; support, mentoring, networking and facilitates events that are inspiring and encouraging for Future Leader Award winners.  It also creates the opportunity and space for the exchange of knowledge & expertise. In addition, the Network provides advice and support for those applying for the bursary. At Visha's request, our discussions focused on the Futures Network; what it involves, who it is for and her role within the leadership team. Visha shares how she came to understand that she was 'just rolling along' in her career and it was when she applied and won the Future Leaders Award, that it gave her focus to start shaping her career in a more purposeful way. She talks passionately about the need for more platforms for women to discuss their role(s), achievements and the importance of believing in and encouraging others in their moments of self-doubt. She also discusses '#passiton - Know Your Personal Brand,' an initiative she set up with Nicola Kemp after she received an hour of one to one mentoring with Karen Blackett, Chair of Mediacom. The article, on Campaign, summarises and shares what she learnt so others can benefit. The hashtag has continued with others passing on their learnings and experiences. If you would like to know more about the Futures Network you can do so here: futuresnetwork.co.uk If you would like to know more about WACL's Future Leader Award and how to apply you can do so here: wacl.info/about/future-leaders-award/ You can read Visha's article on the campaign here: campaignlive.co.uk/article/passiton-know-personal-brand/1583379

Karin Onsager-Birch is the creative powerhouse and award-winning Chief Creative Officer at FCB West. In this bonus addition to episode 36 (recorded at the wonderful Creative Equals: Rise in May 2019), Karin shares her creative journey and some of the lessons she has learnt along the way. She talks about some of her early experiences and observations such as all the interesting creative briefs were potentially being discussed and allocated in the men's toilet. She also shares the importance of leaning into your own difference and using that as a creative reservoir to create genuine and authentic work. At the event, she showed some of her early work for Nike which is currently unavailable online. You can access the other two campaigns she shared with the CE Rise audience - Clorox and Levi's, in the links below: Clorox - Clean Matters (https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/film/clorox_clean_matters) Levi’s - Circles (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgcgFP9nGqY) Levi’s - Use Your Vote (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0y4w9fkvfY)