Hardie Grant Media’s Nick Hardie-Grant and Kate Thompson

Nick Hardie-Grant: 

I joined Hardie Grant in 2017, one 12 months after Kate had been employed from Clemenger to go up Hardie Grant Media’s technique workforce. We had been each introduced into newly created roles with the intention of reworking the enterprise and shortly bonded over latest company expertise and a shared perspective on the place we wanted to go.

Six years later and I feel we’ve achieved a variety of what we got down to do. What began as a 40-odd individual content material and publishing company is now a various advertising and marketing community of 120 individuals in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and London in content material, PR, digital advertising and marketing, and video manufacturing.

Kate’s been my right-hand individual alongside the way in which, evolving to tackle all the pieces from shopper technique work to company positioning, serving to launch companies and e-comm start-ups, hack days, acquisitions, and a key function in our group’s route – she wears a variety of hats!

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When it comes to our relationship, I feel it’s fairly complementary. Kate’s acquired essentially the most superb strategic thoughts, extraordinarily course of pushed, can suppose at a stage past anybody I’ve ever labored with. And to not say I’m the other, however I feel I can assist steadiness that with a shopper focus, enterprise considering, and a few directness. Six years of sitting subsequent to one another I feel we’ve acquired a very good deal with on one another’s strengths and mix properly.

Kate Thompson:

Nick and I first met when he joined Hardie Grant as chief digital officer in 2017. He got here in able to implement some fast wins and swiftly digitised a variety of processes, launched new applied sciences and influenced constructive change throughout the group. I’d not lengthy joined the enterprise, however with my company expertise I keep in mind that I used to be nonetheless studying to undertake extra agile options – suffice to say I requested a variety of questions and didn’t all the time make his job simple!

Earlier than too lengthy, Nick was heading up the Hardie Grant Media division of the Hardie Grant group and I used to be reporting into him. Admittedly, I did anticipate him to make me soar via a number of hoops simply to get even however he did something however. And, after 5 years – perhaps nearer to 6 – he’s ended up as my longest serving supervisor.

I feel we work nicely collectively as a result of we’ve all the time had the same imaginative and prescient of the place Hardie Grant Media may go, we’re each eager to drive sustainable progress and innovation, and I feel our expertise complement one another extremely nicely. However the actual breakthrough (not less than for me) occurred after I learnt to talk fluent Nick. I now have this kind of superpower the place I can stroll away from a dialog and conjure up one thing in a number of slides that neatly captures what was in Nick’s head and is commonly virtually able to put in entrance of a shopper or stakeholder. Belief me after I say that only a few individuals can try this!

General, now we have all of the tenets of what makes an awesome management partnership. I feel like several skilled relationship, the way in which we work is finally constructed on mutual respect and belief. Having labored collectively for fairly a while we all know what makes one another tick – what we deliver to the desk, find out how to get the most effective out from one another, and recognize one another’s working model (I’m a deep overthinker and he’s very fast and decisive – ha!).

Nick on Kate:

Most memorable second with Kate: Heading to Cleveland for Content material Advertising World in 2018. Sharing a variety of American coffees with a Melbourne espresso snob was a spotlight.

Finest phrase to explain Kate: Thorough – which can be in all probability triggering for her as she’s learnt that’s my approach of claiming “we must always try to simplify this a bit…”.

Kate’s most annoying behavior or endearing behaviour: This one borders endearing and annoying, however advertising and marketing jargon. I feel we’ve lastly toned her down considerably however that’s what years in huge advertising and marketing groups will do to you.

Kate on Nick: 

Most memorable second with Nick: We travelled to Cleveland for the Content material Advertising World convention in 2018 and whereas we learnt so much – my finest reminiscence attending my first ever baseball sport collectively!

Finest phrase to explain Nick: Bold. Nick has a lot power for brand new enterprise concepts (and new enterprise).

Nick’s most annoying behavior or endearing behaviour the colleague has: He can generally suppose he’s a designer 😊