2021 Influential Businesswoman Awards

Acquisition International - Influential Businesswoman Awards 2021 Contact: Sarah Neblett-Lindo Company: Croud Web Address: https://croud.com Most Motivational Performance Marketing Businesswoman (UK): Sarah Neblett-Lindo orking with household names and global brands such as Vans, Avon, Audible, IWG and The North Face, digital marketing agency, Croud, has been building strategic partnerships with its clients since 2011. The company provides a full range of digital marketing services from PPC and SEO to full digital transformation programmes and data solutions. Sarah Neblett-Lindo has been at Croud for 16 months. In that time, she has designed an HR strategy designed to support the exponential growth that the business has seen over the past 3 years. Sarah has an impressive track record in HR. Much of her previous experience has been with FTSE100 and Fortune 500 businesses. This, she tells us, has provided her with an excellent grounding and depth of exposure to the workings of what she calls “the machine”. Having built a solid understanding of business operations in larger companies has allowed Sarah to translate and deploy some of this expertise to smaller businesses. She looks for quick and impactful wins, whilst at the same time ensuring that each organisation she works with is analysed in detail with the strategic blue print to scale. “The product may or may not be the same, but the culture, the people and the organisation’s ethos will definitely not be. This means that each business requires a bespoke roadmap when defining strategic plans.” Since Sarah joined the company, Croud has embarked on a journey of diversity and inclusion. The company is committed to creating a community and sense of belonging for all its employees and stakeholders. Sarah believes that establishing the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion agenda at Croud is her biggest achievement to date. “I can see the difference that our strategy and the execution of our agenda is making. It’s critical that we do what we say we are going to and hold ourselves accountable if we don’t.” Sarah is seeing a positive movement towards diversity as a whole. She believes that more women are being employed in key roles in many industries, media included. The key to this has been a seismic shift in the attitudes of women. Many women are no longer willing to W accept a lower level of recognition than their male colleagues, being passed over or being managed by a less qualified male counterpart. The global spotlight on large companies who do not remunerate their employees equally, as well as recognise social movements such as Black Lives Matter or Me Too, have helped amplify the disparity that exists between the treatment of white males and men and everyone else. Like many women, Sarah has found the corporate world littered with explicit and implied negative behaviours and microaggressions. This, she tells us, can lead you to feel that although acknowledged, you are somehow less important than your male counterparts. Sarah’s advice, echoed by many successful women in business, is to know your subject. Start from a place of qualified knowledge and learn to be brave. Have the courage of your convictions and ensure that you achieve a fair and just outcome. You are not a tree and if an organisation’s ethos does not align with your values, beliefs and ambitions relocate yourself to a business that does. The outlook and ideologies of the organisation’s leadership in relation to its people and specifically women and underrepresented groups, will tell you where you are in that organisation’s maturity. She’s also a fan of self-belief and trusting your instincts but tells us that it’s important to find your supporters too. Don’t forget that some of these can be men, so make sure you’re open to allies that will support your growth. Looking to the future one of Sarah’s key priorities will be focusing on strategies that support the women in her organisation and encourage underrepresented groups to begin or develop their careers in the digital marketing sector. She is engaging with female leadership development programmes to provide career progression opportunities. Croud have also launched their first graduate, apprenticeship and internship programmes to attract more talent to the firm. They have several acquisition opportunities in the early stages too. From a personal development perspective, Sarah’s aim is to continue to deliver meaningful change and add value to the organisation. She’s also looking into NED roles for charitable causes. Perhaps that will be the subject of a future article. Global marketing agency, Croud, works in partnership with some of the world’s leading brands. With bases in the UK, US and Australia, Croud employs the best and brightest talent to provide its clients with an all-round digital marketing service. Global HR Director, Sarah Neblett-Lindo is tasked with creating, delivering and managing the company’s global HR strategy. Jul21468