Trailblazers and leaders: Svetlana Leu
Svetlana Leu | Head of Communications and Partnerships | CIRCA (Cultural Institute of Radical Contemporary Arts)
How did you get into Marketing & Comms?
My comms career started at the University of York where I read my BA in History of Art. During my studies, I served as Director of Press & Publicity at the Norman Rea Gallery, a student-run space on campus. This voluntary role led me to a PR and marketing internship in the summer of my second year at Princeton University Art Museum followed by my first role after graduation at Sutton Communications in London.
What does an average day look like?
As many in comms always say, no day is ever the same. One day you might find yourself running a 300-person cocktail reception, other days you’re pitching the latest news to journalists to secure press coverage for your projects whilst on another day you might find yourself managing a sensitive crisis comms situation. This is what I enjoy most about working in comms - it keeps you on your toes.
What advice keeps you going in challenging times?
This too shall pass - because it always does and challenges are always resolved in the end.
What is the one thing you wish you’d known when you started working in comms?
Work doesn’t always have to be hard - it can be fun and enjoyable too.
What’s your greatest achievement to date?
Being appointed Vice Chair of the board of trustees at Culture&, a London-based charity that’s dedicated to opening up and diversifying the arts and culture workforce and audiences. As one of the youngest people of colour to hold a senior board position in the arts sector, this was a major career achievement for me and I’m proud to be serving the charity and its work in this role.
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 ‘Dream Crazy’ ad with Colin Kaepernick would have been an amazing campaign to work on. The stance that Kaepernick has taken in the pursuit of racial and social justice is admirable and it would have been a huge honour to have been part of this campaign.
What’s the key skill you think a successful PR/comms/marketing pro requires?
Creativity - to be a successful comms pro calls for a creative approach to everything that you do. From developing campaigns to problem solving crisis situations, creativity is at the heart of working in comms.