Three members of staff at creative agency Fluid Ideas have been promoted to newly-created leadership roles heading key teams.
Sarah Bowler has become the head of support and delivery, Michelle Hazelgrove has been appointed head of people and culture, and Jamie Hovell has taken up the position of head of image and motion.
Joint Managing Director Phil Harvey said: “These are all new positions created through the expansion of the business and reflect the brilliant work that Sarah, Michelle and Jamie have been doing in supporting and enhancing the standards of creativity and service delivered to our clients.
“All three are deeply protective of our culture and values, and they are the ideal people to take up these new positions as we continue to develop.
“Our strategy is to always promote internally whenever possible to help our team progress their careers. We’re very proud of the fact that we have a 90 per cent employee retention rate, more than double the industry average, and our approach of nurturing and promoting our own people is ingrained in the fabric of Fluid.”
Sarah joined Derby-based Fluid Ideas in 2019 in a client services role and has helped to grow the agency’s full-service offering by managing projects, building relationships with clients and supporting the wider team on new concept work and pitches as a creative copywriter.
Phil said: “Sarah has a proven record of not just delivering projects and leading relationships but also of shaping the work that leaves our door, both creatively and strategically. She is a very passionate gatekeeper of Fluid’s standards.
“As we continue to attract more and more high-profile and exciting brands as clients, we want to make sure our high standards of service and quality are maintained, for our new partners and clients that have been by our side for many years. Sarah and her wider team will be key to that.”
Michelle joined Fluid in 2017 as a website designer. Her role as head of people and culture will see her working with the senior leadership team to implement and develop the agency’s workplace wellbeing programme, which is called Fluid Happiness.
It involves mental health awareness and wellbeing campaigns, healthcare benefits, staff training and progression, social events, evolving Fluid’s hybrid working environment and implementing onboarding programmes for new starters.
Phil said: “Michelle has split her role in recent years, combining that of website designer with a growing focus on protecting and nurturing our values and culture and supporting the confidence and happiness of our expanding team.
“We believe a happy, fulfilled team delivers better creative work and a better, more caring service for our clients. As we approach 60 people, Michelle’s ideas, intuition and emotional intelligence are becoming increasingly important in ensuring Fluid continues to grow healthily and happily. Her knowledge of our people and the business is instinctive.”
Jamie, who has a master’s degree in 2D and 3D visualisation from Loughborough University, joined Fluid in 2017 as a CGI artist. Alongside this work, he has played a central role in projects spanning photography, video, branding, motion graphics and augmented reality.
Phil said: “The image and motion team has grown organically to be eight-strong with a diverse skill set comprising photography, video, animation, CGI, augmented reality, virtual reality and more. For an agency the size of Fluid to have an in-house team offering this range of highly specialised skills is very rare.
“Jamie is a superb CGI artist and has a fantastic eye for quality. He is a grounding, calming and positive presence who can link the different disciplines together with a can-do attitude. He balances genuine talent with genuine humility and is an excellent ambassador for Fluid and protector of our values.
“We’re entering an exciting new era at Fluid, with complete confidence that our agency, and the people who make it great, are growing in a way that’s healthy and happy – for Fluid and our clients. Loyal and talented people, like Sarah, Michelle and Jamie, becoming more prominent and influential in the agency proves our commitment to re-thinking and evolving our structure, as we flourish as a business.”
