A year of transformation: thank you to those who made it happen |
Marcela Kunova, editor-in-chief and managing director:
This year, JournalismUK went through something that should probably come with a warning label: a buyout, a complete rebrand, and a full replatforming. All at once. Looking back, I'm not entirely sure how we made it through - but I know exactly who got us through.
Finding my voice
Years ago, Lisa MacLeod, director and head of EMEA at FT Strategies, told me something I still hear in my head. Warmly but sternly, she said: "Marcela, if you want to be seen as a leader, you need to act like one. Chin up, shoulders down, stand up straight!" She'd noticed that every time I spoke about buying the (then) Journalism.co.uk brand, I shrank - my voice got quieter, I slouched, I deflected with self-deprecation. Lisa made me take this seriously, and I still hear that "...act like one!" whenever I speak about our company in public.
And then there was Madhav Chinnappa, formerly of Google, who braved monthly calls with me for more than a year. He challenged me, listened to me, offered moral support, called me on my bullshit, and provided guidance when I needed it most. Whether I needed to vent or celebrate, Madhav was there. I genuinely couldn't have done this without him.
Learning to lead
Francois Nel, media innovation specialist at the University of Central Lancashire, who runs the Journalism Innovation and Leadership programme, allowed me to learn skills, tools, and strategies I would never have discovered otherwise. He handed me an opportunity to gain C-suite knowledge and welcomed me into the JILeaders community, where I've met so many inspiring people.
Through that programme, I had the privilege of being mentored by Dmitry Shishkin, now strategic editorial advisor at Ringier Media. Dmitry patiently guided me through the user needs model and its implementation. He was a total inspiration - basically an oracle whenever I got stuck.
This year, when things got really serious, Jeremy Clifford offered executive coaching to help me go from deer-in-the-headlights to actually leading the team. I had no idea what I was doing right after the company purchase, and Jeremy helped me believe I could make it a success. He helped us clarify our mission, values, roles, and plans. He's been an invaluable mentor and remains an inspiration.
And Chris Dicker, CEO at Candr Media Group, was the kind of person who'd jump on a........