A background in professional communications started with a Journalism Studies BA Hons degree from Sheffield University and immediately progressed to the sports department of the Press Association, the UK national news agency via its prestigious trainee programme.
A three-year stint as PA’s Motorsport Correspondent opened a new chapter with Toyota Motorsport, initially as a Communications Coordinator within the Formula 1 team before leading the marketing and communications department from 2010.
When Toyota entered the FIA World Endurance Championship, including the Le Mans 24 Hours, responsibility for the communications, branding, hospitality and organiser liaison followed. That decade-long assignment was supplemented by new responsibilities: communications and marketing for high-end road cars and customer motorsport projects, the rebranding of the Cologne-based company to TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Europe and internal communications.
To address the inevitable resource and time pressures of such responsibilities requires composure under the highest of pressures, agile thinking, creativity and multi-tasking. Nearly 1,000 press releases, over 300 briefing documents, the Le Mans communications prize from the ACO and budget responsibility for millions of euros attest to that.