What do you do with brand strategy in ad agencies, communications consultancy to the international development sector and comedy writing as your blended background?

Give birth to a communications platform named Give a Shit, obviously.

I spent 12 years working as a strategist in the world's best known ad agencies, sharpening brands you've eaten, drank, used, trusted, loved and hated.  I understand how to make brands famous, help them stand out, offset their issues and increase their value. I won global awards for brand strategy and communications effectiveness and got big jobs in big agencies.

 But then I wondered, what if I could use those very same skills for organisations I really gave a shit about.  So, I got myself a Masters degree in international development and worked for and with organisations like The Nike Foundation and Girl Effect in Rwanda, the Isdell Flowers Cross Border Malaria Initiative with the Global Fund in Zambia, and partnered with the World Health Organisation and UN agencies while managing civil society partnerships and innovation on the Public Policy team at Twitter (pre X).

Ad agencies, aid agencies and big tech. I've seen a lot.

Behind all of this was a sometimes secret hobby of mine.  Stand up Comedy. I was in the finals of Ireland's best comedian TV series, performed in some of the best stand up clubs in Ireland and Canada until I realised that having a day job, kids and a low tolerance for late nights didn't work well with a hobby that began at 10pm and ended around 1am.

But some things have remained constant. My loud mouth, strong opinions and a desire to force other people to listen to me.  

 And so I have managed to find a home that brings together my skills in advertising and strategic communications, my unending interest in the humanitarian sector and a comedian’s approach to story telling at a time when I think maybe it's exactly what the sector might need.