Interview: Susan Hallam – still eager to sharpen her digital saw

As she names the new chief executive and managing director of digital agency Hallam and prepares to take a more strategic role 20 years after setting up her company, Susan Hallam spoke to TheBusinessDesk.com about her time at the helm.

Susan Hallam MBE is stepping back to allow Julio Taylor and Jake Third, who will take up chief executive officer and managing director roles respectively.

As part of the changes, Susan, who founded Hallam in 2000, will step down from her position as CEO, but will remain an integral figurehead within the company as an industry analyst, public speaker, thought leader and advisor.

What changes have you seen in the industry locally?
There has been a phenomenal growth in the digital industries in Nottingham since I set the company up. Back then, I could count on one hand the number of my competitors in Nottingham’s digital marketing sphere. Now, Nottingham is home to some of the UK’s leading digital players.

For me, the transformation of the Lace Market into the home of digital businesses over the last 20 years has been a major success.

More recently, the investment in the hugely successful Creative Quarter is a credit to the City Council and Nottingham Trent University.

Jake Third and Julio Taylor

You were seen very much as a pioneer when you launched Hallam, but a number of other agencies have since opened in the city – competing in the space. How have you coped with that?
Take a look at any of the top international digital marketing industry awards, and you will always see several Nottingham businesses on the shortlist. It makes me proud to see Nottingham take up a position as a digital leader, and it is a reputation we richly deserve. Most importantly, it is a virtuous circle.

By having the critical mass of industry leaders in Nottingham, even more successful businesses want to set-up here or relocate and potential employees are willing to relocate here. Having strong competition means all of the city’s agencies have to stay at the top of their game.

When it comes to competing with each other, it is good to remember that all boats float on a rising tide.

How have you ensured you continually evolve the company?
I learned two very important business lessons over the course of the last 20 years.

First, surround yourself with people who are smarter than you are. One of my greatest business achievements was to build a team of exceptional individuals who are second to none when it comes to taking advantage of the latest digital developments.

The second lesson is to hire people for attitude, not just skills. And by having colleagues with a great attitude to learning and innovating means we are evolving on a daily basis, discovering new techniques, learning new skills. And even as I step back from leading the company, you can be sure I’ll still be sharpening my digital saw every day.

Were there any particular turning points for the business?
There have been two key turning points for the business. First, I operated the company on my own for nearly 10 years, so the decision to take the plunge and hire my first employees kicked off a chain reaction that grew the business to its current size, growing at a steady and sustainable rate.

The second transformational moment was to be invited into Google’s agency development coaching programme. It opened my eyes to what it takes to be a world-class international agency, and gave me the confidence to build Hallam to such a point that this year we won Google’s top agency award for Growing Businesses Online.

How do you see the future of the company?
The last 20 years have been an incredible journey and looking back at how the agency has grown since 2000 to what it is now fills me with immense pride.

This change has been in the pipeline for a while now and I’m thrilled to see Julio and Jake, who have been integral colleagues to me in recent years, step up into these new roles. Hallam has showcased transformational results and won incredible awards for its work over the years to become a real force in the digital marketing scene and I’m excited to see it continue to grow under their guidance.