Richard joined in November 2020 to lead Occuity’s Digital Marketing initiatives.
Driven and commercially astute, Richard is a CIM qualified marketing strategist with over 12 years’ experience spanning several industry sectors including meetings and events, hospitality, property and, most recently, software and digital marketing consultancy.
With his extensive knowledge of digital marketing techniques, Richard is experienced at delivering engaging online and offline campaigns to increase awareness and lead generation.
With his creative and entrepreneurial spirit, Richard is the perfect fit with Occuity’s innovative culture as he loves looking at the big picture to deliver clear direction and lead the marketing function, whilst being equally comfortable getting hands-on with projects.
Let's have a chat with Richard!
When did you get involved with Occuity? Why did you feel it was the right thing for you?
I first heard about Occuity on LinkedIn when I came across an advert for a digital marketing manager. The job itself looked great - I love marketing and it was a similar position in many ways that I had done before, but it was when I started to research the company, that I started to get excited.
I was reminded of the famous Simon Sinek "Millennials" speech in which he stated Millennials wanted: "to work in a place with purpose, we want to make an impact, we want free food and bean bag chairs.” I realised that whilst I'd worked on some great projects for some big companies and had a rewarding career to date, I wasn't really adding anything to 'society'.
As a small start-up, being able to meet and talk to the founders during the recruitment process allowed me to quickly realise that Occuity would provide that most crucial of motivations - purpose and impact. The vision of the company really resonated with me, it put a fire in my belly that I now realise had been missing.
What excites you the most about your job?
Simply put, our vision and values. I really believe in them. I prospect that the work the team are doing and my work to support them could improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people is really exciting.
So often, marketing is seen as the communications function of a business. There to make things sound good, look good and attract attention - with various goals to be achieved after that. The truth is obviously that marketing can and should be so much more.
As a start-up, Occuity provided me with a unique and exciting opportunity to use all my knowledge and experience to really have an impact on the business.
One of the first things we did was look at the brand - but not from a purely visual basis - this was in fact the easy bit. The most important piece was creating a brand where the vision and values are truly lived and upheld. We have set strong foundations (you can read about our vision and values here) but the job here will be ongoing. I want to ensure our V&V are never forgotten, to make sure they are lived and breathed by everyone who works for Occuity now and in the future.
What is your experience with Diabetes?
Before starting work at Occuity I knew something about the 'problems' of diabetes - my grandmother, childhood friend and most recently close relative being diagnosed. If I am honest, however, my perception of the disease was probably along the lines of, "it's not good, but it's not too bad either", and "It's something you can manage". I wonder if this is a view held by other people. My thinking is that as it's such a well-known disease (on the surface) that people are perhaps a little complacent about it - like I was?
Fortunately, through my discussions with our diabetes community, and researching to learn more about its impacts, I have realised this is very much not the case! Sadly, diabetes is a terrible disease that can cause pain and suffering to the millions affected as we as their loved ones. For me one stat brings this home - diabetes accounts for 10% of all healthcare costs. That is huge and it's getting worse. Diabetes is a growing problem.
Personally, I was also sent for a check-up recently after a routine eye examination at the optician. This truly scared me. I didn't want to have diabetes. Fortunately, it turns out that I didn't, but even if I had, I now know that finding out sooner rather than later is the best way. The process of finding out was rather stressful, taking a number of days waiting for the results.
It's this very personal experience that has made me see the value of a screening device like the one we are developing at Occuity - which would provide earlier warning, quicker and easier.
There are, it is estimated, 1million people in the UK who are diabetic, but have yet to be diagnosed. Screening would help identify these people and get the support they need to minimise the damages of the disease.
What do you think Occuity's future will look like?
It's super exciting. We're growing as a team and as a business, so opportunities abound and we're working on cutting-edge technology that has the potential to improve the lives of millions of people! The future is looking bright!
To meet more of our team and find why they chose to work at Occuity click here.