A Day in the Life of Alex Ajao

Oiling the cogs of integrationwhich tends to mean meetings, with my agency colleagues or conference calls with clients none of my clients are based in London so Ive become very adept at building relationships over the phone.

Company

Dialogue DLKW 

Job Title

Account Director

What keeps you busy all day?

Oiling the cogs of integration…this tends to mean meetings, with my agency colleagues or conference calls with clients.  None of my clients are based in London so I’ve become very adept at building relationships over the phone.

What keeps you awake at night?

Worrying that my team members are getting on OK and are happy – being an Account Manager isn’t an easy job as there are a lot of people to keep happy.

Describe your working day?

Normally starts with the bus and a good book, or a cycle, both of which get me to my desk in a better mood than the tube.

If I’m in the office I’ll usually be in creative briefings or reviews, or at my desk working on the next presentation or piece of strategy.

Generally I spend a few days a month in either Edinburgh or West Yorkshire seeing clients, which tends to mean a lot of time on the laptop either on planes, in trains or in waiting rooms – Wi-Fi is amazing as it turns Wakefield station into a useful place to be!

What’s your busiest time of day?

First thing in the morning when briefs are going in, and normally 3 minutes before I begin to entertain the idea of leaving.

Best day at work?

I’m sure there was once a day that the brief came in from the client early, everyone agreed in the creative review, the client approved all the concepts with no amends, we won the award at the NMA’s and I found twenty quid in my back pocket on the way home.  I just can’t remember when it was.

Worst day at work?

7th July 2005 – I was on a train from Kings Cross to an internet forum I was co-chairing in Halifax which left at about 8am. News filtered through about what was going on in town, but by the time it had the phone network had gone into meltdown meaning I couldn’t contact any friends. My co-chair (from a media company) missed the train and couldn’t get out of London.  I ended up chairing a meeting for which I was half prepared, whilst my mind was about 200 miles away. With no trains back I ended up staying the night and returning the following day.

What brands/accounts have you worked on?

Tourism Australia, COI, BAA, Halifax, Intelligent Finance, Vauxhall, Bank of Scotland, Everyman, Clerical Medical.

Name one thing you have achieved that made you bosses sit up and notice?

Managing to keep calm in the hairiest of situations.

Ambitions?

I’d like to continue to expand the digital side of the integrated agency, and share the value digital marketing can bring with more clients.

Advice to rising stars?

It’s never too early to think about the future, where you want to get to and what niche you want to carve out.

Quote from boss?

‘Alex is a rare breed as he combines vast amounts of passion and calm in equal measures. Consequently he inspires his team, is respected by his clients and throughout the agency – and yes, he’s also an absolute pleasure to work with.’
Paul Biggins, CEO of Dialogue DLKW