Ph.Creative is growing, in so many ways!

Whenever we welcome a new member to the Ph.amily, we have a tradition of inviting them to a video interview with the effervescent Paul Mason. Paul is brilliant at making you feel relaxed and at home – and that’s what Ph.Creative is for so many talented, creative and brilliant people across the US and UK. Now, thanks to the arrival of our new Chief People Officer and APAC Regional Director, Jeanette Kehoe-Perkinson, we’re opening up shop in New Zealand!

Following Jeanette’s debut with Paul, I grabbed some time with her to ask her a bit more about her background and her route to joining us as a Defender of Happiness, here’s what she had to say…

Clair: Welcome to the Ph.amily Jeanette! How did you come to accept the role at Ph.Creative?

Jeanette: I have known Bryan since 2004, when Ph. was an infant and I was a potential website client. We had a shared interest in an entrepreneurial opportunity and we have always kept in touch - and tried to work together whenever possible. 

Back in 2012, we were both judges at the ‘Start-up Weekend’ held during the Kauffman ‘Global Entrepreneurship Congress’ in Liverpool, and we’ve run Entrepreneurship workshops and invited each other to speaking events over the years. We’re also both Liverpool FC supporters too - so we’ve been to the match at Anfield a fair few times, and we’ve enjoyed putting the world to rights many times, over beer and wine and a lot of laughs. 

Clair: So, you’ve always been Ph.amily! As both CPO and head of the region, what’s your vision for Ph.Creative in APAC?

Jeanette: The vision is to grow our presence in the region, to enable progressive companies here to become Defenders of Happiness and, particularly, to adopt the Give & Get philosophy to create better candidate and employee experience.

Initially, with Covid still raging, we are focusing on developing relationships with New Zealand clients, then we will expand into Australia and Singapore. After that, we may develop a plan for other countries in the region.

And, as CPO I'm dedicated and focused on our employer brand proposition to be the Defenders of Happiness - to enable our clients to always sell the truth. That is to work with the executive team - Bryan, Dave, Mike, Helen & Jim to develop our people strategy and ensure Ph. is more than just a great place to work. And, I'm really excited to be here and I can't wait to grow the People team!

Clair: What does your role entail as Regional Director for APAC?

Jeanette: My role initially is to establish a regional presence, to make companies aware that we’re here and able to do business with them in this range of time zones.

Building and nurturing business relationships is key to our success, so I am meeting with many corporate decision makers to explain what Ph. does and why Employer Branding is so important.

When we have a collection of clients here, I will build a regional team to support our clients in real-time. This will offer opportunities for some Ph.ers to visit NZ and help us to hire and onboard local talent.

Clair: I’m sure there’s already hands up for that opportunity! What have been the highlights of your career to date?

Jeanette: Wow - that’s a tough question, as there have been so many highlights over what’s been quite a long and very exciting career.

I think the expatriate experiences have been amazing. All were extremely challenging in their own way - especially moving to Moscow, Russia in December 1996, when I knew nobody there, I didn’t speak Russian and my face froze in the winter temperatures! What an incredible learning experience - and I made so many great friends who are still my friends today.

When I moved to Chicago, USA, I had to learn to curb my Scouse urge to crack an inappropriate joke every time somebody spoke to me. American mid-West humor is very different to Liverpool humour (see what I did there?!) so, as Global HR Director, I was constantly having to apologise for being misunderstood! That always makes me giggle. The highlight, again, was the friends I made. Oh, and the impact of driving a global culture transformation programme.

I think the over-arching highlights have been implementing Social Impact strategies in companies which didn’t really have them - then watching as our employer brand and engagement rankings increased, how people wanted to work for a company with a social purpose and EVP they admired, and how this always positively affected recruitment of top talent and reduction in recruitment costs.

Clair: What’s been the biggest challenge?

Jeanette: Falling off a horse and breaking my back while on holiday in Portugal was quite a challenge. Being held at gunpoint in Russia (twice) was also quite a challenge…

On a workplace, societal level: Small-minded nay-sayers who try to maintain the status-quo, are change-averse and suppress others from unleashing their potential.

Clair: My turn for the WOW! What would you change in a heartbeat?

Jeanette: All the unconscious bias and conscious ‘isms’ that still exist in our World, e.g, racism, sexism, ageism, etc. I want workplaces to recognise that people of all types, ages, genders, religions, race, physical & mental abilities, etc. have value, and our communities will be much more productive and harmonious if workplaces change their fixed mindsets and out-dated hiring practices to include a more diverse workforce.

Clair: What makes you happy?

Jeanette: Many many things! Having fun and great big belly laughs make me really happy!

Being alive every day is fabulous! I wake up every day and have a quick flashback to looking down the barrel of that Russian gun - and each day is always brilliant from that moment on! Life is such a precious gift, so the rollercoaster actually makes me happy.

I know I will learn lessons from the dips and the dips will change back into highs - if I’m in positive action to keep moving forward - and I know the highs of life are always amazing and worth waiting for!

On a practical level, people make me most happy: my husband is my beloved rock, my children are priceless gems of witty, active, thought-provoking, awesome potential, my family and friends are my loyal advisors and makers-of-fun, and my work colleagues teach me so many new things and inspire me to do better every day.

Nature, beaches, wild winds, horses, sailing, cycling and Champagne also really make me happy (:-)

Please do connect with Jeanette, and if you would like to find out more about our services across APAC, say hello!

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