Meet the team is our blog series that takes a behind-the-scenes look at the people of PB Comms. In each blog we hear from a member of the team about their personal stories, their career and professional insights, and advice for those entering the industry.

‍What made you enter the marketing and communications field?

To paraphrase The Beatles, my road to marketing and communications was a long and winding one.

After starting my working life as a trainee accountant, I quickly realised that tax and audit were never going to lead to self fulfilment – but fortunately I landed a job as a researcher on Australian Investment magazine, working for John Wasiliev, and I was on my way! I was promoted to staff writer, just as the magazine folded in the early 1990s – a victim of the recession.

From there, I went to work for David Koch at Australian Financial Press (AFP). Finding it difficult to escape accounting, I initially worked on New Accountant newspaper, before making my editorial journey to his custom publishing division and the Financial Planning Association’s Financial Planning magazine, while also working as a contributing writing for Money Management newspaper. A quick detour to AMP as staff writer in the Sales Support division ensued, before I made my way back to David Koch and AFP.

My time with AFP included a 12 month stint in London, working some of that period on the offshore finance publication Portfolio International magazine – before boomeranging back, and returning to work for David. The sale of his business to what was then Reed Business Publishing was the incentive I needed to look further afield.

From there I joined the Sydney Morning Herald Money section – where I spent close to seven years writing and editing personal finance pages. Here, I found my passion in writing about the importance of financial literacy, and that is still with me today.

However, the opportunity for voluntary redundancy, and the associated financial windfall that came with it, was one I couldn’t pass up. Struggling with the working parent juggle, and with two small toddlers, the job offer that came from Graham Rich and Deidre Keown to work part time and launch the print version of PortfolioConstruction Journal was timely.

Working for PortfolioConstructionForum opened my eyes to the opportunity in online journalism – and with print journalist redundancies an ongoing occurrence - I joined NEWS.com.au a few years later and job shared the role of online business editor with Nicki Bourlioufas.

Alas, Murdoch’s News Corp turned out to be not quite what I was looking for, so from there it was onto Centric Wealth – where I made my leap into corporate life. Reporting directly to the CEO, I was responsible for the national marketing, media, communications and branding activities of five divisions across four state offices. After four years, and a sale to a private equity firm that saw my role downgraded, I left for a role in media relations at the ASX.

A couple of years after that – and my progress to the ‘dark side’ was almost complete. After working for Honner for 18 months, I was fortunate to receive a job offer from Claudia Pritchitt. The rest - 12 years later – is history!

What’s a piece of advice would you give to those in the marketing and communications field?

Take every opportunity to network and learn from your peers. Almost every job I have been offered has come from a personal connection – someone I have worked for, or worked with, or someone who has recommended me. Regardless of your field, networking is an invaluable way to forge vital connections and make lifelong professional friendships.

How have you navigated career changes?

From accounting to journalism, from marketing to public relations – my career has taken a number of twists and turns. To be successful it has been important to be open to new ways of learning, and new opportunities, and to not be afraid of change.

Why do you think financial services PR is important?

The ethos at PritchittBland Communications is simple: we believe in helping people achieve better financial knowledge and understanding. We do this through the public relations work we do for our financial services clients.

What has been your biggest local milestone?

Becoming a partner at PritchittBland Communications has changed my life - personally, professionally and financially – and I am proud of the business that Claudia Pritchitt and I have built together. Finding a like-minded business partner (and friend)  - who shares my passion for financial literacy, and the pursuit of excellence - is a rare thing. And one I am grateful for.

What’s your favourite place you have travelled to?

I love to travel and along with my husband and adult children (who still frequently travel with us) we are either planning a holiday, on a holiday, or just returned from a holiday. Life is too short not to see as much of the world as you can. I have been very fortunate to be able to travel to many countries in the past 37 years of my life. It’s a hard decision – but the winner would have to be London.

What are your current hobbies/activities?

When I am not at work, I can usually be found reading. Perhaps as a result of a working life that involves reading and writing about frequently technical and complicated financial concepts, I escape into fantasy and science fiction. I have recently discovered the ‘romantasy’ genre, and I am having a lot of fun with that.