A lot has happened in the seven years since Charlie and I founded Atlas. We thrived in the good times, winning PRCA Public Affairs Agency of the Year in 2019, and remained resilient in tougher times. We watched as the media landscape changed dramatically, with Twitter arguably becoming more important than the 6 or the 10 o’clock news bulletins and scores of local papers closing. In politics, we’ve covered a referendum, two general elections, and three Prime Ministers.
No matter how busy things were, we never wavered from our mission to ‘be the happiest agency in London.’ Not because happiness was some fluffy ideal, but because happier people do better work, and better work keeps clients happy, brings in new ones, leading to more sustainable growth, and personal satisfaction. Running my own business helped me try out a bunch of ideas and refine my sense of myself, of good management and what leadership meant to me. It gave me licence to explore and articulate what I needed to do my best work, and then to bed that into an inclusive culture that encouraged others to do the same. It gave me the autonomy to say what flexibility I needed and then to offer flexibility to others, without fear, trusting that it would help them to do better work.
As the lionesses elegantly demonstrated, success is driven by great teamwork. And, despite what the media coverage of our politics might suggest, in my experience leadership is not a solo, heroic endeavour. All the most important changes in history have been made by groups of people standing together and supporting each other. Leadership is not a job title, it’s a behaviour, and its one I’ve seen every day from the fantastic team at Atlas Partners.
As I prepared to leave Atlas, Charlie made the exciting and bold choice to join forces with long-term friend Leon, coming together as Atticus Partners. While it is for them to share more about that future vision, I already know they will continue to grow from strength to strength thanks to the brilliant team. In merging, Charlie and Leon are bringing together some of the best talent in the public affairs industry and I am excited to see what they do next. You can read more from Charlie on that here.
It’s something of an inauspicious tradition in politics to “stand down to spend more time with one’s family.” Yet while I am very sad to be leaving Atlas, I will not be sad to have more time with my family; my brilliant, supportive husband Mitch. I will not be sad, as we make a big move to Adelaide later in the year, to enjoy the beach, the wineries and the Fringe Festival. For a few years – not forever. I will not be sad to have a bit of time and space to plot my next moves and reflect on what I’ve learned. I will also not be sad to see any of you who make it over for a visit!
I cannot leave without thanking you, our clients, friends, agency partners and family for following our progress and cheering us along.
I will miss you all, but I do hope you will stay in touch.
Vanessa
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ps Those of you who wish to connect and catch up can do so on my atlas email or UK mobile, which will continue to be the best way to find me for the next six months at least.