Lisa Maynard-Atem From Harrod's Social Media Maven to Using Her Digital Superpowers to Support Black Representation and the Difference Between Quitting and Knowing When to Walk Away LEAVE YOUR MARK: Freshly Brewed Career Advice with Aliza Licht

When Lisa Maynard-Atem started as the first-ever social media strategist at Harrods, she had her work cut out for her. Over 7.5 years, she took their following from 30,000 to over 2.5M, making them one of the most followed luxury department stores in the world - their Instagram channel went from zero to 1.1M under her leadership. As happy and successful as she was, Lisa is generally uncomfortable with being comfortable, and she decided to head out on her starting The Social Word, her consultancy. But as the daughter of a Father who works for the UN and a Mother who is a charity worker, Lisa grew up knowing that giving back to society would be her true calling. Her personal experience with racial discrimination and George Floyd's murder made her realize that she wanted to do something more meaningful with her digital superpowers. Today, as the Managing Director of Black United Representation Network CIC (BURN), she's a passionate campaigner who works tirelessly to support black business and black representation focused on the economic and social empowerment of the Black community in the UK. In this episode, you'll learn about Lisa's experience with racism, how she handled it, and how she's paying her experience forward, why she's not comfortable being comfortable, and why you need to drown out the noise and focus on what matters.