In our very first “offline” edition, we catch-up with Oak Furnitureland and Monsoon’s former Head of eCommerce Jaime Hill, and find out what’s on her streaming list, favourite book…as well as what advice she would give her younger self.
Why did you move into a career in digital?
I fell into it. Wasn’t my chosen career path, but it was a natural progression from the offline marketing I was doing at the time, and I grabbed the opportunity as it arose. Soon found I really enjoyed it and was pretty good at it to boot.
How do you switch off?
Exercise. Only way I can switch off. I literally focus on nothing but what I’m doing. Great for stress relief too. My preferred exercise is running, or weightlifting.
What’s your favourite book (personal and professional)
Personal: No current favourite, but I’m very partial to Nordic crime – Norwegian and Icelandic at the moment. Professional: Today it’s Emotion by Design by Greg Hoffman or Creativity Inc by Ed Catmull, but it changes daily.
What’s on your watchlist (streaming services)?
Disney: Young Woman at Sea, Lance, Grey’s Anatomy, Free Solo
Netflix: Emily in Paris, Unsolved Mysteries, Sprint, The Umbrella Academy, Mountain Queen
What’s your favourite inspirational quote?
“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” By Ayn Rand.
Fun fact about you?
I used to be a very good track athlete in my youth, ranking 4th Nationally in my age group for multi-events. I’m also a PADI qualified scuba diver and can ride a motorbike.
What’s your most proud professional achievement to-date?
Too many to mention, but they range from campaign achievements, to building successful teams, to launching new features & functionality, to achieving tough financial targets. There’s at least one thing from each role I’ve had that I can be very proud of!
What 1 thing would you tell your younger self?
Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something, work hard and find a way to do it, to get what you want.
What’s been your favourite Olympic Event from Paris 2024?
Women’s 800m final, my old event! Closely followed by the Men’s 1500m final and the Sport Climbing.
What’s the biggest opportunity in digital right now?
Customer experience, leading to loyalty. Too many brands are missing a trick to retain customers by not focusing on improving their overall customer experience. Too often they focus on the experience, or parts of, to obtain a customer, but don’t think about joining up the journey once they become a customer and often neglect them.
And anything involving data – too many organisations have data in too many places, not always accessible or usable by those who need it. Once you have a clear understanding of your data, and therefore customers & their behaviours, you are in a better position to both attract and retain customers with various initiatives. Dirty data means bad decision making and costs you money. And in the case of AI, dirty data can lead to bias and poor experiences.
About Jaime…
Jaime has over two decades of experience as a Marketing & Ecommerce professional with a successful track record leading teams and developing strategy to transform organisations’ digital capability and channels to market.
She has had success in roles at brands including Avis, Barclays, Dairy Crest and Oak Furnitureland, and across a wide range of B2B and B2C vertical markets. Most recently, Jaime was Interim Head of Ecommerce & Trading at Monsoon.
A graduate of the Institute of Digital Marketing and qualified Executive Business Coach, Jaime’s professional passion is for making life easier for the customer at every touch point. Connect with Jaime on LinkedIn
Upcoming e-Event: Digital Superchats 14
