A career in communication. A mind drawn to what’s next.
I started in journalism in 1997, then moved into major advertising networks and later built my own advisory firm, helping brands and teams adapt each time the work changed.
Today I help agencies, in-house teams and founders give their people AI and the right workflows, so the same team does better work, faster and more profitably. AI adds to what each person can do. My job is to make sure everyone comes along.
How I got here
1997
It started with the news
Helping voices reach the people who needed to hear them.
I was 18 when journalism caught me. I was fascinated by how news travels until it reaches the reader, and I loved telling what was happening around me: covering events, asking questions and helping voices reach the people who needed to hear them.
In 2002 I moved into advertising at Leo Burnett, handling press relations, events and content for global brands such as General Motors, Nokia and Procter & Gamble. It was still storytelling, just on a much bigger stage.
2002
Into the agencies
It was still storytelling, just on a much bigger stage.
2007
Leading across borders
A good idea only travels when you understand the people and the context it lands in.
At BBDO, I went on to lead communications across the Pan Arab region for governments, multinationals and NGOs. I trained our teams in press relations, digital activation, CRM and crisis management.
Working across markets taught me that a good idea only travels when you understand the people and the context it lands in.
In the Gulf region, I led a department of 60 people across several markets as the agency brought digital into its traditional work. Adding a new discipline was the easy part. The real work was changing how teams planned, collaborated and budgeted together.
I still approach change that way. It has to work for the people and the processes around it, or it doesn’t last.
2014
Bringing digital in
The real work was changing how teams planned, collaborated and budgeted together.
2020
Building my own
Owning the firm changed how I saw the work.
In 2020 I founded Alter Talks, a boutique branding and digital marketing advisory firm working with clients across North America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
I ran every department, from client servicing and creative to production, media, PR and digital, with full responsibility for operations and finances. Owning the firm changed how I saw the work. I was now responsible for how everything came together and what it delivered for the business.
Today I work with clients across Canada and the US. One of my current focuses is leading a marketing team’s move to AI-enabled work, across search and AI visibility, CRM and lead generation, automation, reporting, content and social.
Much of this used to go to outside specialists. The team now handles it in-house, and I lead the AI training that helps them use it with confidence. I’m sharing what came out of this work in a series of case studies.
That’s what interests me about AI: what changes when people learn to use it well.
2024
Now: AI-enabled teams
What changes when people learn to use it well.
The work behind the journey
Over the years I’ve worked on brands including General Motors, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, Samsung, Visa and Nokia. The tools have changed since. My curiosity about how people communicate, and how new ideas become useful, hasn’t. It’s what draws me to AI now.
The part people don’t expect: psychology
I hold a bachelor’s and a master’s in clinical psychology, and I’ve worked as a psychologist supporting more than 150 families. It shapes how I approach AI more than anything technical. Whether a new way of working sticks usually comes down to confidence, habits and trust.
Experience, backed by study
More than 25 years in agencies and with client teams taught me how marketing really works. When AI started changing that work, I went back to study it properly, so the advice I give rests on both experience and the right academic grounding.
If you’re building the same skills, these are the programs I found most useful. For strategy, Kellogg’s AI-First Marketing Strategy program at Northwestern. For bringing people along, Prosci’s change management certification. For the rules that keep a brand safe, Oxford’s course on AI governance. For search, IBM’s specialization in SEO and generative search. And for daily practice, Google’s AI Essentials and Analytics certifications and Anthropic’s courses on AI fluency and on rolling AI out across a team.
Earlier in my career, I studied digital marketing with Google, reputation management with Curtin University, and crisis and issues management with ESCP-EAP and ESA. I work in English, French and Arabic.
