In this episode of Leaders with Ambition, Nicky sits down with Marie Wadeson, Managing Director at Quantuma, to discuss her career path from BD & Marketing to Partner to Managing Director.
With an emphasis on her determination and drive, Marie explains the mindset she adopted that ultimately resulted in her success, sharing key points from her challenges and career lessons that she learnt along the way.
Listen to the podcast here
Key takeaways from this episode with Marie Wadeson
Marie’s professional background
Starting in the early 2000s as a BD Executive, Marie was moved into the London office and was later promoted to a managerial role working in contact with most of the departments in her firm at the time.
After working at Mazars for 9 years, she moved, although initially unsure whether it was the right decision, she was focused on making it a learning experience.
Asking "What's next?"
Marie eventually joined Quantuma as Head of Marketing and then Director of Marketing after which she then wanted to become a Partner. After going through an extensive process, Marie achieved her goal of becoming a Partner. Marie has always been driven by the desire to do better and be better, always asking "What's next?". This determination was pivotal to her success in becoming a Partner at Quantuma.
Career challenges
Marie shares that there are always people-related challenges from colleagues, and communication issues. However, more major challenges were related to how marketing interacts with the rest of the business. There has also always been the challenge of aligning the general perception of what marketing should entail with Marie's view on marketing. It is often quite taxing to find what works for everyone.
Career highlights
Career highlights for Marie included being promoted to Senior Manager at Mazars, having worked extremely hard leading up to this. Another highlight for her was the courage she expressed in leaving her comfort zone at Mazars, even though the move wasn't a good one in hindsight. Lastly, her promotion to Partner was a major highlight in Marie's career.
Advice to budding professionals
Find your voice and channel it the right ways, depending on your personal circumstance. Marie also encourages workers to not be afraid of change. Find the voice in your head; find what your driver is and go with it. Be adaptable and be willing to listen. It is also important to be true to yourself and what you want to achieve in life; having that greater vision.
Anticipating changes in the industry
The direction at the time is targeted at knocking down the barriers between marketing and the business; they have to be one and the same. Keeping up with the times is pivotal; there is a constant need to evolve, innovate, reflect, and learn.
Key quotes from this episode:
"People grow over time; People find their voices at different times"
"Nobody's perfect, everybody is a work in progress"
"Find your voice, and channel it in the right ways"
"Don't be afraid of change, you will know good change and bad change
About Marie Wadeson
Marie Wadeson is a qualified Marketing and Business Development professional with 18 years experience gained in a range of professional services settings.
In her current role as Managing Director of Quantuma, she is responsible for the development and implementation of the firm's integrated marketing, communications and business development strategy. Marie leads a small team who execute the marketing strategy and work in an advisory capacity with the firm's senior fee earners, to assist them in the implementation of a series of key business development and client relationship management initiatives to drive top and bottom line growth.
Leaders with Ambition is hosted by Nicky Acuna Ocana, Managing Director of Ambition UK.
If you're a Leader with Ambition from a professional services firm and would like to feature as a guest in a future podcast, please email:marketing@ambition.co.uk.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)