At a Barcelona-based agency, I stepped into the role of Head of Digital with a genuinely blank page: no digital services department existed yet. Building one from the ground up and proving its commercial value quickly became one of the most hands-on leadership projects of my career.
Building the Department
I created and launched the entire digital services department, establishing SEO, digital PR, social media, and outreach/link acquisition as core offerings. That meant defining the service lines, the delivery processes, and the team structure needed to actually deliver them at agency standard from day one, not just adding “digital” to a pitch deck.
Taking the Stage and Winning Business Because of It
In May 2023, I spoke at the International Social Summit in Barcelona on social media in regulated markets, a notoriously tricky space where compliance and creativity constantly pull against each other. That talk didn’t just build credibility; it directly resulted in three new client acquisitions, a rare case of thought leadership converting straight into pipeline.
Winning New Business
Beyond that, I supported new business pitching more broadly across the agency, contributing to the acquisition of three international clients, work that meant translating the department’s new capabilities into propositions that resonated with prospects operating across different markets and regulatory environments.
Delivering for Global Gambling Brands
Some of the most demanding work I delivered was for global gambling brands, a sector where SEO and digital PR come with their own regulatory, platform, and reputational constraints. Delivering consistently high-quality service here helped secure a €5M portfolio of business for the agency, and taught me a great deal about operating at a high standard in a highly regulated, high-scrutiny industry.
Hosting an International Women’s Day Panel
I also hosted an International Women’s Day panel, bringing together guests from Google, Zurich Insurance, Opera, and Apple — a genuinely rare line-up to get in one room, and a reminder of the kind of industry relationships and credibility the department had built in a short space of time. Conversations like that one mattered to me personally, not just professionally.
Industry Recognition
The department’s work was also shortlisted for two EGR Awards 2023, in the Best Marketing and Best PR Supplier categories. This external recognition is the standard we’d set from day one, holding up against some of the best in the industry.
What I Took From This Role
Building a department from nothing forces a different kind of discipline: you’re not optimising an existing machine, you’re designing one while proving it works in real time.
Building or scaling a digital function and need someone who’s done it from zero? Get in touch, I’d love to hear about your challenge.