Secrets of my success: Ogilvy & Mather's UK chief Annette King

Ogilvy & Mather's UK boss, Annette King, explains how a spell in New York and militant planning have helped her reach the top of one of London's leading advertising firms.

I am the chief executive of Ogilvy & Mather Group UK, one of the leading advertising companies in London, employing 1800 people and working with some of the best brands in the world.

We have 10 companies in the group, providing everything from PR to advertising, customer engagement to shopper marketing.

At the moment, I’m spending a lot of time organising our big move to Sea Containers House, the iconic building on the South Bank where we’ll take up residence in January next year.

We can’t wait to be part of London’s cultural and creative mile.

The rest of the time I’m working with clients, pitching, hiring, coaching, experimenting, investing and learning.

What I love most are the people.

I doubt there’s any other industry where you get to work with such a diverse set of talents, personalities and eccentrics.

And the biggest challenges generally revolve around… people.

They create our product with their minds and their hands.

Finding the best, helping them grow and trying to keep them motivated takes a lot of time and is rarely straightforward.

Moving to New York when I was 26 and living there for five years.

I learned many things — to be confident, to take feedback, to aim high, to be direct and, possibly most usefully, to exist on five hours’ sleep a night.

Working for an unacceptably behaved person for seven-and-a-half months. I had a plan but then he got the bullet and all was well.

I am a militant planner, my PA is a militant planner. My husband is a militant planner.

With a nine-year-old son, a seven-year-old daughter, many clients, many talented people to work with, a vibrant industry to take part in both in and out of the office, this is essential to not just successful living, but survival!

Choose where you work with care.

Don’t complain if where you are doesn’t suit you.

Get up and find a place that does and then make the most of it.