Meet member CSM's Aled Rees

This week we meet Aled, CSM's Managing Director - Strategy & Insights.

What’s your golden rule?

To not have a Golden Rule, or put another way, to try (its difficult) to remain flexible and instinctive as much as possible.

Who has been your biggest influence?

Professionally, my old boss, Graham Bogle from my first job at Philip Morris, who is now the promoter of the Monaco F1 Grand Prix. I never met anyone more dedicated to attention to detail!
Personally, my Father.

What is your most hated business expression?

Blue sky thinking! A horrid expression if ever I heard one!

How can marketers be braver?

By thinking ‘outside the box’….no that’s  a joke (see above)! By remembering that instinct is often the mother of the greatest marketing ideas and concepts. I say that as someone who runs Strategy and Insights at CSM (a sports marketing agency), and focusses primarily on data and the insights that can be derived from them!

What’s the biggest risk you’ve taken in your career?

Leaving the relative comfort and safety of the corporate world ( last job was at Vodafone) and going over to the agency side! More entrepreneurial, more varied,  more customer centric, more challenging and less safety nets.

Which leader do you admire most and why?

Warren Gatland. He single handedly transformed Welsh rugby ( I am biased obvs) by recruiting the best management team, by transforming the culture of an underperforming rugby team, by reconnecting with a key audience ( the Welsh rugby mad nation) and by creating a performance led ethos that has allowed Wales to punch well above its weight and rise back to the top of world rugby. Oh and he has done a pretty good job with the Lions too!

What’s your favourite word?

‘Hwyl’….a Welsh word that conveys a complex and intangible quality of passion and a sense of belonging.

Tell us a secret

I was a mod and loved Ska and Quadrophenia when I was a teenager.