A talented group of North East marketers, all members of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) recently joined 1,300 people at Central Hall, London, for the annual CIM graduation ceremony.
The successful graduates were Laura Carrick, marketing and communications officer, Shared Interest, Jessica McCabe, head of sales and customer service, Sage Gateshead, Sophie Palleschi, marketing and communications executive, On a Roll Sandwich Company Ltd, Dan Kempin, global business development manager, ALE Offshore Services and Eileen Cotterill, marketing and communications manager at Livin.
Laura, Jess and Sophie graduated with a CIM Level 6 Diploma in Professional Marketing, Eileen completed CIM Level 6 Diploma in Professional Marketing and Dan graduated with a CIM Masters Level 7, Marketing Leadership Programme.
Laura, said: “I studied journalism at Sunderland University, but then moved into a more marketing focussed career during my time at Northumbria Police. I was keen to enhance my skills and knowledge and felt a marketing qualification could help me do this.
“I had previously studied with the North East Sales and Marketing Academy (NESMA) for a CAM Diploma in marketing communications at Level 3 and 4 and the natural progression was the CIM Diploma in Professional Marketing at Level 6 (BA Hons). I studied three modules; strategic marketing, driving innovation and mastering metrics. We had a choice for our third module between digital and innovation. I opted for innovation, which offered a greater insight into internal communications which helped support the work I was doing in my role at Shared Interest.
“I met with course director Veronica Swindale and thoroughly enjoyed the studying. My employer funded this and I was allocated time in the working week to study. Achieving the diploma has really boosted my confidence and also widened my network.
“Through my learning I have developed a hands-on role with the CIM and became a board member, helping to drive forward the strategy for the North region. In the future, I would definitely consider turning my attention to studying for a Level 7 qualification.”
Veronica Swindale, managing director at NESMA and vice-chair of CIM North East, said: “We were so pleased that these graduates were able to attend this year’s ceremony, which is open to anyone graduating in the CIM Professional Diplomas or Masters Marketing Leadership Programme. We are going to make it a key part of our calendar and encourage all our graduates to attend. The sense of pride and accomplishment that goes with donning the gown and receiving your degree is something we are very pleased to be part of and it is an honour to contribute to these managers’ careers by enabling them to achieve these qualifications.”
Charlie Nettle, chair of CIM North East, said: “It’s fantastic to see the students attending the big graduation event in London and being ambassadors not only for the marketing profession but for marketing in the North East. There are some real success stories happening in our region. We have great talent progressing with their careers and I would like to congratulate each one on their achievement and wish them the best of luck in their career journey.”
