"I had some knocks along the way, but looking back they only made me stronger and who I am today," says Ali Crisp, Director of JPG

Why did you decide to work in this industry?

I graduated from Portsmouth University having studied a degree in Art, Design and Media, and I can remember the sheer volume of rejection letters I received as I tried to break into the graphics industry. As I started to lose faith in getting a role in my chosen field, I got an unexpected invitation from a family friend who happened to be the Chief Executive of Safeway Stores PLC at the time. I started in the corporate design department looking after the Safeway brand identity and store signage until an opportunity opened up in the packaging team as a Design Manager. So a little help from a friend to get me started, but I never thought at that point I would remain in packaging for my entire career!

What are your favourite things about your current role?

I am driven to solve problems and help people, whether it be my team or our clients’ challenges. The team I work with is exceptional at pulling together in the same direction and maintaining our can-do reputation. I feel so proud to lead and be part of such an energised group of people that will not let me down. I have worked and engaged with some incredible clients who have challenged me, inspired me, and developed me through experiences. Likewise, I was extremely proud to be asked to be a mentor for one of my clients as they moved up in their career, it’s all about knowledge sharing and encouraging one another. We are all human and we all need each other.

What is the one piece of professional advice that you would give your younger self??

Enjoy the moment... Everything moves on so quickly and nothing lasts forever. I have met so many great people during my career journey to date, my mission is to keep in touch with everyone as each connection will be called upon at some point either way. It’s about who you know. I would also say to myself, be confident even if you don’t feel it. That falls into grabbing every opportunity, whatever it is, and enjoying the experience, good or bad, but most importantly learning from it. I had some knocks along the way, but looking back they only made me stronger and who I am today.

When you are not at work, what are your favourite things to do?

I love being silly with my kids, loud with my friends, and caring for my wider family. So basically that means lots of gatherings and parties! Visiting places, events and going on adventures to different cities around the world are also my passions, there is never a weekend spent doing nothing in my house. As a personal challenge, I have a newly discovered joy for running. I have played many team sports but I am not a natural for pure running, but I will not give up on any goal I set. It’s the drive in me to succeed.

Thank you, Ali, for sharing your insights with us.

Look out for next weeks' edition of our Directors' Q&A, where we will be chatting to Brent Hoxsey, Director of JPG North America, where he says... "If you fail at anything, all you're really doing is learning what mistakes you don't want to repeat next time, so you're never really failing it's just part of the journey as you go through life."