In this regular feature, we sit down with a member of the 2.0 & Partners team, to find out a bit more about who they are, what they do, and how they do it.
In this edition, we meet with 2.0 & Partners Chief Content Officer.
Please tell us about your journey to join 2.0 & Partners?
I’m a journalist by trade. After spending many years as a reporter, editor and social media editor for newspaper groups in the UK, I joined travel retail in 2016 at the then Frontier Magazine. I later joined DFNI when the two merged and in 2019 I decided to go freelance. That led me to a meeting with 2.0 & Partners’ CEO Fabio Bernardini at that year’s TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes, where over coffee at Caffé Roma we discussed the opportunity to work together. I’m delighted to say I’ve been working with Fabio, Marco and the team ever since.
Please outline your role with the company?
My work with 2.0 & Partners has changed over the years. When I started, I was using my journalistic foundation to write news insights and help to compose thought pieces. Today, I am Chief Content Officer for the brand, overseeing a lot of the digital output on social media and in other media, as well as trying to help shape the storytelling for both the company our products. One of the beauties of this role is that the whole 2.0 & Partners approach is very flexible and entrepreneurial, in many ways, so there is an opportunity to turn my hand to many areas which interest me and where I have skills that I possibly do not get to use in my other work.
What do you think makes travel retail such a special marketplace?
People. This is a people business. One of the things that fascinates and charms me about travel retail is that despite the constant innovation, evolution and excellence which we see in the market (and there is a lot of it), everything always boils back down to people. That is the people behind the scenes making things happen, those front-of-house creating the experience, and the shoppers who pass through. For me, as both a journalist and, if you’ll let me indulge in a little cliché, a storyteller at heart, this makes it a really exciting place to be.
What have been the highlights of your time with 2.0 & Partners?
I think how much the company has evolved, even in the time I have been here. Today there is a team spread around the world, working on different business units, and that creates a lot of exciting opportunities for us to talk about. Most recently, I have really enjoyed work on a video-focused project which we have coming up very soon…but you’ll have to wait and see on that front.
What does a normal day look like for you with the company?
I’m not sure I have ever had a ‘normal’ day in any of my jobs. But generally, I get up early; I’m lucky enough to work with people all around the world, which means there are lots of timezones to take into account, no matter which project I am working on. I do most of my day’s work either in my office at home, or in a coffee shop or co-working space. I have a short attention span, so a change of location is good for me. I’m lucky that with a laptop, notebook and a cup of coffee, I can work anywhere. That being said, the other thing I can’t work without is music; generally jazz and country for calm days or dance music when I need to keep the pace and focus up. Once the working day is done, I need to move; I swim a lot and I’ve taken part in amateur theatrics since I was young, so you can sometimes find me on a local stage!
What are your hopes for the business in 2025?
Growth. Evolution. More stories to tell. There are lots of exciting things which the brilliant team here at 2.0 & Partners are doing, and it’s going to be fun to see them step into the light.
