Associate Spotlight: London's Lizzy Mackay Shines Bright

London-based Sr. Publisher Development Manager, Lizzy Mackay is a real go-getter. Voted CJ's "Up & Comer of the Year" in 2020, her enthusiasm, passion, and commitment to the development of her skills, knowledge, and team shines through every single day. Lizzy was kind enough to dish about her day-to-day, the best advice she's ever received, and the food she could eat forever.

Describe your career trajectory. Where did you work before CJ and how did you come across the opportunity to work here?

I started my career working for an estate agency based in Central London where I learned invaluable people and sales skills. I then sought the opportunity to work for a recruitment firm where we had a 360 approach. The key skill I learned here was the ability to seek out new opportunities and fill open roles with highly skilled individuals who were “in demand” candidates. This process required nurturing relationships with my clients and candidates to guarantee that they could trust me along the way. This led to the development of my own environmental desk where I helped recruit environmental engineers and specialists for infrastructure projects in the UK.

After a fantastic two years, I felt that this role was no longer for me and I was keen to work for a company where I could take my people skills into a situation working with day-to-day brands. I wanted to be able to relate more to the partners I was working with which led me to reach out to an old friend working at CJ, who put me in touch with the CJ team. After three interviews for the role of Network Development Manager, I was given the opportunity to accept the position and I couldn’t have been happier! I was able to transfer my people skills and competitive intelligence to create a strategy to onboard the best partners for CJ and introduce them to our fantastic array of brands.

What does your average workday look like in your role?

To be honest, every day is different which is why I enjoy this role so much! Some of my days might be focused more on project work—my most recent project is focused on publisher privacy and consent, rolling these solutions out to our publishers to solidify CJ’s tracking and consent integrity. Other days, I’m focused on scoping out and onboarding strategic and innovative partners into the CJ network.

Despite the differences in my days, there’s always one goal in mind: to ensure our publishers remain at the forefront of our advertiser’s minds. One aspect I’ve missed in the last 12 months is the ability to catch up with my publishers in person—I can’t wait to see some familiar faces again soon and get back to networking events!

What’s your favorite part about your job/working at CJ?

I have to say that the culture at CJ is second to none and it’s a pleasure to work with my colleagues every day. The last 12 months were unprecedented circumstances for the entire world and CJ was able to ensure that as a business we stayed motivated and united.

What’s the best advice you ever received?

My mum taught me to always take each day as they come instead of worrying about the future. There's no way to know what the future will bring!

Tell us about a project or accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career:

I won Up & Comer of the Year at CJ’s “Dare to Think Big Awards” in 2020, and I was honored to be acknowledged for such an amazing award. To have received this and be recognized by the global company for my efforts was a true highlight of my entire working career.

It’s impossible to please everyone to achieve your dream goals. If I’m making choices for the right reasons, then people will always respect that regardless.

Hardest lesson learned?

My hardest lesson learned is that it’s impossible to please everyone to achieve your dream goals. If I’m making choices for the right reasons, then people will always respect that regardless.

Who’s your role model, and why?

My Grandad, Raymond Whatman. He taught me the most important life values and always reminded me to make sure I love my job because then it will never feel like work…he’s totally right! He was the most charismatic, funny, and generous man. I’ll always be sure to follow in his footsteps and make him proud.

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

It’s too difficult to pick just one food, but I have to say I would absolutely love to eat Japanese cuisine every day of my life—you just can’t go wrong with that! It’s fresh, flavorsome, and there’s always so much variety!

What three things can you not live without?

Sunshine, contact lenses, and Reggie, my English Bulldog. The sun is such a mood booster, my eyesight isn't great so if I didn’t have my contact lenses then I wouldn’t be able to see anyone, and I can’t live without my pooch, Reggie!

Cheers, Lizzy!