Having built a successful 15-year career in the private sector as a corporate affairs executive with organisations such as Centrica, Gatwick Airport and Dana Petroleum, I saw an opportunity to offer something different – the need for something different.
As a trusted advisor to chief executives, working with listed companies, private equity firms and government, I’d come to understand how strategic clarity, powerful stories and influential relationships could combine to transform organisations.
In 2015, I established Aspect, as a platform for strategic communication expertise. With our growing team of in-house experts and talented associates, we’re delivering on my original vision and helping a growing list of fantastic clients across a range of sectors tackle their biggest challenges.
It’s a long time since I turned my back on a musical career at the tender age of 21, but I’m proud to be orchestrating a bright future for Aspect.
Let’s begin at the beginning. I was born pre-term, two months early, and I’ve pushed myself to succeed ever since! That rather testing start ultimately led me to study infant nutrition and, following my degree, I became the nutritionist for a core division of a big pharmaceutical company.
That was straight out of university, so in some ways I had fulfilled my original ambitions by my early twenties. But, of course, new challenges came along, and I made the move from nutritionist to communications manager. For the next 5 years, I managed the team responsible for stakeholder engagement, organising educational symposia, exhibitions, and conferences from Sydney to Singapore, and also led several new product launches.
Having left that role to raise my two boys, I subsequently became a director of Aspect in 2015 – providing support with business development and planning. Doing a good job and caring about the outcome is what really motivates me. I love to get the best from people – and that includes the team here. My personal motto is ‘to be the best you can be’ – and when you commit to doing something – give it 100%.
Since starting my career in a small PR agency more than 15 years ago, I’ve been lucky enough to work in a range of corporate communications in the energy sector with oil and gas companies, government regulators, energy technology companies and in economic development organisations across digital, food, drink and agriculture.
With Aspect, I’ve returned to a consultancy environment bringing with me a broad range of experience in strategic communication, issues management and media relations. The dynamic we’re creating here at Aspect is pretty unique; with lots of senior level engagement in industry and government across a range of sectors.
I like to build strong relationships and make things happen – both core foundations at Aspect. Our clients trust us to understand their strategy, tackle complex challenges and deliver rapid results.
We’re building a very strong team – both staff and associates. People who are very good at what they do – which means I’m constantly developing while growing a business that is delivering for our clients.
Faced with the choice of studying Engineering or Management, I opted for the latter and now have over 15 years’ experience in marketing, communication and media relations.
I’ve held a variety of in-house and agency roles predominantly in the energy sector and across both public and private sectors. This combination of client and agency experience is invaluable in my role as Communication Director.
My approach is to get close to clients; to really understand where it ‘hurts’ and what they’re trying to achieve. Aspect often works as extension of a client’s in-house team, helping to formulate a strategy, develop integrated plans and campaigns and then deliver with impact. It’s that end-to-end involvement that I really enjoy.
I’ve been involved in growing the Aspect team and helping shape the development of the business. It’s rewarding and energising to lead and nurture the people around me – while learning a thing or two from them at same time! At Aspect, we share the same work ethic, we’re all on the same wavelength, and we strike the right balance between hard work and fun. I think we’re building something very special.
My dad was a journalist, and a childhood gift of one of his old typewriters made me think I’d be one too. Then one day the ink ribbon ran out mid-story, and I switched to a computer keyboard. It was just as the Internet was opening up endless possibilities, and I knew where my future lay. I loved building applications and writing scripts. The idea that a simple bit of code could make a computer do this or that. It was amazing.
So, when a junior developer role in a web development firm came up, I jumped at the chance. I quickly learned the ropes and progressed to a senior position, before taking ownership of the business. I built and led a team that advised and delivered a range of digital projects for clients in the private and public sectors. Our mantra was – never lose sight of the end goal – ensuring whatever we did met the objectives of the client.
With over 18 years’ experience under my belt, the business was acquired by Aspect in late 2022. The move has given me a renewed sense of purpose. I’m working with some of the best creative and strategic thinkers in the country, people I like, who are all invested in our shared success. There is a palpable hunger and drive, and as we enter a new era of digital innovation, I’m excited to see where the future takes us.
My career interests have always been driven by communication. When I was young it was journalism, when I studied it was broadcast and TV production, and then as my career developed the focus has been on design, digital and marketing.
With over ten years’ experience of working within integrated communication agency environment, I’ve seen the difference that a strong idea backed up with clear strategy can make across a whole range of sectors. I’m a huge advocate of collaboration and love the buzz of working with innovative teams in a creative environment.
For me, the priority on every project is to bring together strategic thinking with effective project management, to deliver uncompromised solutions that work hard for our clients.
It really does make me tick to see our multi-disciplined team at Aspect come together to deliver the very best outcomes for our clients. It’s both inspirational and personally rewarding to be part of a project, that you’re absolutely confident will be transformational for your client and their business.
Innovation, creativity and solving complex problems is what drives me – and that’s why working alongside a team of digital experts at Aspect is the highlight of my career to date.
At one time I thought I might go into graphic design, but after university, my career took me first to the account management side of communications and then to the client side – and in both I’ve always enjoyed being involved in the creative process.
As the regional account executive in Scotland for a global London-based agency, I had an early opportunity to develop marketing strategies for major clients. It was a structured environment that taught me the value of overseeing the technical detail and ensuring advanced planning at every stage.
It’s really important to me to fully understand a communications project. I need to know the whole story – and always want to see a project through from A to Z – to ensure that it is delivered with integrity. Working with creative people is certainly an exciting part of the job, but at heart I’m an organiser – a deadlines and detail person.
Having worked in marketing and communications management on the client side, I also appreciate the real commercial and strategic importance of the work we do – and arguably that is more important than ever. Aspect is an ambitious business, and I can’t wait to see what comes next!
Since graduating from Robert Gordon University with an MSc in Corporate Communication and Public Affairs, I have worked in marcomms agencies executing strategic communication campaigns for B2B clients around the world.
As a proud Aberdonian with a particular passion for energy and tech, the city is a perfect backdrop for working closely with these evolving industries to communicate their ambitions and progress. I love creating engaging content and seeing our clients’ stories come to life across media and owned channels.
My priority is always to build positive relationships with my clients so I can identify where Aspect can make a real step change for their business by deploying our considered and extensive skillsets.
Aspect is a fast-paced, exciting and supportive place to work which is the perfect environment to accelerate my career. I have benefited from the insights and experience of the whole Aspect team, and I look forward to contributing to our continued growth.
I wanted to be an author in my younger years and then a filmmaker in my teens, so I’ve clearly always had an interest in storytelling. This made starting my career at Aspect a no-brainer.
I joined the consultancy in August 2020 after achieving a first-class honours degree from Robert Gordon University.
Since then, I’ve been involved in supporting clients and colleagues across the communication mix including content creation, digital marketing, media relations, internal communication and public affairs.
Promoted to Senior Communication Executive after 18 months, I discovered a particular passion for public affairs and media relations, supporting clients across range of sectors, with a focus on offshore wind and life sciences.
Working with such a diverse range of organisations, many with the potential to make meaningful change at a local, national and global level, makes working at Aspect extremely rewarding.
I knew I wanted to be a journalist at a very young age. I’d spend hours making my own magazines and newspapers and would fill up jotters faster than my parents could buy them. Realising my childhood ambitions, I worked as a reporter in north-east Scotland, before moving into corporate communications, which I found to be a natural progression for my passion for storytelling.
Today, with over 10 years on the corporate side, I recognise both the similarities with journalism and the differences. It is really important to be able to identify and tell the real story, but it’s equally important to be able to manage the client relationships. Clients want to work with people who get them, who understand them, and who can work as an extension of their team. People who can add value.
At Aspect, the team’s intelligent approach to communications is underpinned by a deep knowledge of the industries and sectors in which our clients work. Our goal is to keep things simple and to communicate with integrity and clarity. That’s what I’ve always endeavoured to do as a journalist and as a communicator and is why I wanted to join the Aspect team.
My expertise lies in marketing and communications with a particular focus on driving business growth. Since graduating from Robert Gordon University with a degree in Communications and PR, I’ve worked predominantly on the client side in technology businesses. Reporting directly to CEOs in these roles, I got to see the challenges that leaders faced, and realised how effective marketing and communications can help to deliver their strategic objectives. As a result, I think I’m very commercially minded and always focused on performance and results; attributes I take into my voluntary work helping local charities to raise their profiles and pull in more support and funding.
I spent the past seven years in the digital technology sector and learnt the importance of making connections in every sense. Every business has a story to tell, every business is more than the services or products it has to offer. A brand story can be a powerful tool both in terms of creating personality and building relationships. When it’s done well, a brand story will help with both client retention and new business development.
Moving into a fast-paced consultancy environment with Aspect has been great. There’s lots of moving parts, and I’m relishing the experience and the challenge. However, the goal remains the same: developing powerful communications that are results-driven and which are designed to help clients deliver on their strategic ambitions.
An eager graduate, I knew I wanted to begin my career working somewhere which was as ambitious as I was – and that’s what I have found in Aspect.
I joined the consultancy part-time while still completing the final year of my BA (Hons) in Event Management at Robert Gordon University and went on to achieve first-class honours degree and secure a full-time position.
Equipped with a range of practical experience from my time at university, and a problem-solving mindset, I have worked on a range of interesting communication campaigns across a range of sectors, taking my experience to a new level. My Aspect journey so far has ranged from planning international conferences and policy summits to producing tailored digital marketing campaigns and media strategies.
Having graduated with a Management and Marketing degree in 2013, my career has followed the unrelenting growth of digital marketing over the past decade. In this time, I’ve seen how the way people find out about companies, and ultimately buy from them, has changed dramatically, yet many in the B2B arena have yet to fully adapt. This is where I see real opportunity; there’s never been a more exciting time to be involved in B2B marketing.
I came to Aspect having built out a ‘content studio’ approach in my previous role. This was part of a digital-first transformation focused on providing more upstream services to clients. There are now so many ways of telling your story, so many exciting tools and formats to exploit – from podcasting and live streaming through to the utilisation of AI. It’s important to think differently and give clients the confidence to follow through with innovative ideas.
I’d heard a lot about Aspect, but the acquisition of Web Integrations really caught my eye in late 2022. The business has been on a compelling journey in a short time, but I believe there is a lot of room to develop further, and for myself and others to make a big contribution to that. Right now, my focus is on bringing all our in-house expertise together to help our clients take advantage of the shifts happening in digital today.
I was born and raised in Aberdeen, and I’m part of a large and very close family. We are always planning events and get togethers, and I am usually seen as the family PA, so organising is clearly very much in my nature!
Back in 2009, my priorities changed with the arrival of my son. Rather than going on to university, I very much wanted to get out and work. I wanted my son to recognise the importance of developing independence and doing good where you can. As my skills and confidence grew, I found I had a real aptitude for supporting people in the workplace. At Aspect, the business is growing quickly – and part of my role is to make sure everyone has the same onboarding experience and that operations run smoothly behind the scenes. If I can help get that right, it allows the team to focus on providing the best possible service to our clients.
There’s a palpable buzz in the office, and I’ve been incredibly impressed by the hard work of the team, you can see the dedication and collaboration across the business. My role is varied and allows me to pull on all my experience. I’m particularly excited to be supporting our new charitable partnership with Aberdeen Cyrenians. Having worked in the charity sector, I remain passionate about making a difference – whether it’s in business or in the community.
Originally from Belfast, I graduated from the University of St Andrews with an MA in Ancient History and followed that with an MSc in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics. That says everything about my enduring interests – history and politics – and how they continue to shape society, culture and business at every turn.
Prior to Aspect, as Director of Public Affairs in an independent agency, I gained 12 years’ experience in the delivery of government relations and advocacy practice. My focus is always on transparency; giving clients the guidance and tools that they need to position themselves effectively to deal with issues playing out across the political, regulatory, business, community and policy-influencing spectrum. Today, having worked with global clients in diverse sectors, from technology to life sciences and from higher education to the natural economy, I aim to bring innovative solutions to complex strategic challenges with a focus on sustainability and a just transition.
I’m proud to have joined the multi-talented, friendly and fast-growing team at Aspect. Together, we have this opportunity to use all the integrated communication tools and expertise at our disposal to create truly creative and effective public affairs campaigns. I have no doubt we can make a positive difference and, ideally, leave behind some lasting legacies through the issues we’ve helped our clients to shape and influence.
Born and bred in Aberdeen, I’m very proud of this city and all the positive things that are happening here right now. I’m very creative-minded, and love to see local people and organisations trying to make a difference. I think Aspect exemplifies the energy you can feel in the city today – and I really wanted to be part of that.
I studied Fashion Management at RGU which was very much a business degree, but one focused on a highly creative industry. It was super interesting and reinforced my view that creativity can be and should be a key part of any business. After university, I worked in marketing with an energy company, and spent one week of every month in Norway. This not only boosted my independence, but also gave me the confidence to look for a bigger and more varied challenge.
Here at Aspect, I’m getting to broaden my experience in a consultancy environment. It’s interesting to speak to different clients and understand their unique challenges. The ethos here is all about delving deeper and doing things differently. It’s fantastic to be working alongside so many creative minds, and to see how we encourage clients to embrace creativity in their communications. Effective does not need to be boring!
A rugby-loving Border’s lass at heart, my career has taken me all across Scotland. As well as strategic marketing positions in a variety of industries, from tech to non-profit, devising implementing successful strategies in each role, I also bring creative design agency experience from earlier in my career. The learnings I accumulated in these different roles have enabled me to continually refine what best practice looks like in strategic marketing, especially in terms of securing measurable results.
I’m delighted to be part of Aspect and keen to use my extensive experience to bolster our strategic marketing offering, delivering insights and creative solutions for clients. I believe that real-life client-side experience is invaluable when it comes to shaping strategic consultancy, and I never tire of seeing that ‘light bulb’ moment, when clients realise that marketing, when viewed as a fundamental pillar of a business’ strategy, can help to ensure that overall business objectives are achieved.
I support the wider Aspect team where strategic marketing input is beneficial, both with existing and new clients. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to continue to learn from a team with such interesting and diverse career journeys. Seeing the wide variety of clients that Aspect works with is exciting – as is the quality of work we are producing and the clear positive impact it is having.
Originally from Arbroath, I moved to Aberdeen at 19. I’ve always loved making things; I must have had every art and craft set going as a child, and I was determined to pursue a creative career. My first job was bringing technical drawings to life in full colour, but I embraced it, and it led to my next job in a design agency, and then to another, and by working hard I soon became a bona fide graphic designer.
I was a print designer for over a decade and then I moved into digital design. I do still love the smell of a freshly printed brochure, but website design is just so stimulating. You can literally bring your ideas to life on screen and create a much more immersive experience – one that can connect with the audience in a powerful way. I relish the creative process from concept to completion, and the more complex the challenge, the more rewarding that process can be.
I joined Aspect in November 2022, when it acquired Web Integrations. We have a team of super talented and ambitious individuals here, and it’s great to be part of that. They inspire me to keep on top of the latest digital tools and trends, meaning we can collectively provide the best for our clients.
When I was four years old, I moved to Aberdeen from Kenya with my family. I grew up in the city, then went to The University of Edinburgh to study Medical Sciences. While there, I started learning Java, which I was terrible at but very persistent. A friend suggested web development, as a smarter option, and I began building websites on the side for friends and family.
During lockdown, I did a fast-track web development course to build up my portfolio. It helped me get a job as a frontend developer at Web Integrations, initially for two days a week, then four days. I received great guidance there and my confidence increased in ways I would never have imagined. I see web development as a kind of art form, one which satisfies my innate creativity. I love the problem solving involved – the breaking down of complex issues and coming up with solutions.
I’m proud how my efforts have paid dividends in the most unexpected ways. With the acquisition of Web Integrations by Aspect in 2022, I now find myself doing the work I love in one of most exciting consultancies in the UK. My role is challenging, but what makes it challenging is also what makes it interesting. The variety of work forces me to think differently, and there’s satisfaction in delivering solutions across diverse platforms.