A Chief’s career in focus: Jessica Martin, Event Team Leader

In this blog series on Chief Nation, we’re taking a closer look at the life and rise of some of our esteemed colleagues. They know a thing or two about throwing a world-class networking event together, but there’s more to these talented people than meets the eye. Here, we unpack their lives before joining Chief Nation, their progression within the business, and what their future may hold.

Today, we’re turning the spotlight on Jessica Martin, the French raised, English educated Event Team Leader.

Music as a first love

“I grew up in France, but came to the UK to study, where I got a sound engineering and music production degree at Birmingham City University. I then moved to London, around seven years ago now, where I started a career in music. I was organising concerts, gigs, events, and festivals, and that was my first proper job.

“Then Brexit happened, and it made it very difficult to stay in the music business as a full-time employee. That’s when I made my move into the corporate world, where my first job was for an agency that specialises in financial roadshows. These were investor days, IPO (initial public offering) launches where companies would go public and put shares up for sale on the stock market. I was a logistics manager for them, so that included events, meetings, booking cars, flights, hotels, and coordinating with C-level people throughout the events. I also managed a team for the first time when I was promoted to Senior Logistics Manager there and managed the logistics team.

“After that is when I finally got the job at Chief Nation, where I’ve managed to progress to Event Team Leader!

“I love the concept of the events at Chief Nation; the mix of business and entertainment with the wine and dinners, as well as having high-level people attend.”

— Jessica Martin, Event Team Leader

Life as a Chief

“I love the concept of the events at Chief Nation; the mix of business and entertainment with the wine and dinners, as well as having high-level people attend.

“When I started here, I was technically a French-speaking events manager, joining the events team as someone who would engage with French clients as we used to do a lot of dinners in Paris. I also, of course, helped with events in London and in the US and had the chance to go to New York. In pre-Covid times, we used to do a lot more traveling.

“Once Covid began it obviously changed a lot for us. We started working from home, the structure of the team changed as well as we hired a new Head of Events, Nicole. Around that time, the business grew thanks to the popularity of virtual events, and we needed two new Team Leaders to support Nicole as the team expanded. I expressed my interest in becoming more senior and helping her out, and thankfully I got the job!

“I was already a manager at my previous job, managing three people, and in this role, I was managing four to start. I missed managing a team before I got the promotion.

An amazing and growing culture

“When I joined, the culture is what appealed to me most. I got really good vibes from the team and the directors. Additionally, the workload at my previous job was extremely hectic, around events we’d work into the night, often over weekends for weeks on end. Chief Nation has offered me a much better work-life balance.

“Over the years we’ve added a lot to try and add to the culture, too, like offering wellness days, the work we’re always doing around diversity and inclusion, and learning more about that which has been very useful.

“We still have a lot of work to do, obviously. For instance, we’d like to make it easier for all the teams to see each other more often, as teams come into the office on different days, so we’re figuring out how that could work.

“It’s also great that the company is as collaborative as it is, we get to work with the creative teams a lot, for example, so it’s really cool to have the chance to bounce ideas off one another and learn from each other.”"

— Jessica Martin, Event Team Leader

Becoming a multi-skilled professional

“In my role, I’ve learned a lot of different skills, many of which I really wasn’t expecting. I’ve learned so much about data, marketing, social media, and lead generation. It’s also great that the company is as collaborative as it is, we get to work with the creative teams a lot, for example, so it’s really cool to have the chance to bounce ideas off one another and learn from each other.”

“I’m looking towards doing more dedicated team management work, overseeing the team and seeing where there is room for growth and improvement. I’m also getting more involved in the project management side of things. I’ve been given the freedom to expand my role and fulfil my professional ambitions here.

Are you a Chief in waiting?

Being a Chief means you’re constantly striving to bring industry giants together to drive business forward. At Chief Nation, we’re always looking for new talent to help us broaden our ambitions.

If you’re passionate about B2B marketing, love the idea of a four-day work week, two office pups, competitive benefits, regular staff socials, and hybrid work as standard, Chief Nation might be just the place for you.

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