Next up in our employee series is Catherine McElkerney, one of our brilliant Account Directors. As well as ensuring clients’ projects run smoothly, Catherine also oversees our internal operations, managing many of our agency processes and activities. To find out about Catherine, have a read of her interview, below:
What does a typical day at work look like?
My working day starts about 3 hours after my mum day begins! By the time I’ve served a variety of breakfast cereals, done the nursery drop and navigated the Maidenhead traffic, I’m ready for a strong coffee! Thankfully, the office has a fantastic coffee machine that’s perhaps the hardest working asset we have!
As an Account Director, my day revolves around client calls, discussing new projects, quoting for work, briefing jobs into the studio, and doing quality control checks. There’s nothing I enjoy more than a full day of meetings, post-it notes and to-do lists all over my notepad, and spending time catching up with clients. I also support on the Operations side of the business – helping to improve our internal systems, processes, and ways of working – and always have a few interesting projects on the go.
How did you get into your role? What made you want to become an Account Director?
I worked in Publishing for a number of years, during which I did a Prince2 Project Management qualification. I enjoyed planning and managing projects, so I went into an agency role as a PM where I could build on my skills and experience, learn about operations and contribute to agency management.
What would you say is the best thing about your job?
I’m sure every Account Director has said the same thing – we love the variety! At Maxwell Rogers, we have a real mixture of clients, different projects, short deadlines, and longer campaigns. No two jobs are ever the same so we’re constantly building our subject-matter knowledge and market awareness, and exploring creative ways to meet the brief. The Account Directors sit alongside the Creative Studio and Content Team so there’s always discussion and collaboration on live projects and opportunities to get involved in interesting work.
Tell us something about you that we wouldn’t know from reading your CV?
After Uni I went travelling around Southeast Asia – to Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Bali, Sri Lanka, and India. As well as picking up a love for Asian beer and spicy food, I also survived some nasty tropical diseases along the way!
When you’re in charge of the office music, what is your go-to playlist?
It’s best if I don’t pick the office music or it’ll be a soundtrack of Celine, Bonnie, Whitney, and Beyoncé! And then no one gets any work done!!
What is your favourite font and why?
I like Bodoni font – it looks modern and classy.
If you could spend the day with any cartoon character, who would it be?
I’m a big fan of Judy Hopps from Zootopia. She’s described as “a tough bunny, but she’s still feminine. She’s sweet, but she’s not weak. And when she’s on high alert, her natural rabbit instincts take over – ears and nose twitching, foot thumping.” – I think we’d get on just great.
What is your favourite Pantone colour?
Pantone 565 – a nice duck egg blue 😊