Lianre Robinson has been appointed CEO of The Marketing Academy Foundation, succeeding Daryl Fielding who will join the Board of Trustees as vice chair.
Robinson joins the charity on 1 January 2025 from her current role as general manager EMEA at global cultural curation studio 1021 Creative. Chair of campaigning for WACL (Women in Advertising and Communications, Leadership), she is also a mentor for the She Says ‘Who’s Your Momma’ programme and boasts over 20 years’ experience across agencies and brands from LADbible to Livity.
The charity, which enables career starts in the marketing industry for young adults from tough backgrounds, was started by Fielding and The Marketing Academy founder Sherilyn Shackell in 2017.
Since then, the foundation has grown from supporting one apprentice to assisting around 70 individuals each year to enter the industry, with two programmes – finding entry level opportunities and teaching job-hunting skills at its series of BeTheOne bootcamps.
“We’re poised for a bigger iteration of the charity and I just think it’s time for somebody else to bring their fresh energy and ideas to that,” says Fielding.
She describes the shift into the vice chair position as a “dream opportunity” to stay close to a project she is passionate about and committed to.
I have seen the transformative space that exists when talent is brought into organisations and those new viewpoints are seen, shared and valued.
Lianre Robinson, The Marketing Academy Foundation
“They always say a chief executive shouldn’t stay for more than about seven years and I’m about to click into my eighth year in January,” Fielding adds. “It is just time for a change and I’m looking forward to being a trustee, because I co-founded the charity with Sherilyn and can help as required.”
She recalls being “blown away” by the number and calibre of applications for the CEO role. The foundation was looking for somebody with the “stretch” and ambition required to run a small organisation, noting the “elasticity” needed in a position like this. The perfect candidate needed to be able to “dream big, develop things”, from macro to micro.
“It really is about a stretch from big picture to detailed implementation. We also wanted somebody who had had prior experience of working with young people and a real appetite for the cause,” Fielding explains.
“Somebody who has got that positive energy as well and who’s used to having full accountability – and financial accountability – for an entity.”
Reflecting on what attracted her to the role, Robinson describes the CEO position as a perfect mix of her passion and experience.
“The opportunity to make a real difference in young people’s lives is something I’ve always been passionate about and I’ve got a lot of experience in. I have lived experience as well. I’m a free school meals child, proudly,” she explains.
Robinson recalls entering the industry when no one looked or felt like her, or had the same background. As a result, the opportunity to champion diverse talent and bring a new sense of purpose to the industry appealed on many levels.
‘Words into action’: Bootcamp helps emerging marketing talent break barriers
The incoming CEO expects to draw on her experience working with young people and youth audiences, as well as her expertise across insights, content, social, tech and live events
“I’ve seen first-hand how the right opportunities and guidance can skyrocket their careers, and also really bring benefit to the organisations and individuals who are involved. It’s that two-way opportunity that will bring a lot of value to our industry,” she adds.
“We’re creating pathways and that first entry point for underrepresented talent, but I have seen the transformative space that exists when that talent is brought into organisations and those new viewpoints are seen, shared and valued.”
Passionate to collaborate with the industry to remove barriers and empower young talent to start their careers in marketing, Robinson believes there’s no time like the present.
“The time is now. I think back to when I joined the industry and there was no focus on this at all. You know, there weren’t a lot of people who looked like me,” she states.
“One of my first jobs, I still remember all of the people of colour by name and where they sat in the business – this was a company of 150 people – because it was a stark difference. So, everything I can do to make sure that space, that opportunity, those barriers are removed. I’m super passionate about.”
Setting out the ambition
Reflecting on what’s next for the foundation, the trustees want to give the new CEO freedom to set her own agenda.
“With any organisation, there are things where you go: ‘Actually, maybe this needs a little reset and a rethink.’ The current trustees and I had a plan, but equally that plan is for her to go: ‘Yes, I like the look of that, that’s what I’ll be doing’ or ‘I want to do it differently. I want to do something else,’” Fielding explains. “She must be given the space to hatch her own strategy.”
Full of ideas of what comes next, Robinson believes that while the foundation is already doing “amazing work”, there is an opportunity to expand its programmes and reach more young people in different places.
Her ambition is to ensure the charity’s training remains at the cutting edge by partnering with the industry to ensure talent coming through are ready for an ever-evolving profession. Continuing to build an alumni network of former apprentices will be crucial.
Companies need a bit more confidence. CMOs need a bit more confidence and freedom, and they need to be hiring again.
Daryl Fielding, The Marketing Academy Foundation
Whether the industry is in a better place with regards attracting and retaining talent from diverse socio-economic backgrounds versus when the foundation was founded in 2017, Fielding believes economic growth will make the difference.
“The biggest barrier in all honestly in the last year has really been many companies almost being on hold with all sorts of programmes, because of uncertainty,” she notes, citing restructures and pressures on entry level recruitment as major issues.
“Companies need a bit more confidence. CMOs need a bit more confidence and freedom, and they need to be hiring again,” Fielding adds.
While a return to growth and certainty is crucial, businesses also need to start matching their words with actions. While the consensus is brands which are keen to supercharge their growth should be looking to hire diverse talent, many companies have put their DE&I programmes on hold, Fielding states.
“Do they believe that diversity drives performance and do they want greater performance? And if so, you know, do the maths as they say,” she argues.
“Bring in diverse talent. It may be that with any entry level person you have to invest a little in their development to start with, but ultimately if that’s your belief, then you should be bringing diverse talent into the organisation. Everybody has had a difficult time in business over the last couple of years, but people are – somebody said – speaking out of two different sides of their mouths at the moment and it’s very frustrating.”
Excited to partner with the industry to make the foundation’s ambitions a reality, Robinson wants to help brands and agencies reignite their talent agenda.
“If I have an ask to the industry, the time is now. I want to partner with the broadest representation of our industry to ensure that we’ve got opportunities to bring the best talent through and remove those barriers potentially stopping them getting through the door at the moment,” she adds.
