Natalie Xenita on cultivating a personal brand

“We’ve a strong platform, and I like with the ability to use it as a catalyst for constructive change within the business and cultural affect.”

Have you ever ever stalked someone on LinkedIn and puzzled how on earth they managed to land that wildly spectacular job? Whereas the web and social media may need us consider that our excellent job is a mere pipe dream, the people who’ve these jobs have been, consider it or not, in the identical place as soon as, fantasising over another person’s seemingly unattainable job.

However behind the awe-inspiring titles and the flamboyant work occasions lies a heck of lots of onerous work. So what classes have been learnt and what expertise have proved invaluable in getting them from daydreaming about success to really being on the high of their business?

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Welcome to How I Got Here, the place we discuss to ladies who’re killing it of their respective fields about how they landed their awe-inspiring jobs, exploring the peaks and pits, the failures and the wins, and most significantly the information, recommendation and sensible ideas they’ve gleaned alongside the best way.

This week we communicate to Natalie Xenita, the Vice President-Managing Director of IMG Fashion Events and Properties Asia-Pacific. Her position at IMG has spanned the final six years, with Natalie working on the helm of occasions like Afterpay Australia Trend Week and the distinguished Australian Fashion Laureate awards. Overseeing all the things from industrial partnerships to occasion manufacturing, Natalie acts because the nationwide spokesperson for IMG Trend and the liaison between the Sydney places of work and the corporate’s headquarters in New York Metropolis.

However earlier than touchdown her “dream job”, Natalie lower her skilled enamel in journal promoting on the Australian Consolidated Press (ACP). It was in these early years {that a} former boss taught Natalie the significance of qualities like punctuality, courtesy, kindness and reliability. It’s these attributes – in addition to her adaptability and unwavering work ethic – which have carried Natalie a all through virtually twenty years within the trend business. Right here’s what she learnt alongside the best way.

What do you do and what’s your official job title?

Because the Vice President-Managing Director of IMG Trend Occasions and Properties Asia-Pacific, I oversee the industrial technique, sponsorship gross sales, partnerships, advertising and marketing, and occasion manufacturing throughout the APAC area. I’m the custodian of APAC’s largest trend business occasion, Afterpay Australian Fashion Week (AAFW), in addition to Australia’s most prestigious trend business awards, the Australian Fashion Laureate.

Take us again to while you have been first beginning out. Did you research to get into your chosen subject, or did you begin out with an internship/entry-level position and climb the ladder? Inform us the story.

I’ve been fortunate sufficient to be the custodian of Australian Trend Week for the final six years, and I’ve to say that is actually my dream job. Rising up, I used to be fascinated by pop artwork and the tradition of consumerism. This led me to a Bachelor of Arts diploma on the College of NSW, majoring in Media and Communications. In my final semester at UNSW, I did per week of labor expertise at Harper’s Bazaar journal, [which was] then printed by Australian Consolidated Press (ACP).

On the finish of the week, they requested me if I’d like to return again as soon as per week to proceed my work expertise, which I did for a few months. Simply as my remaining semester was ending, they supplied me a full-time job because the Promoting Coordinator at Harper’s Bazaar. This was the beginning of what can be an virtually 15-year profession in journal promoting, and I went on to work on mastheads akin to Cosmopolitan, Girlfriend and Bride to Be. It was the chance to affix IMG and run Afterpay Australian Trend Week that introduced me again to my trend roots.

What would you like individuals to learn about your business/your position?

I can completely perceive the style business can really feel formidable to these seeking to make their begin, however that’s additionally among the finest issues about trend – the breadth of expertise and areas of experience are large.

You solely have to go searching at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week to see simply how various the ecosystem is – from designers, fashions, photographers, journalists, occasion producers, retail consumers, finance and tech specialists, hair and make-up artists, content material creators, public relations, model entrepreneurs, even legal professionals and policymakers. I’d love for extra individuals to see simply how inclusive of various expertise outdoors of design and manufacturing the style business actually is.

What’s the most effective half about your position?

We’ve a strong platform, and I like with the ability to use it as a catalyst for constructive change within the business and cultural affect. The chance to run AAFW is clearly superb, however our different occasion, the Australian Trend Laureate, whereas smaller in scale is equally particular.

Now in its fifteenth 12 months, now we have expanded the Laureate from a Lifetime Achievement Award (acquired by business legends together with Carla Zampatti, Collette Dinnigan, Akira Isogawa, Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson) to as much as 10 classes together with Indigenous Designer of the 12 months, Girls in Management and Individuals’s Selection, which is set by the general public. The occasion is in November, and it brings the business collectively on the finish of yearly, offering a chance to have a good time their achievements amongst their friends (and in contrast to AAFW, with out the stress of ending a set and placing on a runway present)!

What would shock individuals about your position?

I all the time say to my crew that we’re extremely fortunate to be a part of a really small contingent of individuals on this planet who do what we do. There’s no different job in Australia fairly like mine, which some individuals discover fairly fascinating! Every single day I get to cope with such a large community of stakeholders – from established and rising designers and college students, to C-suite executives and authorities officers, to the media and journalists.

However in the course of the occasion, it’s all fingers on deck when you have got 23,000-plus attendees to handle throughout the week. You’ll typically discover me within the crew catering tent or queuing up for a espresso with the volunteers again of home… I like assembly individuals who work on the occasion behind the scenes and seeing how passionate they’re about serving to us make the occasion successful.

What expertise have served you nicely in your business?

Earlier in my profession, a former boss taught me in regards to the significance of a private model – issues like punctuality, courtesy, serving to others and reliability all contribute to your personal brand. Your private model is cultivated by way of consistency and can open doorways – individuals will all the time need to work with or advocate individuals who have a robust private model.

What recommendation would you give to somebody who desires to be in a task like yours sooner or later?

Be versatile! The style and retail landscapes are consistently altering, so companies have to adapt and people want to return on the journey… [it] will be powerful for some to depart their consolation zone. Even an occasion like Australian Trend Week, which has been operating for 26 years, has advanced from a commerce occasion to client built-in mannequin.

What a couple of sensible tip?

By no means cease studying. The fashion industry is in a relentless state of flux, and it may be overwhelming to try to keep throughout all the things. I be certain that I be taught one thing new each single day – I hearken to podcasts within the automobile on my drive to work, and I observe trend media on Instagram so I see updates as I scroll by way of my feed.

Our New York crew sends me the each day international trend information digest, which I learn on the high of the morning, and I by no means fall asleep with out studying the information headlines. Data is energy!

Learn the remainder of the How I Bought Right here sequence here.

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