Life of a Published Children’s Author and Corporate Sales Executive
Meet Katie: She lives in Surrey, England with her husband, two-year-old daughter, and their Greater Swiss Mountain Dog. The other beloved member of the family is Zena, an 18-year-old horse who has been Katie’s most loyal four-legged friend for the last 14 years.
“She’s now retired due to injury, so she lives happily in a field, getting fat and bossing the other horses around. In a past life, we did all sorts together, mostly competing in Show Jumping events and Team Chasing (essentially a team of 4 horses and riders, galloping across the countryside, jumping hedges and rustic fences, and fearing for your life, at times. Fastest team wins.). Easily the most fun I’ve ever had on a horse! More recently, I have taken up polo, which is a different kind of horsey fun but an excellent challenge. It’s surprising how hard hitting a ball on horseback can be – the pros make it look so easy!”
Working on our EMEA Sales team as a Corporate Sales Executive, Katie considers herself “a slightly strange breed,” she supposes. “I’m an introverted ‘new business’ kind of salesperson. So, my team members (everywhere I have worked) have known me as the person who is determined to be successful, despite having no control over her red-face, and a genuine aversion to role-play 😉."
Following university, Katie worked in a customer service management role with the Ministry of Justice. In that role, she learned that she was goal oriented and motivated by exceeding targets.
“A friend’s boyfriend at the time was living the high life thanks to his job in recruitment, and I thought ‘if he can do it, then I can certainly do it’ and so I went into recruitment. After a 6-year stint, a slight change of direction, a bit of luck led me to a new business software sales role, and I’ve never looked back. In the beginning, I sold customer relationship manangement systems in the non-profit space, and after great success as an individual contributor I went on to manage a sales team. My next move was to spread my wings in the corporate world, so I became a Regional Sales Manager with the market leader for talent management software (recruitment, learning & development, performance management and HR) … which some years later, led me to Workhuman.”
However, sales isn’t her only passion. During maternity leave – which also happened to be 2020 lockdowns one and two if you can remember that far back. Katie kept her mind active by writing children’s books for her daughter to read as she grows up. And in December 2021, she published one, ‘The Crocodile with the Crooked Smile’.
The book has an anti-bullying message because Katie recognises that every child experiences or witnesses bullying in some shape or form. “Lucky for me, I wasn’t bullied in a life altering way like many people are. I am also aware that I was no angel, but now that I’m an adult, I recognise that bullying behaviour sticks and people carry it with them forever. I want to make a difference in any way I can (even in a teeny tiny way!) for my daughter, because I can’t bear the thought of her or any other child going through negative experiences like that.” Katie is also donating proceeds from the book to a charity called BulliesOut.
Katie loves working here, and believes it is “a company with the most incredible people, no egos and a ‘practice what we preach’ philosophy. I joined Workhuman in September 2021 because I truly believe in the value of our technology and partnership. Every conversation, article, web page, webinar, event, and whitepaper that talks about Workhuman and screams positivity absolutely rings true when you are here. I am proud and privileged to be part of the team.
Workhuman represents everything great about a workforce (internally and for our customers). Our company growth is through the roof and though the EMEA team is just getting started, we’re really excited for the future … it’s going to be BIG! We focus on building a culture of positivity … and it all starts with us. I honestly can’t imagine why anybody wouldn’t want to work here.”