The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

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By Angela Haggerty, Reporter

March 6, 2013 | 5 min read

The Drum meets the CEO of London's Hospital Club, Sue Walter, in the latest of a series with twistorstick speaking to leading figures to find out what it takes to get a job in industry

Interview by Marc ShelkinCEO of London's Hospital Club, Sue Walter, believes the stars are closer than people think and London creative industry job hunters just have to push themselves to reach for them.The head of London's private members club for the creative industries took a scenic route to get to where she is and says the creative industries sector is the place to be: "If I wasn't in this industry I would find a way to be. This is just by far the most exciting industry and I read somewhere that the creative industries in London are growing at a faster rate than any other, including the financial sector and professional services."I can see why, because it's where innovation happens, it's where tomorrow's idea, tomorrow's business, tomorrow's piece of art, tomorrow's piece of writing is coming from. If I was somewhere else I'd be trying to find a way of getting back here."The Hospital Club, in the heart of London's Covent Garden, opened in 2004 after founders Paul Allen and Dave Stewart renovated an old hospital building. The club provides a meeting space for those in the creative industries - such as music, business, art, film and new media - and is used as a venue for exhibitions, installations and parties. However, the majority of Walter's career was spent in HR before she took a leap of faith."I'll be really honest, if you'd told me eight years ago I'd end up doing a CEO job I'd never have believed it," she explained. "I was a career HR professional. I've got about 18 years' experience working at senior level in HR and I honestly thought I was going to retire as a HR person but I was very fortunate, I worked with a really progressive CEO and we worked together on most of the business strategies."Eventually, he said I think you should do this because you already know how to, so I took over a very small business and was absolutely terrified because I'd spent 18 years telling CEOs how to do it and suddenly I had to decide how to do it myself, but I found it was very intuitive once you sat down to think about strategy.""The best bit of career advice is reach for the stars," she continued. "They're closer than you think and quite often we hold ourselves back, we create all of the reasons why we shouldn't do something. I was quite content for 18 years to work in HR and continue for another 20 years working in HR because I told myself that's all I could do. It took someone else to come along and say, actually, you could something more than that. I believe there was nothing special about me - I think inherently we're all capable of doing something more than we're doing, so it's really about pushing yourself to do that."Members of the club have the opportunity to meet and network with other creatives, often leading to collaboration and development of new ideas and businesses. It provides entertainment, such as cabaret and comedy nights, while offering practical services and facilities to assist those developing jobs and careers in the creative industries."The members are an eclectic mix of people that you get in one place," Walter added. "Everybody that walks through the door has a dream, has a vision, a plan, they're all entrepreneurs and every person you talk to has the most interesting, exciting ideas and stories. If you stay here long enough you get to see the end of their stories, or where their stories are going and you get to see them grow and develop. I think that's really satisfying."To round off the interview, Walter answered a few quick-fire questions.Private members clubs or nightclubs?Private members clubsOlympic gold medal or an Oscar?Olympic gold medalThe most famous member here?I couldn't possibly sayThe least famous member here?Probably meThe best looking member?I couldn't possibly sayCreatives or suits?CreativesMoney or happiness?HappinessDegree or no degree?Doesn't matterArt directors or copywriters?CopywritersAnt or Dec?AntIndependent agencies or networked agencies?NetworkedTea or coffee?TeaThe Only Way is Essex or Made in ChelseaNeitherHome & Away or Neighbours?NeighboursDon Draper or Roger Sterling?Oh that's a good one... Roger SterlingAnd lastly, twist or stick?TwistVisit The Drum's job section to view the latest jobs in advertising, design, digital media and marketing in your area