Walpole: What’s a great piece of helpful career advice you’ve been given, that you’d pass onto others?
Jodi Feder: A recurring piece of advice that I have received over the years has been on the importance of detail. Never a truer statement as the devil is in the details. Secondly, don’t underestimate the importance of loyalty. And a can-do attitude is one of the most desirable qualities in a person.
Finally, “you are only as good as the last project you delivered, always remain grounded” is phrase stated by two important bosses in my life – most recently by Simon Mitchell, Co-Founder at Sybarite. It's something that guides me daily.
What moment in your current job really cemented your passion for what you do?
At Sybarite, the importance of cultivating the culture is as important as the work that we are producing and that is a sentiment that I want to be a part of. I would also have to say the limitless desire of Sybarite's Co-Founders, Simon Mitchell and Torquil McIntosh, to think out of the box and to innovate. They would never journey on any other road.
What professional achievement have you been most proud of over the past year?
Building a great team, without them none of this is possible – you are only as good as the people around you. Being a part of the vision here and the honourable task of communicating it.
What is a key professional goal you’ve set for yourself over the coming year?
To continue to bring inspiring narrative to the world of architecture and design commencing with SKP Chengdu – a sunken luxury masterplan like no other. To uphold the importance of work-life-balance. Launching The Sybarite Round Table and inviting more people into the captivating world of Sybarite.
Personally, what highlight is on the horizon for 2023?
Time and travel with my family, revisiting old haunts and creating new memories. Perhaps a drop in on my friends Harvey and Steve at the magnificent Castle Elvira in Puglia. Planning a prospective trip to Japan. More culinary experiences with friends in and around London, especially revisiting Kol Restaurant and A Wong. Sessions Art Club and Café Cecilia are on my list, as are regular visits to the Royal Opera House to enjoy the ballet.
Getting around to finally finishing my house and drawing on all that interior design knowledge I have garnered over these years, I love and appreciate nothing more than exquisite fabrics, textural finishes and superb craftsmanship.
Walpole: What’s a great piece of helpful career advice you’ve been given, that you’d pass onto others?
Daniel Golding: Perhaps it’s more of an observation rather than a piece of advice, but a comment from a former boss that has stuck with me, especially when recruiting and building a team, is 'hire for passion not just for skills. Skills you can learn. Passion is built in'.
From that, my advice is to understand how you create and maintain the passion for your job. For me, that is to look beyond the immediate confines of your own walled garden and to take inspiration of what others may be doing outside of your own vertical. Go wide and then hone in. As Walpole’s membership well attests, the luxury sector is such a broad church that you can’t fail to be inspired by what adjacent companies and peers are doing.
What moment in your current job really cemented your passion for what you do?
Working for a company like McLaren Automotive, it’s hard to narrow it down to just one single moment. Every day I find or create an opportunity to get excited. Certainly, my first Grand Prix with the team in Singapore was a moment that gave me an insight into the multi-faceted nature of our brand.
Then there have been openings of new facilities with multiple Royal families involved as well as being able to strategise a partnership with the BBC to create a supercar of the future design competition for children, filming at LEGO or turning McLaren into a TV studio for a live science programme with 200 kids, race drivers, cars and various puppets. But my personal highlight was watching Sir Anthony Hopkins in one of our supercars being driven down the Mall at speed in London filming a Hollywood chase scene. Not your average day in the office.
What professional achievement have you been most proud of over the past year?
The pleasure of creating, collaborating and delivering a PR opportunity to help celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee where we designed a special vehicle that required extensive co-ordination across multiple teams in the business. Part of that was seeing the team rise to the challenge and deliver the project with such enthusiasm and dedication all the while feeling like they had personal pride and ownership. The results and response from our regions, in particular our Americas region (which is our single biggest region) and Japan, were incredible.
What is a key professional goal you’ve set for yourself over the coming year?
It’s important not to be too inwardly focussed. Now we have had the opportunity to reconnect face-to-face with and listen to media, customers and retailers, my goal is to take those learning and to incorporate them into our future strategic direction.
Personally, what highlight is on the horizon for 2023?
Travel is very important to us all, but our homes our more important day-to-day expressions of who we are. So decorating my new apartment with objects, fabrics and furnishings that bring me pleasure is my spenny highlight of 2023 so far. Even if my bank balance isn’t thanking me for it right now.
I’m also always keen to try different experiences so this year’s new hobbies seem to be rock-based - indoor rock climbing and dry-stone walling. Thankfully not at the same time.
