Tamara Littleton 00:00
This is the Genuine Humans podcast brought to you by Social Element. I’m Tamara Littleton
Wendy Christie 00:18
and I’m Wendy Christie
Tamara Littleton 00:22
in our podcast, we’ll discover the stories of the leaders behind the brands and the trailblazers who are making a real difference in our industry. We’ll delve into how they got to where they are today,
Wendy Christie 00:33
and we’ll hear about the genuine humans who supported and influenced them along the way.
Tamara Littleton 00:38
Welcome back to Genuine Humans, I’m here with my fabulous co-host, Wendy Christie, Wendy, how are you doing?
Wendy Christie 00:50
I’m very well. Thank you. I think I’m feeling a little better than you have been the past few days. How are you feeling now?
Tamara Littleton 00:56
I’m feeling a lot better. I can’t work out if this is allergies, colds or whatever, but yeah, delighted to be feeling a bit better, and I’m also delighted to welcome our Genuine Humans guest today, and that is Gaelle Comte, who is Senior Vice President of Lions Learning at Cannes Lions, where she combines her love of technology and creativity, and she leads the Lions Learning pillar. So welcome to the podcast, Gaelle!
Gaelle Comte 01:22
Thank you so much for having me.
Tamara Littleton 01:24
I’m a big fan of Cannes having been there sort of six years, and did it this year as well. And I think it just gets better and better. I am a huge fan of everything connected to Cannes Lions. But I’d love to know, Gaelle, how you got to where you are now. Do you want to give us a bit of a flavour of how you got into the industry and how you got to where you are now?
Gaelle Comte 01:45
Yeah, of course. And if you’ll allow me, I’ll go even a bit further back, because I think it’s, it’s relevant here. But I grew up in the French Alps, and I grew up in a small village, you know, I’m from a working-class family, and at the time, I thought the jobs, the careers were the ones that I could see. You know, you were a postie, you were a boulangère, you were a cleaner. But I think it never even occurred to me that marketing or advertising were jobs that, you know, people were working in these fashions. And in high school, I was doing quite well academically, but my parents wanted me to go into an apprenticeship to become an optician, because they saw it as a safe job, a job that was maybe a level up in terms of what I could aspire to in our village.
Gaelle Comte 02:31
But I had a teacher who pushed me to explore other routes, and I ended up going to university in Lyon, and I started in uni studying English because I loved the language. I loved everything about British culture, and I thought that’s going to be brilliant. I’m going to learn to speak fluently. But it turns out that I was learning how to write in English, but never actually spoke the language, and ended up dropping out. I had a brilliant year off working in English pubs, dating English guys who were studying in Lyon. It was brilliant. But at the end of that year, I realised I had to sort of go back on track. And I found a programme for international trade and marketing, and I applied to it. And, you know, I spent the next five years studying, doing international internships, including a few months in Cardiff, where I was invited into the Welsh club, mostly because I was not English, I think. And it was great, because it was like being abroad. You know, in the Welsh club, everybody speaks Welsh, and at the end of my studies, I had to do an internship abroad. And that also ended up being my first job in London. And my first couple of jobs, really.
Gaelle Comte 03:41
The first one was working for a small company who sold French furniture to British retailers. So obviously they needed someone who could speak French to the French manufacturers. But it was very much an admin job despite, you know, I’d studied marketing and advertising, but it was quite hard to break into the industry when you’re not a native speaker, and also when you just turned up with a suitcase and, you know, an interview for an internship. So, it’s not as if I knew anyone to help me get that job. I then moved on to be a business manager assistant in the international division of Debenhams. So that was, you know, a slightly bigger company, but I was still very much doing many jobs.
Gaelle Comte 04:24
I got a break managing advertising for Southeastern, a train operating company covering London and the South East. And I became their advertising manager at the time, I was managing a budget of about 3 million pounds on the advertising and honestly, even to this day, I don’t really know how I got the job, because I really had no experience, and I would have meetings with my agency, so with my creative agency and my media agency, and I pretend to understand what they were talking about. You know, they were talking about 6 sheets and 48 sheets and all these different formats. And then, “yeah, it’s a good idea. Let me think about that, and I’ll come back to you.” And then I’d get back to the office and I’d just Google furiously all these terms that I’d written down and that I didn’t know about. But that was, that was my first experience, and that’s really how I got into marketing, into advertising. And it was a great first experience, because we were working with this brilliant ad agency called Rapier, and they created this beautiful creative work for us on, really, on a shoestring budget. And I think that was my first real big introduction to what advertising and marketing is. And yeah, it was, that’s how I got in, basically.
Tamara Littleton 05:39
You were hooked. But I think it’s so good you know that when people are given the chance to learn on the job, because you know that as long as you have good people around you, and you have the right attitude and people sort of steering you, then I think that’s a good thing about the industry.
Gaelle Comte 05:54
I think they took a chance on me, though, to be completely honest, and I don’t quite know what they saw in me, but it worked out and moving to Carphone Warehouse and looking after the international advertising campaigns, then News UK and then Virgin. But that was really that first job that sort of propelled me into the industry, and got me to understand the ecosystem around marketing and advertising as well.
Tamara Littleton 06:15
And can you give us a little flavour of what it is that you’re doing now with the Lions?
Gaelle Comte 06:23
Yes, so I joined Lions, who are the company behind Cannes Lions Walk c
Contagious as well in August 2021 so it was still covid years and, like many events, businesses, Lions had suffered from the repeated unpredictable lockdowns. You know, in 2020 there was no event, there were no awards, which means, of course, no revenue. In ‘21 they’d moved the festival and the awards online, but it was not quite the same as being on the Croisette. I don’t know if you, if you watch the Cannes Lions live that year. And I think our CEO, Simon Cook realised, even before the pandemic, when he took over as a CEO, that we should invest in digital innovation, because otherwise we were overly reliant on one big moment a year.
Gaelle Comte 07:13
So, I was hired to grow a digital platform that was called Lions Membership, which was initially launched as a way to broadcast the online festival. It was then, when the event came back, it was rolled into our digital inspiration platform called The Work, which I oversaw. And last year I also launched a series of amazing digital learning courses like the Lions Creative MBA, or the Master of Advertising Effectiveness with James Herman, and this year we just launched the Lions Growth MBA with Fernando Machado, so I was basically brought in as part of that digital innovation effort, because I had background in launching digital startups for The Times and The Sun, and because of the work I’d done on a tech platform for Virgin, and it’s been a great ride. Because, like I said, I think my role changed slightly every year because I took on other parts of the business and did other stuff.
Gaelle Comte 08:10
But it didn’t come without challenges, because, as you can expect, it was quite a transformation for an events business. So, it was quite a cultural change for the teams, but now the great result is that our revenue streams are much more evenly split between events and non-events, and it’s a lot healthier. At the start of the year, I was asked to take on the campus learning. So, we’ve got some programmes on site at Cannes Lions. We’ve got the Young Lions competitions, we’ve got the Creative and the Brand Marketing Academies and the CEO Accelerator, and we created that new Lions Learning Pillar, which I’m essentially the Managing Director for. So that’s my fourth job.
Tamara Littleton 08:52
Fantastic. Thank you so much.
Wendy Christie 08:54
And you touched on your childhood a little bit there, growing up in the village in the French Alps, which, by the way, just sounds idyllic. And I loved what you said about sort of expectations of a job, which was the jobs that you could see. And actually, that’s something that I don’t think it’s come up on the podcast before, but I think it’s probably the experience of most of us as kids. Which jobs that you could see, did you think you might want to do when you grew up?
Gaelle Comte 09:23
I had a very clear plan. I was going to be a vet with a florist shop.
Wendy Christie 09:28
Ah, wonderful!
Gaelle Comte 09:29
You know, vets are not, not too busy, so they can, they can run a retail business on the side.
Wendy Christie 09:34
Of course.
Gaelle Comte 09:35
I was always very attracted to animals, and I just thought that would be a great way, basically, to help animals, help owners. Now that I’m a bit older, I realised that it’s a really tough job, because you probably see animals mostly when they’re suffering, but yeah, at the time that was my dream.
Wendy Christie 09:51
Lovely. Thank you. And did you have people who you particularly looked up to as a child, whether it was someone in your life or a sports person or a TV personality or anyone?
Gaelle Comte 10:03
It’s a bit closer to home. But I really admired, and I still admire my older sister, because I think growing up gay in a village in France in the 80s was not, you know, was not for the faint hearted. It was extremely hard. And I remember, you know, men bullying her on the street and all these kinds of awful behaviours. But she was always true to herself. You know, she was always very honest and transparent and it wasn’t easy. She’s super strong, she’s very resilient, and she’s also 10 years older than me, so she was a great advisor. She was a great supporter. She was a shoulder to cry on when I needed help. She still is, you know, when I was navigating my teenage years challenges, or even now. So, yeah, I think she was really the one who, who I really admired and still do.
Wendy Christie 10:56
She sounds like an amazing role model, not only for you, but for the people growing up behind her.
Gaelle Comte 11:02
I mean, she looks after adults with special needs. Her wife works for an animal shelter. So, they’re like two saints, basically. And, yeah, yeah, they’re brilliant people.
Wendy Christie 11:15
They do sound absolutely wonderful. And thinking back to your childhood and thinking about what you were like and the things that you enjoyed, do you see any correlation between that and where you’ve got to in your career so far? Any themes, were you particularly resilient, for example?
Gaelle Comte 11:34
I think as a child, I was pretty quiet, pretty shy. I was a teacher’s pet, you know, just wanted to please people. And I don’t think that has changed much. I was also brought up in a bit of an old school French way. You know, children must be seen, not heard, and adults, in particular, the man they know best. I’ve found out that that’s not true, and also don’t have children, but I can see that all children have got very much a voice. They’ve got to say what they like and want. And I think it’s a much healthier way of doing this.
Gaelle Comte 12:12
Saying that, you know, I think one of the key values in my family and growing up was that working hard will get you recognised and rewarded. And I think that’s true to an extent. You still need, you know, to have people advocating for you. You still need to advocate for yourself. But I think I’ve definitely learned resilience, growing up again, coming from that background, I didn’t necessarily have the ready-made network that other students of my business school had, you know, I was on a grant, we had to find internships, but I didn’t have anyone in my family who had corporate jobs and who could introduce me to people or hire me, so I really had to hustle to get these internships. And I remember we had to find one abroad in the first year. And I don’t know, I must have written about 120 cover letters by hand and posted them because it was very early days. I didn’t have internet at home. And I’d love to see what my cover letter said, actually, because, you know, it must have been in slightly broken English as well. But, you know, I got the internships I did quite well, and I think, I think it made me not scared to start from scratch. And that’s how I just turned up in London with no real network, you know, just the promise of an interview, and just, I was able to make it work.
Wendy Christie 13:29
Yeah, that’s pretty brave. I think not, not everyone would have the guts to do that.
Gaelle Comte 13:38
Thank you. But I didn’t think it was brave at the time. It’s just something that I wanted to do, and I had nothing to lose. So why not?
Wendy Christie 13:38
Exactly, and how about in your career, have there been people who have particularly influenced or inspired or supported you?
Gaelle Comte 13:51
Yes, I think, you know, when I was reflecting on this, I think actually, I’ve had so much help and so many supporters and so many people who helped me progress. And I think it goes back to, I mean, my parents were brilliant cheerleaders and supporters. You know, they didn’t always know what was the right answer or the right path to take, but they really believed in me and thought I would make it a success. And sometimes that stressed me out, because I was thinking, “Well, what if I disappoint them?”
Gaelle Comte 14:16
I had that high school teacher who said, no, she shouldn’t go into an apprenticeship, should go into, you know, further education, because she’ll do really well. And I think without her, I would have probably just followed the path that was sort of laid out for me.
Gaelle Comte 14:30
And I think in every job, I’ve had someone help me or advocate for me or promote me. I had a brilliant, slightly older colleague at Debenhams. I think she was called Sarah Sweeting. We’re not in touch anymore. But when I was looking for a job at the end of my contract, she told me that everyone polishes their CV up a bit. And for me, it was new news, because I just thought I had to be, you know, very down to earth and very factual. And she even runs some mock interviews with me to help me, and I reckon that’s probably why that that first job in advertising, actually, she probably coached me through the questions that would be asked.
Gaelle Comte 15:07
When I was at Carphone Warehouse, I had a boss who came to do a mat leave cover called Alex Korda, and she was only here 10 or 12 months, but she coached me, she mentored me, she challenged me in so many ways, and she even secured a promotion for me before she left. And I still see her as a brilliant advisor and friend, really.
Gaelle Comte 15:29
At Virgin, I had Lisa Thomas, who was at the time Chief Brand Officer for Virgin, and she agreed to be my mentor. And I really loved our conversations, because again, you know, she was challenging me, and she was giving me no nonsense advice that was so helpful in my career. And she’s also one of the smartest and funniest people I know, and she sponsored me to get into WACL this year.
Gaelle Comte 15:51
So, I’m really grateful to her for many, many reasons, and I’ve had, I mean, I can’t name everyone but my other Virgin colleague, Michael Buffham-Wade, actually recommended me for my role at Cannes Lions, because I don’t think it was advertised at the time. It was recruited through a headhunter. And if you hadn’t put my name forward, I probably wouldn’t be in my current position.
Gaelle Comte 16:12
And even now, I’ve got a brilliant support network at Lions, of peers, of colleagues. You know Ilaria, Jenny, Nicola, Kate, Sophie, Noel, so many people, too many to name, actually, because I would forget some people, and they support me when I need help, and they’re here to listen when I need to vent. And I think you really need this at work, so that you feel a bit like you have a you know, you’re psychologically safe. You’ve got a safe space. So, yeah, when I was reflecting on this particular topic, I just felt really humbled, because there are a lot of people who actually contributed to my career and my personal success.
Tamara Littleton 16:49
That’s wonderful. And let’s go back to speaking about Cannes as well. So, I know that you said that you joined during covid, and that the digital transformation it was, it was a big issue, and a big part of your role was to adjust to the events being cancelled, and obviously, then getting people on board in the team and everything. Can you just tell us a little bit more, go into a bit more detail about that journey?
Gaelle Comte 17:14
Yes, when I joined, so it was August ’21 the Cannes Lions Live. So, the online version of the event and the awards had just taken place, and I basically joined to develop that digital platform Lions Membership, but I did not have a team. It was a standalone role. And basically, you would essentially influence, beg, borrow resources from, from loads of different teams to make it work. And I think it was probably the first time where I both started a new job that didn’t exist before and also didn’t quite have the team set up around it, because in the past, I would have done a new job that never, had never existed before in the company. But, you know, there was a team, and it was quite clear that what the ways of working would be, but it was almost like the ultimate startup role, where, you know, you need to figure out what needs to be done, how to do it, who you can lean on to make it happen. And I just remember everybody being really keen to help, actually, and keen to get involved. You know, I was working with the content team at the time to put together some webinars and some programmes for the members and everybody was just happy to muck in. I think, where it was harder was on the digital product side. It was actually, you know, building a team around it, of the product manager, some engineers, people who could help develop the platform as well as the content, because at the time, it’s very different now, but at the time, Lions was invested a lot in the tech around the event. So, the app, the website, but we’re not very well set up to launch digital products. So yeah, that was probably the main challenge. Did I answer your question?
Tamara Littleton 19:02
Yeah, absolutely. I was just sort of reflecting that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea to have, like a blank sheet of paper, and it’s very entrepreneurial. Personally, I love it, but it sounds like you really sort of thrived from that sort of entrepreneurial approach.
Gaelle Comte 19:21
I think my sweet spot is really that startup within a big company, because I’ve tried pure startups, and I find it quite difficult, but a startup within a big group, you’ve got, you’re able to be agile, you can be quite nimble, quite entrepreneurial, but you’ve got the name above the door. And you know, when I was working for The Times, or Virgin or now that I’m at Lions, if you call someone and say, “Hi, I’m from Cannes Lions, will you have a meeting with me?” They might not buy your products. They might not agree to partner up with you, but at least you’ll have the initial meeting, which, you know, is a massive, massive foot in the door. So yes, that’s definitely that sweet spot.
Tamara Littleton 20:00
Me, yeah, that’s absolutely true. And I know also from you know from our chats, that you’re very passionate about the importance of social mobility and also empowering women. And you’re now a member of WACL, of course, which I’m a member of. We’re still sort of newbies together. Can you share why, why that passion is so important to you?
Gaelle Comte 20:19
Yes, I think it’s, it’s a personal reflection, really, for me, social mobility. I mean, I can’t help but think that if I had different perspectives in my life, or if I had different advice, a better network, maybe I would have had a more successful career, or maybe it would have been a little bit easier. So, I would like to help give access to these people who have got a similar background, who are underrepresented, who are from social minorities, the support that they need to broaden their network and opportunities. So, I’ve done a lot of mentoring in the past. My part of Cannes Lions and my business unit also support the Effie LIONS Foundation and the remit here is to support underrepresented minorities with access to industry training and industry opportunities, and basically my courses form the bulk of that training. I’m also a member of Bloom UK, which is all about empowering women and helping the next generation. I’m a member of WACL, like you said, and I’m just very passionate about supporting the next generation of women, helping close the gender gap, which is one of WACL’s main mission points, and doing everything I do so that I give people like me the opportunities that I didn’t have, essentially.
Tamara Littleton 21:38
Yeah, that’s such an important point. And I think, yeah, these networks, I feel, from my point of view, that they’re absolutely core to everything I do now, I’m kind of it’s almost like you have to have fewer and better networks. I don’t know how you feel about the different networks that you’re in and how they’ve helped you personally.
Gaelle Comte 21:54
I think I’m a relatively new member of all these, these communities with the 93% club. They organised some brilliant events, and I’ve actually joined some really good ones that were organised with Ernest Young. WACL, I attended the first AGM, and it was just so inspirational to see so many brilliant women in one room. You know that the intellectual power has these people that I’ve seen on stage, people that I’ve seen in the news, and now suddenly they’re in the room with us again, again, quite humbling, imposter syndrome flaring, but and with Bloom this year, I’m leaning in more to support that community. I think it’s really important to give back. And it’s, I’m a partisan of you give first, and then if something comes back in a few months or a few years. You know, great, but it’s not my initial purpose. I guess what I’m genuinely trying to do is give back to that community or these communities.
Wendy Christie 22:50
Thank you, Gaelle. So, we’re going to move on to the last section of the podcast now, where we’ll ask you some quick-fire questions that are a bit more personal. Let’s start with, what’s your idea of a perfect weekend?
Gaelle Comte 23:02
I love having people over for dinner and for drinks. I think deep down, I’m probably a bit of a feeder. You know, I always over cater because I’m worried that people will go hungry. But we can dress it up as me being nurturing.
Wendy Christie 23:15
We’re on our way!
Gaelle Comte 23:19
I really enjoy long walks, preferably by the beach, and my partner and I foster dogs, so it’s an additional incentive to get out and about. And I’ve recently started tinkering with silversmithing. So…
Wendy Christie 23:34
oh, wow.
Gaelle Comte 23:35
Really, like, really, like using the blowtorch, it really mesmerizes me. So, I think a weekend with a blend of these three activities, you know, a bit of creative, bit of exercise, bit of people, but not too much, because I need time to recharge my battery would be the absolute ideal weekend for me.
Wendy Christie 23:51
Sounds wonderful. How would your friends describe you?
Gaelle Comte 23:56
That’s a tough one, because I think I know, because they’ve told me the initial impression is never very good, because I can come across as cold, even judgy. So, I’ve been told not that I’m judging, but I generally think it’s because I’m an introvert and I take time to warm up. But if you ask my friends, once we’ve passed that initial phase, I hope that they’d say that I’m a loyal friend, someone who’s willing to really help and give a lot to the ones that I love, if she has my very best friends, that they’d probably be extremely rude. So, I can’t, I can’t repeat that on this recording. I don’t think.
Wendy Christie 24:33
I think that’s the measure of a true friend.
Gaelle Comte 23:32
Yeah, that’s the best kind of friends.
Wendy Christie 24:38
Or on a different note, how would you fare in a zombie apocalypse?
Gaelle Comte 24:43
So I’ve been training really seriously for this.
Wendy Christie 24:45
We’ve never heard that before.
Gaelle Comte 24:50
I had about eight years of watching The Walking Dead, loads of other post-apocalyptic movies, TV show. So, I feel like I’m quite prepared as to what to do initially, which is get out of the city, but in reality, I’d probably get done pretty quickly trying to protect my dog. I mean, I was watching The Last of Us earlier this year, and the character’s physical condition is just out of this world. You know, they hike for 50 kilometres, and then they fight a zombie horde with weaponry for an hour. So yeah, I probably need to start working out a bit more, but I’ve got the theory done. It’s just the physical condition.
Wendy Christie 25:26
It’s a good start.
Tamara Littleton 25:27
You just need to gather other people in front of you like a human shield. You can run away.
Gaelle Comte 25:32
Your strategy then.
Tamara Littleton 25:34
No, I’m just, I’m building off yours. Now, I was thinking, I’m not gonna make it if I need to get fitter as well. So, what gives you joy in life, either in or out of work.
Gaelle Comte 25:46
I think at work, what gives me genuine joy seeing my team members and my colleagues succeed, because it just makes me quite emotional. Our team won an internal award recently for a product launch, and I was literally sobbing before going on stage, and I was so happy for what it meant for our business, for our team, you know, and the way that it would help put our team on the map, basically, because we’re now part of quite a bigger network out of work, you know, the usual family, friends, my little dog has been through with me, through the thick and thin this, This kind of stuff, basically powers me.
Tamara Littleton 26:22
I love that. I love that. What would be the tagline on a poster for a movie about your life?
Gaelle Comte 26:30
“She loved her dog and maybe three other people” That’s the birthday card that my friend’s daughter picked for me. So, she’s only eight years old. But I feel like this kid really sees me, because it’s, yeah.
Tamara Littleton 26:44
I kind of like the hierarchy of things, it’s important to be upfront about these things, you know? I mean, dogs are not hiding it. Okay, important questions. So I know that at Cannes Lions there was karaoke that I was a little bit upset that I didn’t take part in actually, but it’s a favourite of mine. What are your feelings about karaoke? And do you have a go-to song?
Gaelle Comte 27:09
I love karaoke. I missed it at Cannes Lions so I’m also upset. Very interesting. We’ve got karaoke at almost every single one of our team events, so I think it must be part of our brand values. And my go to would be something from Édith Piaf, that I can really belt out like Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien I used to be in bands when I was younger, and that kind of big, you know, old school anthem I really enjoy.
Wendy Christie 27:36
I think we need an Édith Piaf sing off between the two of you, because it’s also Tamara’s
Tamara Littleton 27:42
it is, it is my favourite karaoke, of course, my friend, which is not going to be as good, – Je Ne Regrette Rien, yeah
Gaelle Comte 27:52
Brilliant, oh, we’re definitely doing that. Come on. Can we make it into a duet? Yes, we do it in Lucky Voice. You know, it’s quite private. It’s fine.
Tamara Littleton 28:01
I am on a separate mission to start setting up a WACL karaoke night. So, you heard it here first.
Gaelle Comte 28:10
Sign me up.
Tamara Littleton 28:12
So I think we’ve covered a lot today, and thank you so much for coming and being our guest. And is there anything that either you wished we’d asked that we didn’t, or I’m going to leave you with any closing thoughts.
Gaelle Comte 28:25
We should ask me for promo code so I could plug my brilliant learning products.
Tamara Littleton 28:30
Go for it. We’ll put it in there. We’ll put it in the show notes.
Gaelle Comte 28:35
I’m just kidding. No, this was, this was great fun. Thank you so much for having me. You know, if anyone is listening and wants to connect about social mobility or helping the next generation of female leaders, please do because I love having a chat, even though I’m not good with people. Clearly.
Wendy Christie 28:57
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