Reigatian Professionals news from our annual magazine 2018

RGS CAREERS CONVENTION

MONDAY 5 FEBRUARY

RGS held its Careers Convention in February, where RGS students and their parents can speak to a range of delegates representing around fifty different career areas including law, engineering, finance, medicine and allied professions, art and design and many more. Special thanks go to the 60 RGS parents and former students who gave up their time to come back and share their experience and the nitty-gritty detail of their careers. Special mention to: Steve Brooks (parent of alumni), James Day (’11), Darren Harding (’92), Clare Hartley-Marjoram (’09), Rosaleen Jackson (parent of alumni), David Keyte (’07), Charlotte Michel (’08), Adrian Morton (parent of alumni), Natasha Rees (’10), Jill Springbett (parent of alumni), Yalda Tomlinson (’12), Sameet Vohra (’92), Aidan Welton (’09).

RGS Careers convention

If a careers talk is something you feel you could offer to RGS students, please do get in touch with us.

RGS CITY BREAKFAST – FINANCIAL LIFESTYLE MANAGEMENT

THURSDAY 4 OCTOBER

A packed house provided the backdrop for the RGS City Breakfast in October at the award-winning M Restaurant on Threadneedle Street.

RGS City Breakfast M Threadneedle Street

FOCUSING IN ON THE CREATIVE CAREERS

A big thank you to Abi Howson (‘02) and Jason Kedgley (parent) for delivering inspiring presentations and to Natasha Ayling (’13), Ruth Bond (parent), Carol Bridges (parent), Rob Elliston (parent), Michael Jones (’91), Simon Knibbs (parent), Ruth Shepherd (’96), Laurel Spiers (’17) and David Tinn (parent) for acting as ambassadors at the event.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FROM A MARKETING PERSPECTIVE @ JELLYFISH

WEDNESDAY 28 MARCH

Seventy-five members of the RGS Professionals group attended the impressive Jellyfish London HQ on the 22nd floor of The Shard with magnificent views across the city.

Jellyfish Professionals event - March 2018

THE DIVERSITY DILEMMA @ BRYAN CAVE LEIGHTON PAISNER

WEDNESDAY 12 SEPTEMBER

The growing RGS Professionals group met at the imposing London HQ of global law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP), overlooking the River Thames for the much anticipated ‘Diversity Dilemma’ themed evening.

RETAIL: IMPACT ON THE HIGH STREET @ RAPLEYS

WEDNESDAY 27 JUNE

RGS Professionals working across the property sector came together for this much anticipated RGS Professionals Property event at the luxurious Cavendish Hotel, hosted by Rapleys.

RGS PROFESSIONALS CHARITY GOLF DAY

THURSDAY 11 OCTOBER The fifth annual RGS Professionals Charity Golf Day took place at the ever impressive Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club. This year, we were extremely thankful and lucky to have the support of Vision4Sport, owned by Karl Wesson (RGS Parent and former golf professional).

GLOBAL EVENTS

SINGAPORE GATHERING

WEDNESDAY 5 DECEMBER

It was good to see so many Reigatians enjoying life and work in the tropical paradise of Singapore.

(Left) L to R: James O’Mahony (’94), James Spalding (’97), Chris Pook (’85), Ryan Younger (’91), Sean Davey (RGS Foundation). (Ben Jones (‘94) and James Daniels (’92) also present)

OVERSEAS AMBASSADORS

The Reigatian community continues to spread further and wider around the globe. From New York to New Zealand, there are members of the community in most continents either working, with their families or enjoying a well-earned retirement.

SPOTLIGHT ON...

This year we introduced our ‘Spotlight on’ series. Interviews with Professionals Network members to share their ambitions, careers and advice. Interesting, insightful and inspiring. Here is a summary of some of the conversations.

JULIAN FRANKUM

(PARENT OF ALUMNI) Based in Dubai we heard how digital transformation is impacting on global businesses. ‘All that glitters in the UAE may not be gold, but these days it is usually digital in some way or another. The region remains pioneering across so many industry sectors. Going digital is the key, whether you are delivering its technology or harnessing it.’

STEPHANIE WALLACE

(NÉE JACKSON, RGS 1998-2005) Being In-House Regulatory Counsel in a young, fast paced FinTech business ‘can be challenging and there is a lot of responsibility, but there are amazing opportunities’. Stephanie feels measuring success holistically is important. She hopes in the future to use her skills in a charity trustee role to help others.

You can see the full interviews on our website rgs.foundation/news/

ROB PIERRE

(RGS PARENT) Winner of Business Person of the Year at the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards 2018, Rob is a highly motivated and inspiring leader who co-founded Jellyfish, a global digital marketing agency. He told us how he gained the skills to launch a digital agency that since 2005 has grown to a 450-strong staff working across three continents and about his leadership style. ‘I am a true believer that good judgement comes from experience, but experience comes from bad judgement.’

LOUISE HODGES

(RGS 1989-1991 / RGS PARENT) Understanding the transferable skill sets you have amassed in your career arsenal is key to making an effective leap into a new domain, according to Louise. Louise changed from the travel sector (Head of Communications for Travelzoo) to the banking sector (Head of Consumer Communications for CYBG). She told us the pride she has in the public relations campaign she ran called ‘The Parent Trap’, tackling the fines on parents taking their children out of school to avoid peak travel prices. They successfully lobbied the government to remove air passenger duty tax for under 16s.

PAUL MORRIS

(PARENT OF ALUMNI) When your company comprises more than 45,000 employees worldwide, making the most of everyone’s talents and skills is no small feat. Paul serves as Head of the Western Europe Region at Willis Towers Watson. Paul told us exactly how diverse teams are more creative and make better business decisions.

LAUREN TICKNER

(RGS 2010-2015) A 21-year-old entrepreneur and influencer. After starting an Instagram fitness page when she was just 16, she has shown an entrepreneurial spark from the get go. After successfully starting and building up a fitness coaching company and 200,000 following on social media, she is now focused on coaching others to do the same through her online courses.

CHRIS DAY

(RGS 1971-1978) Global Head of Leveraged Finance, Commerzbank AG. Chris’ top advice to students is to ‘be flexible and adaptable, be ready to take the opportunities when they arise. The onus is on you to find the opportunity, don’t wait for it to come to you. Treat people well on the way up as you will as sure as anything to meet them on the way down.’