Rosie Wilson is PR director at Ingenuity, a new business agency helping agencies meet and win new clients and brand marketers find the best agency partners.
Based in Leeds, Wilson joined Ingenuity in 2022 as PR senior account manager until a series of promotions landed her the role of PR director.
From her luckiest break to best failure, Wilson shares all the lessons she’s learnt.
Which single daily habit or practice could you not do without?
Am I starting this on too pretentious a note if I say my daily meditation?
I sometimes feel like I have chaotic energy (!) but I endeavour to do 10 minutes of guided breathing every day, which does wonders for clearing my head.
What’s been your luckiest break?
My job at Ingenuity. After deciding to leave journalism I’d become a bit lost, and I floated around comms-aligned roles for a few years. But it wasn’t until I started working with Ingenuity – and particularly my manager, Jessie – that I suddenly felt totally focused, empowered and trusted to do my best work.
That was almost two years ago now, and I remain thankful that I get to work with cool people (both my colleagues and clients) and have a laugh at work every single day.
What’s your best failure?
Leaving my journalism job in Ibiza. I was an ‘On-island Editor’ reviewing bars, clubs and restaurants. It was the dream job on paper (and on Instagram) – but it was relentlessly full-on, terribly isolating and a lot of it just wasn’t really my thing.
Quitting a ‘picture perfect’ job challenged my perceptions about who I am and what I want from my career. In the six years since, I’ve made different decisions than I otherwise would have.
What is the best investment you’ve ever made, either financial or time?
I spent an awful lot of my 20s dedicating every penny and minute I had to travel. I’ve seen some amazing parts of the world, learned a lot of things that opened my mind and met some of my best friends.
My friends always joke that I had about five gap years. Though I knew I wanted a career I could be proud of, I didn’t necessarily know how to find my way in – I didn’t start my first PR agency job until I was nearly 30. I sincerely believe I’ve grown much more doing it this way than I ever could have without those experiences.
Which podcast or book would you recommend others to read and why?
I love anything at all by Jon Ronson, and I’ve devoured everything he’s written or recorded for years now. In fact, he was one of my main inspirations for getting into journalism – I love that his work is investigative and clever, but still a bit weird.
It started with a dog-eared copy of The men who stare at goats plucked from my parents’ bookshelf when I was a teenager, but more recently I’ve been loving the Things fell apart podcast. I just love the way he thinks.
What one piece of advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
Relax and stop trying to control the narrative too much. It will all work itself out in the end.
Who or what has had the single biggest influence on your working life?
My parents! They’re so cool. My dad worked his way up from abattoir to head office at a supermarket – refusing to take a single day’s sick (possibly ever?) in the process. When things went wrong at work, he’d say ‘we’re selling beans, not saving lives.’
My mum, meanwhile, has always just been the most compassionate, fun, hardworking person I know – growing up she was a full-time carer for my brother, worked in childcare, and went and got her degree in her 40s.
Our house was the party house – but my parents are both grafters, too. They set me up for a life of working hard, whilst not taking it too seriously!
Tell us something about you that would surprise people.
My first (and arguably most notable to date) piece of viral coverage was when I invented the word ‘vontouring’ for a silly press release I wrote ten years ago. Google it at your peril…
What does success look like to you?
I think it’s all about overall satisfaction. If you can make your team happy, make your clients happy and feel genuinely proud of the work you’ve done, that’s demonstrative of massive career success in my eyes!
