Our Chief Marketing Officer
Hannah Hodkinson
Hannah, the Chief Marketing Officer, joined the company in the Philippines in 2020 and created the marketing team from scratch. Today, leading a team of 15, she is responsible for developing and accelerating Ortus’ marketing strategy and brand recognition across the globe.
Tell us about your role at The Ortus Club and how you got there.
I joined the company to set up and develop the marketing department. Until 2019, the operations team managed the marketing side of each event. Still, with the company growing so fast, The Ortus Club needed a specialised team to promote their events.
As the company grew, my role and that of my team have needed to adapt. Sometimes there can be high-pressure days, but we motivate each other to meet the challenge. Working with people from all over the world with different cultures, backgrounds, and points of view is refreshing and brings so much to the team’s creativity.
What was the most effective marketing strategy, or the one you are most proud of, that you helped get off the ground at The Ortus Club?
The answer to that has to be the incredibly successful virtual events, which the marketing team has worked on over the past two years. Although this strategy wasn’t planned, and we didn’t have much time to prepare for it, the pandemic left us no option but to find an alternative to our face-to-face events. It turned out to be a fantastic opportunity to grow the company! I had just started working for The Ortus Club, and I remember it being a time of radical changes. We developed the Ortus virtual roundtables idea, designed a new website, made a new sales deck, and created welcome packs and gifts to adapt to this new product. It was a tense but exciting time, and our hard work paid off.
Our first event was nerve-racking but, thankfully, it surpassed all our expectations, and we realised that a whole new commercial idea had presented itself to The Ortus Club. Our ability to react to an extreme situation and adapt our approach has helped us get to where we are today!
How has the experience of building the Ortus Marketing Team been?
The opportunity for me to build a marketing department has been a steep learning curve but, at the same time, a motivating experience. Starting something from scratch can be challenging, with many things to consider, such as working with other departments to create new processes and systems, hiring and training new team members, defining goals, and creating different roles!
In the space of a year and a half, the marketing department has grown from just three people to a team of 10 and will need to keep growing to meet the company’s needs. In anticipating these future needs, I have to constantly remodel the current team. That can be painful at times, but by staying adaptable, we are all learning, improving, and increasing our worth to the company and are all part of its success!
What do you like the most about working with The Ortus Club?
I love that the management team is so energised and highly motivated. We are constantly researching new ideas, and then we brainstorm how these could work for The Ortus Club. However, our daily marketing priority is to ensure that our events are tailor-made for the client, effective in engaging guests, and an enjoyable experience. The autonomy that the company offers enables me to make decisions quickly, try out new ideas, and see immediate results. We also deal with a wide range of people daily, helping to build a strong network of contacts.
What I currently really enjoy about my job is the flexibility working online has given me. I can connect with my team wherever I am. This means my work-life balance is better, and I feel more motivated to maintain a ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality. We all channel so much energy into keeping the motivation going at work—but that doesn´t stop after work! As a team, we connect socially, too—albeit virtually.
“Being resilient also means having the confidence to let go of one idea and embrace another direction. Don’t dwell on the failure; learn from it, and see it as a step on the path to success!”
What particular skill do you think your work with The Ortus Club has developed in you?
A start-up company, such as The Ortus Club, is fast-moving and ever-changing. I have learnt to be a much more resilient person when faced with difficult situations. Getting things wrong is part of making things even better eventually! Being resilient also means having the confidence to let go of one idea and embrace another direction. Don’t dwell on the failure; learn from it, and see it as a step on the path to success!
What’s one thing you are excited about regarding the future of The Ortus Club?
I am very proud of the product we offer to our clients and guests and recognise it as an exclusive service that all parties benefit from. Ortus events have connected with global companies from so many industry sectors, giving the people involved not only great networking opportunities but also unforgettable dining experiences.
I’m so excited that the company will be expanding in various directions, offering the marketing team new areas to apply their expertise. Whilst the pandemic halted many economies, it also kickstarted a change in how business is done. The Ortus Club has capitalised on this by adapting to virtual events and expanding quickly into new regions. As a result, we are now bigger and better than ever, and I can’t wait to see where 2022 takes us!
Meet the team
Discover new opportunities with Ortus and apply to join our team in Asia or Europe!