Spotlight On … Aimee Speight – Head of Marketing

I’ll hold my hands up and say I was something of an… unlikely candidate for a brokerage at face value, with a diverse back-catalogue of PR clients from sparkling wine and mobile payment apps, to granola and bingo – plus, something of a cavalier attitude towards my pension, for which even the most benevolent financial adviser would send me to the naughty step.

The day of my interview I was turning the house upside-down looking for a pen ‘with gravitas!’ because all mine were either covered in glitter or pom-poms; however, I’d set my eyes on Blacktower and come hell or high water, I was joining the team.

I saw so many opportunities for this superb brand and two years later, we’ve seen some incredible results; the business is expanding at an exhilarating speed and we’re only just getting started – sparkly pen and all.

What is your special interest or particular field of expertise in the financial services sector right now?

My background is communication; professionally and personally. I grew up in a lot of different countries and went to thirteen schools so being able to communicate and build relationships quickly in other cultures was paramount.

It’s that borderline lust for words, semantics, gestures and signals that has shaped almost a decade in marketing for me and at Blacktower, it’s my job to make sure that audiences are aware of and engaged with the services we offer, and that Blacktower continues to build meaningful connections with people in an increasingly impersonal world.

What is the most important aspect of your work, in relation to clients, or the part of your day-to-day role which gives you the most satisfaction?

I’m not client facing (I’ve a weakness for Sisley face masks and artisan jam that I know full well is at the detriment of my early retirement plans so I leave the investment advice to the experts) but I work behind the scenes making sure that every communication, story, research or piece of content that we push out of the business is relevant, informative and engaging for the public.

The most joyful elements of my job are seeing ideas that I’ve had brought to life and in front of our audiences, and working with the wider international teams to make sure that the Blacktower brand experience is second to none.

What’s special about working at Blacktower?

1. The people. We’re a fast-paced company with a team scattered all over the world but someone or other has made me laugh every single day since I joined and I don’t take those relationships for granted.
2. How working parents are embraced and not just tolerated. Whether it’s an IFA jumping off a call to go pick their daughter up from school, a lockdown toddler demanding snacks on a call or a newborn crying in the background of a Zoom meeting, in two years at Blacktower, I’ve never seen as much as a raised eyebrow from anyone and that tells you everything you need to know about the people here.
3. True integrity. You see a lot of brokers in the industry who can’t always put their money where their mouth is when it comes to watertight licencing or the best client interests. You only have to spend five minutes with any one of the Blacktower team to see how much they care about the work they do; it starts with the Group Chairman and reverberates throughout the company.

Blacktower already has a long and successful history in the sector, how will you and your colleagues continue to offer value to clients in the next 20 years and beyond?

With authenticity and adaptability, holding on to our 35 years of heritage while evolving our strategies and solutions to align with the ever-evolving client needs.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.

I performed in a children’s choir production at the Royal Albert Hall when I was a kid… I can’t say that without cringing now though so I’ll stick with the fact that I used to run my friend’s Border Collie in the Kennel Club flyball trials and competed at Crufts two years running. We won silver in 2007!