Breakthrough with Michelle Patrick - Experience. Refine. Reinvent.

In this series, we ask our people to define what 'Breakthrough' means to them, both from a career standpoint and a personal note.

Our next issue features Michelle Patrick, EMEA Chief Media Solutions Officer.

What does ‘breakthrough’ mean to you?

To me, a "breakthrough" means being adaptable to situations, finding innovative solutions that make a real difference for our clients and our teams. This can come from enhancing our existing practices or completely reinventing how we operate.

What’s been the most inspiring personal breakthrough in your life?

As a teenager I trained to be a gymnastics coach, it was a real breakthrough moment for me, solidifying what I loved doing which was working with people, honing my skills for building relationships and building high performing teams.

What was the breakthrough moment in your career?

In a previous agency I was tasked with bringing together the print and digital teams. Combining two very different but complimentary skill sets provided a steep learning curve, the road was far from smooth.

The experience and adapting to this new challenge broadened my knowledge, outlook and leadership skills. In similar challenges I am less fearful of change and excited by the opportunity.

Tell us about a piece of work you were involved with that you would define as a breakthrough.

In November 2021, we successfully onboarded the The Coca-Cola business within just four weeks across multiple markets, even during a pandemic and the Christmas period. Driven by our mindset and culture of collaboration, we tossed out the rule book and developed new improved agile processes that now have become our standard transitions and transformations.

Effective communication and building in-person connections were at the heart of our approach, fostering trust and openness. This achievement showcases the team's grit, resilience, and ability to innovate under pressure to drive breakthroughs.

What breakthrough in this industry - achieved by someone else - do you really admire? What do you admire about it?

EM sidekick is a great breakthrough, developed and scaled by Kenny Skelton and Louis Georgiou, adapting quickly to the explosion in generative AI.

It is a brilliant breakthrough as it supports both incremental improvement to existing content and processes, as well as supporting wholesale innovation.