Trailblazers and leaders: Katherine Fennell
Katherine Fennell | Director | Kekst CNC
How did you get into Marketing & Comms?
My journey into communications was not intentional. It started in 2012 when I joined a boutique capital markets firm. Despite a thorough and competitive interview process, I was still pretty unclear about the capital markets, let alone what I would be doing in the role. After finding my stride, I stayed within the investor relations space for around five years before taking up the opportunity to be a regional director for the US Democratic Party’s presidential campaign. Around this time, I was approached by a recruitment agency that introduced me to several communications advisors in London. After several meetings in person and remotely, I decided that out of all the firms I’d met with, Kekst CNC was the most interesting and the best fit for me. That is when I really got into communications and have not looked back since.
What does an average day look like?
In October last year, I returned to work from a blissful year of maternity leave and am learning new patterns and rhythms of life and work. Since returning, my day usually starts with a mental marathon of to-dos, attending to my family’s most pressing needs before skimming through overnight emails to prioritise what to tackle first.
As a communications advisor, I spend a lot of my day thinking of new ideas while also benchmarking what other companies have done in similar situations. Each corporate announcement requires thought and unique creativity to make sure whatever is being shared resonates with the client’s target audience. Therefore, the pros and cons of each scenario are looked at and the final words chosen are carefully considered and measured to amplify our client’s story and limit misinterpretation. This is particularly important when dealing with the financial markets as commentators can be easily spooked, impacting market confidence and the valuation of an entire organisation. After a day full of meetings, deadlines, managing expectations, and time-sensitive decision-making, I venture back down South or sign off, to bask in the joy of home life.
What advice keeps you going in challenging times?
I grew up in a Christian household, with parents that had an unshakeable faith that everything would always work out. To this day, the depth of their faith is a great source of comfort during a crisis of confidence or a challenging time. I know that they would both reassure me that God will work it out, to have faith and believe in the gospel (my dad jovially exclaims this last part), and finally that they love me. It is a great foundation to remind myself in challenging moments that I am, wherever I am because I am capable of navigating and excelling in all circumstances. What challenge, personal or professional, could overshadow the depth of their faith in greater power and love for me?
What is the one thing you wish you’d known when you started working in comms?
That it is okay to be myself and stay true to my beliefs. I spent a lot of time in the early years of my career being a chameleon, working hard to fit in. On paper, I am not that dissimilar to a lot of the people I have worked with but in practice I am. I have found being proud and unashamedly different makes me a better colleague and advisor. I provide a perspective that is often not in the room. It also makes it easier to feel a sense of belonging and ownership at work when I am completely myself.
What’s your greatest achievement to date?
This is a tough question. There are so many things that I would list, I even wrote a detailed answer about being a Londoner and buying a flat in a neighborhood that has transformed from the least desirable to one of the most sought-after. And then I reflected and as proud of that as I am, the one thing that trumps it all is my positive birth experience.
Motherhood happened before I had intended it to. I was so nervous and overwhelmed it was hard to be excited. My career was flourishing, I was adjusting to being a newlywed, we were between lockdowns, and I was exhausted after a year of racism being examined under a microscope. Headlines, documentaries, and prominent influencers were all busy highlighting the negative statistics of black maternal care. I tried my best to block it all out and mentally prepare for what was to come. For me, it was important to understand what my body was going to go through as well as how the medical teams would be guiding or responding to me along the way. At each point, I felt confident in my decision-making and was able to communicate calmly throughout. Everyone in the room said what a memorable and positive birth it was, and I came through the other side, with a beautiful baby and an experience that wasn’t traumatic or chaotic. This is a very personal answer but one that I think is important to share. The negative statistics are loud and those who have had a traumatic birth even louder (rightly and sometimes wrongly so).
Is there a particular comms campaign that you’ve seen in your career that you didn’t work on but wish you had?
Nike’s storytelling is unmatched. I watch their adverts and I am proud to be black, a mother, a woman, a Londoner, an active person (kind of) the list goes on. They pull together such a diverse range of influencers, people, talented musicians, artists, and athletes, that I am blind to other brands. The campaigns also seem to reflect a progressive change in how corporations can take a stand or learn from their mistakes. For example, when they have made big mistakes like Allyson Felix and maternity leave for female athletes, they seem to listen, learn and bounce back changing policies and launching products.
What’s the key skill you think a successful PR/comms/marketing pro requires?
Question anything you don’t understand. If I don’t understand it, chances are neither does someone else in the room. If the person answering can’t explain it clearly maybe even, they don’t understand it. No one knows everything.
