PORTRAIT - TERRI MCCOLLIN, PR AND CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST : "LEAN INTO YOUR AUTHENTIC BEST SELF AND YOU'LL SUCCEED"
With 15 years experience in Communications and Media Relations under her belt, Terri McCollin is a success story that should have never happened. |
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PORTRAIT - TERRI MCCOLLIN, PR AND CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST : "LEAN INTO YOUR AUTHENTIC BEST SELF AND YOU'LL SUCCEED"
With 15 years experience in Communications and Media Relations under her belt, Terri McCollin is a success story that should have never happened. |
Catégorie : Monde - Interviews et portraits
- Interviews
Interview de Sonia Taourghi le 13-03-2024
A warm and big smile suddenly appears on-screen. As I turn the videoconference on and see her face, I know this is going to be an open conversation. After 10 years at Preferred Hotels & Resorts, and a recent spot amongst the "The PR Net 'Marcomms' Most Influential" 2023, Terri McCollin shares her unconventional journey with Journal des Palaces. Terri is a storyteller, and this interview was going to be a human adventure.
"I'm from Manchester and moved to London at 17 to do my A-levels. As I entered university, I looked for my first real job. From waitress to shift manager at pizzerias and pubs in London, I ended up applying for an assistant manager role at Lush Cosmetics. It was the late 90s, and the brand was known for its innovative bath bombs, and I absolutely loved it! They were still quite a young brand at the time and there were many opportunities to grow with them. It proved to be a pivotal moment in my career: I was 19, studying full-time for my French and English degree and ultimately a full-time assistant manager. Something about the energy of youth!"
The energy Terri refers to has nothing to do with youth, though. All these years later, I can still, listening to her story, feel that energy, and drive that made her journey at Lush so successful. From assistant manager in Kingston, she finds herself co-managing the flagship Regent Street store the following year. Still a student at the time, Terri took an assistant language teacher role in France as part of her curriculum, not knowing that France would become not only a second home, but also a second identity that would positively impact her long-term career.
"When I came back to London for my 4th and final year at university, I resumed at Lush, and it so happened that the brand was looking at expanding internationally. That's when Mark Constantine, the founder and CEO, asked me to open their first store in France, in Saint-Germain-des-Près in Paris. I was 22 and, back then, definitely standing out in a very bourgeois, not diverse neighbourhood. I had, admittedly, no new business experience, but I had great support and coaching from the company. It was a different time, and I ended up opening stores in Lille, Rouen, Nice, Belgium, Luxembourg, and eventually even beyond Europe."
What Terri describes however is still very relevant today, especially in the luxury hospitality industry where, constant learning, training, mentoring and growing in the role is very much part and parcel of any successful journey. A reality that will prove even truer as she steps into the PR world for the first time. "Originally, I was doing more than just opening shops. I was also hiring staff, dealing with the communication strategy, talking to the media, and generally making sure to get the stores up and running. I even got to organise a VIP event at the British Embassy in Paris. After all those successive openings, more roles being created around our presence in France, and specific experts being brought in, I got sat down by the CEO once again, and asked what I enjoyed the most doing: it was the Public Relations. From there I was sent to Milan for a month, to spend time with the Head of PR for the company to formally learn the role."
That's when life happens. As family crisis hit, and the 2009 recession took over the country, Terri left Lush. She still wonders what if, but we often say that everything happens for a reason. It was a time to reset, and really think about what she wanted to do with herself. PR was what came to mind, and she knew that's the route she wanted to follow. Terri quickly realises that all the experience she built over the years gave her the maturity to succeed, but she wasn't, realistically, presenting the expected CV for the field. She would have to start from scratch to build a UK experience, and accept an entry-level role. Terri is resilient, and ready to take on a challenge. As I follow her journey, I can't wait for THAT moment that will connect the dots with her most recent senior role at Preferred Hotels. It was, however, always there: the English and French bilingualism, the extensive travels, the communication skills, the determination, the hard work, the ability to learn.
"If I'm being honest, it was a difficult time. I had to adapt, even culturally, to my own country. It was as if I became two people. There was French Terri and English Terri. In the world of communications, it's very important to learn how to navigate interpersonal relationships." From the first internship to junior roles, another chance event will help Terri build her way in the PR industry when she's introduced to the Mango Agency, now the M Collective, and immersed into travel and luxury PR. The importance of building your personal network was starting to sink in. Mentors, supporters, people opening doors, that's also what personal PR is about. From there, Terri will spend the next four years honing her craft and skills to become a respected senior account manager, contributing to successful PR campaigns for exotic destinations and various luxury properties, eventually joining the ranks of Perowne Charles Communications (now two separate agencies: Perowne International and The PC Agency).
Collaborating with high-end travel clients planted a seed for what was to become 10 successful years at one of the most respected luxury hospitality groups: Preferred Hotels and Resorts. "I started as a Senior PR Manager for EMEA, and what I really enjoyed was getting to work with a family-owned company based in the United States. Being EMEA, I loved being able to work on the French market again, and meeting prominent media figures like Claudine Hesse, then editor-in-chief of Madame Figaro for example. I really felt in my element, but I had a plan. Lush gave me six amazing years in Paris, the gift of a second important language, and even though I was happy to be back in London, I had itchy feet, and just knew there was another city in me. So I thought I could do London, Paris, New York; like a fashion house, without the fashion!"
Terri had nurtured that goal for years. Back at P1 Communications, she was already expressing to founder Vicky Goodall, whom she views as one of her greatest mentors, her desire for the Big Apple. What Terri goes on to explain is how to work towards a goal from within this time: having a proper plan for the next steps, not being afraid to take a chance on yourself, daring to approach the right leaders and decision makers. In what can only be described as a "Hollywood" moment, two years after she joined the group, the rebranding event of the group in Paris gave Terri her opportunity. The event formerly hosted by Preferred’s CEO, Lindsey Ueberroth, took place in an amazing venue next to the Champs-Élysées, the most prestigious French luxury lifestyle media attended, it was a success, and almost a rite of passage for the PR professional. Sat at a café terrace with the CEO, evaluating the event before returning home to London, she was, once again, asked about her aspirations and was honest enough to vocalise her desire to move to New York City. Needless to say, it didn't happen like in movies. But she had been heard, and three years later, she transferred to New York City with a promotion to Executive Director of Global Public Relations in New York, with team members across the US, London, Singapore, Tokyo, and Beijing.
"I was finally where I wanted to be and was faced again with a cultural adjustment. We are speaking the same language, and yet I needed to work hard to understand and be understood. It was surprisingly a bigger culture shock to move to the US than to move to Paris. I think that's something very important to consider, especially in our industry where collaborators are looking at relocating as a normal part of their career, no matter the role."
After ten years at Preferred Hotels and Resorts, including five in New York, operating at a senior level within luxury hospitality PR, getting those coveted New York Times pieces, Terri McCollin is ready for her next step.
Patiently carving out her own path over the years, she learned how to succeed and reinvent herself despite the odds. Her advice to the younger generation: "tap into that resilience that comes in youth. It's a great time to learn a lot, especially when you still have the energy to face obstacles and challenges and recover from them! If you're hard-working and ambitious, the enthusiasm and fearlessness of inexperience can be a blessing. With time, knowledge takes over. Also remember to bring your personality to your roles. The world of communications is very much about networking and making good impressions. Bring your best self, your differences, your quirkiness, your authentic behaviours, lean confidently into a skill that no one else brings to the room. What makes you who you are will ultimately be what makes your career unique and a success".
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