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It all started on a hot day in Hong Kong with a cold beer, a man called Mike, and his dog, Eric.
I was new in town and had entered the nearest bar to quench my thirst and get some respite from the interminable Hong Kong heat. It was then that I noticed a large black dog sitting close to the bar, her tongue hanging limply from her open mouth and panting like she’d just run a marathon. I wasn’t the only one suffering from the heat. Seeing me looking at Eric, Mike, the dog’s owner, introduced himself.
It was this chance encounter that launched me onto a career path that would have creative writing at its heart. This has included magazine work, a senior public affairs position, international PR, and more recently commercial writing in Germany for some very well known companies. In between, I've lectured in communications at universities in Hong Kong and Munich.
Mike, it transpired, was the owner and editor-in-chief of a bespoke publishing company that produced magazines for different organisations in Hong Kong. I mentioned that I was new in the city and looking for work. He asked if I could spell, I replied “Yes,” and so ended the shortest job interview ever! The rest, as they say, is history.
If you got this far, there’s a chance you found this text engaging or engrossing or entertaining or possibly a combination of all three. And it’s all true, all authentic, as any credible piece of commercial writing should be.
Contact me so we can talk about how I can help to tell your story. It could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Or it could help make your company stand out from the crowd, win the hearts and minds of current and future customers, and earn you some cold, hard cash.
May 2011-present: communications consultant & copywriting (Full-time, freelance)
- Creative concepts and copywriting for a full range of digital and traditional media (online video scripts & storyboards, e-learning content, adverts, social media writing, whitepapers, feature articles and more). Clients include The BMW Group, HERE (Berlin), Siemens, Conrad Caine GmBH (now POSSIBLE Munich), Scout24 Holding GmbH, h&z Management Consultants (Munich), KDAB (Software Specialists) and NKD Learning & Development (London).
March 2013-December 2016: Executive Communications Consultant (retainer contract) TÜV SÜD Management Service GmbH.
- Working directly with the CEO, Professor Dr Peter Schaff, to improve internal communication with geographically dispersed senior management team (especially strategy presentations).
- Work included board presentations, strategy communications (including video) speech writing for internal & external audiences, writing articles, as well as general communications consultation.
12 January 2009-30 June 2013: Communications Lecturer & social media projects coordinator, Munich Business School (Part-time)
- Lecturer in business communications & projects supervisor.
- Social media coordinator with specific responsibility for development & managing the MBS student blog site.
Significant achievement: developing and launching the school’s first blog site
11 December 2006-19 December 2008: Account Director, Newell Public Relations, Hong Kong.
- provided a full range of PR counsel, strategy, tactical and marketing support services for international corporate, consumer, technology and education clients including Symantec Corporation, Norton Internet Security, SMART Technologies, Promethean, Progress Software, U21Global and numerous project-based clients.
- Executive profiling via media interviews (and media training where necessary), preparing thought leadership articles, speeches and presentations on behalf of executives;
- directing events and media activity in Hong Kong and across the Asia Pacific region;
- developing key messages & writing materials for press and marketing events;
- providing editorial support for Newell PR’s China offices;
- coordinating new business development, preparing proposals and pitching for new business;
- leading a team of 6 account executives to ensure targets attained and budgets controlled.
Significant achievement: Creating and implementing a new strategy to take internet security from being a tech issue and into the consumer media, thereby vastly increasing share-of-voice for Norton.
4 January 2005-3 December 2006: Lecturer & PR coordinator, Community College, City University of Hong Kong
- as a member of the college PR & marketing committee, planning and managing publicity campaigns to raise the profile of the College and recruit more students;
- teaching and developing materials for English for Professional Communication, a course focussing on public relations and corporate image building / lecturing on the BA in English for International Corporate Communications;
- as course co-ordinator, supporting other lecturers and dealing with all administrative issues related to the course;
- building links with professional organisations outside the university and arranging extra-curricular activities related to the course.
Significant achievement: leading the development of an entirely new program, the Associate of Arts in Public Relations and Communication, from initial ideas to final accreditation.
29 March 2004-1 December 2004: Managing Director (sole proprietor), Greenlight Consulting, Shanghai, China.
The company provided business language/skills training to corporate executives in Shanghai. Duties included:
- developing & delivering English and business skills training programmes for international and local companies, including training needs analysis, course design, delivery & post-course assessment;
- recruiting and supervising freelance trainers, client liaison, and business development.
Significant achievement: winning contracts, in the face of stiff competition, with numerous international clients including Alcatel Shanghai Bell Co Ltd, Panalpina China Ltd, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and Marriot Hotels.
January 2003-March 2004: Freelance trainer (corporate language/ business skills) Shanghai, China.
- Worked as a contractor with training companies or directly with clients to develop and deliver business English and soft skills training programmes.
- Lectured to EMBA students in English for business communication, Shanghai Jiaotong University.
Significant achievement: commissioned by Oxford University Press to write chapters for a book for Chinese high school students.
November 2000-January 2003: Lecturing and teaching positions for The School of Service Industries, Bournemouth University and Bournemouth Business School International, UK.
June 2001-January 2002: Marketing Communications Manager, GREEN GLOBE 21 Ltd, UK.
The company specialised in environmental management and certification for companies involved in travel and tourism.
- devising and implementing a marketing plan using a full range of communications activities including media relations, producing brochures and marketing letters for direct mail campaigns;
- re-developing the company’s website to give it a stronger promotional focus;
- working with public and private sector organisations on promotions of mutual benefit.
October 1995-June 1999: Press and Public Affairs Manager, The British Consulate General, Hong Kong.
This was a senior position at a sensitive time in relations between the UK and Hong Kong. The overall remit was to create and deliver a strategy that would maintain positive links between the Hong Kong public and the UK.
- proactive media outreach to ensure key messages were communicated effectively;
- event management and publicity for numerous large-scale exhibitions;
- co-ordinating media activity around visits to Hong Kong by senior British politicians;
- public affairs work, including identifying key influencers in HK and co-ordinating their sponsored visits to the UK;
- editing and producing a high-quality, bilingual magazine and writing other media and marketing collaterals;
- leading a staff of four to ensure the smooth running of the Press and Public Affairs Section.
Significant achievements: Creating and delivering a new engagement strategy to maintain a positive image of the UK in post-handover Hong Kong..
May 1995-October1995: Assistant Editor, The Economist Intelligence Unit, Hong Kong (Full-time freelance work).
- editing and re-writing where necessary a number of the EIU's business reports;
- overseeing production to ensure quality standards were maintained and projects were delivered within deadline.
Significant achievement: editing a 350-page book on China’s infrastructure.
June 1994-April 1995: Freelance editorial and photographic work, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
- Freelance assignments completed for publications including The South China Morning Post, Hong Kong Business, The Hong Kong Standard and in Vietnam, the Vietnam Economic Times and the Vietnam Investment Review.
Significant achievement: the first foreign photographer to be given access to a Vietnamese offshore oil rig.
June 1991-June 1994: Editor, Asiavox Publishing Limited, Hong Kong.
Asiavox was a custom publishing business, producing a variety of magazines for different clients.
- Selection, commissioning & editing feature stories for different publications;
- writing feature articles; photography.
Significant achievement: simultaneously overseeing production of different publications.
