What and where did you study before your Mountbatten internship?
University of East Anglia, BA Hons in Anthropology, Archaeology and Art History.

What made you apply for the Mountbatten program?
I heard a talk at Uni and wanted another year training (and travelling…) before applying for jobs in London, which was the expected ’thing to do’ back then.

Describe your sponsor company and your role within it.
I replaced three marketing interns at Asprey, a British luxury goods brand who had an emerging USA market. I had never worked so hard in my life as I had three very different, but all inspiring bosses, so learnt a lot and fast. It was the year Asprey opened their Norman Foster designed NYC flagship store (in Trump Tower, the same time season one of The Apprentice was being filmed…I remember ducking under cameras on the way into the office and seeing this large ginger loud person wondering who on earth he was…!!)

What was the highlight/most memorable moment of your working experience during this year?
The year I worked for Asprey NYC was also the year they had committed to sponsoring the MET 2003 Gala event. I had no idea what this meant in terms of industry work experience until I returned to London and worked for brands Givenchy and Chanel in London.

I just thought this woman wearing sunglasses inside had amazing command over the room while she was making her product selections for the event. I had no idea it was Anna Wintour from Vogue US, nor that I had just asked Andre Leon Talley who she was when we were chatting. He gave me the best advice ’the better you are at your job, the easier it will look to others. As long as you’re ok with knowing you can always do more, you’ll be fine’. The swan analogy has held true!

I was responsible for managing all the loans of jewellery out to talent for the MET event and the store event.. as well as calling it back in the next day. I learnt what an Excel spreadsheet could do for efficiency very quickly given the values of jewellery moving around the city with various VIPs.

My Mountbatten opportunity gave me such a strong opener in job applications, and a genuine proven track record of solid work experience in marketing, PR, design and events when I got back to London. Then when I left London for Sydney two years later, Australian employers saw US and UK experience in a 26 year old, which opened further interview opportunities. The self-confidence I gained from that one year has stood me in the best possible stead ever since.

What was the social highlight/most memorable moment during this year?
There are so so many fond memories… but I think the main one is the food!

I moved to Barbados December 2020 to work remotely during this pandemic after a redundancy in April 2019 allowed me to start a company and affords me a new freedom to work from anywhere in the world. In a bid to gain a work life balance and not give in to laptop guilt, I’ve taken up surfing and met a couple from Brooklyn just this morning in a lesson. Our conversation reminded me that my first real experience of eating out in restaurants was in NYC. Our intake first went to S.E.A in Brooklyn as the May intake recommended it. It felt like such a grown up thing to do as well as a treat. I just remember the menu .. pages and pages of delicious and also affordable food. In Devon it wasn’t really an option as then the price and choice were both prohibitive. It taught me to make sure to always try new places, explore on foot, spot where there’s is a queue and you’ll usually find its worth the wait!

Please share a little wisdom/philosophy that you acquired during your internship
My Mountbatten year showed me that if you just go for things, it’ll never be a bad decision. Yes, life has its major ups and downs but if you keep trying, it will pay off.

What happened after completing the year – what did you do next?
I was invited to stay on in a permanent role, however I assumed London would be like NYC but with friends and family nearby, so I moved back to the UK. I did two years and then hightailed it to Australia as had heard it was a mini NYC lifestyle wise, and London on a PR assistant salary, was not nearly as fun as NYC. After heading up Communications for CHANEL ANZ, I returned after six years and finally found my love for London .. (and fully intend to leave Barbados at some point to return to Battersea, promise).

Where are you now in your working life and what do you do?
After 20 years working in-house for luxury brands such as CHANEL, Shangri-La, De Beers etc. I’ve set up a company to enable entrepreneurs and founders to own their PR and comms function in-house, for the long term. Working directly with the CEOs to empower them to pitch directly to Editors has been a hugely rewarding experience. It has been the steepest learning curve of my career, but also as rewarding as my Mountbatten year I think, just. I’ve also learnt how to record, edit and publish a podcast series called How To Start Up. I have been offered so much useful advice in my own startup journey, I wanted to share it with others too! Within in a month of launching it was in Apple’s top 10 in their entrepreneurial category which was great to see. https://linktr.ee/JulietFallowfield

Do you have any future plans that you would like to realise & what are they (career & social)?
I feel as if I have 20 years of muscle memory of how I ’should’ work, so I’m looking forward to getting used to feeling self-employed and all the benefits that come with it. I’m nine months in now, so I’m starting to feel as if I’m getting into a rhythm and I’m at peace with the fact that every day throws a new curve ball to catch! Every podcast interviewee has said you need to get used to the rollercoaster, and I find that reassuring.

I have written down some company goals including 5% of all revenue going to Cancer Research, so I’m looking forward to year end and seeing what’s possible there. I’m also working with some incredibly talented people who I’d like to bring into the business with a long term view. My one personal goal is to meditate twice a day. I always manage once first thing in the morning, but I know twice would be a game changer. Also ‘tech free Sundays’.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I have been to the most Northern and Southern MacDonalds in the world.

Is there any other information that you would like to be included?
Just that I’m grateful for every opportunity Mountbatten has afforded me. It has been hands down the best professional and personal decision I have ever made.

Juliet Fallowfield, Director
Fallow, Field & Mason
PR & COMMUNICATIONS

+44 (0) 7455 028 840
www.fallowfieldmason.com

Podcast: How To Start Up linktr.ee/JulietFallowfield

Juliet has also recently been featured in The Telegraph:  https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6769985174911369216/