Laura Squires, Head of Group Digital Operations at Haymarket, describes herself as "a project manager at heart"
"As a global business operating in diverse markets, we are inherently multicultural and we are committed to attracting, developing and retaining talent who reflect the communities we serve."
Technology continues to transform business, and is being used to a greater level than ever before. In a period where the world has undergone many changes to what are deemed "regular" practices, not only has technology taken the spotlight in providing efficient and comprehensive solutions to many problems, but companies have had to re-evaluate their approach - to their daily business, as well as to their overall strategy.
In this landscape, innovative firms and individuals have used technology to stand out from the crowd.
Computing's Digital Technology Leaders Awards exist to recognise and celebrate the achievements of the people and companies who are really making it happen at the coalface of the digital technology stack: from website design and coding to UX and project management, from scrum masters and product managers, all the way up to the CDO.
This year, we will announce the winners at a live ceremony on Wednesday 6th July in Central London.
One of those finalists is Haymarket Media Group, which has reached the shortlist for not just one or two, but four categories: Best Small-to-Medium Digital Project; Best Place to Work in Digital - Large Organisations; Digital Ambassador of the Year; and CTO of the Year.
We talked to Laura Squires, Head of Group Digital Operations at Haymarket, about what makes her company stand out from the crowd.
Laura describes herself as a project manager at heart, with a passion for operations, communication, data and analytics. Having been at Haymarket for 16 years, Laura has a great passion for delivery, people and success!
Computing: Please provide some background on your company for our readers.
Laura Squires: Haymarket is a successful international specialist media company. We have over 60 market-leading brands in the consumer and B2B markets across the UK, US, Asia, India and Germany, connecting people and communities across digital, print, festivals, awards, conferences, and exhibitions.
As a global business operating in diverse markets, we are inherently multicultural and we are committed to attracting, developing and retaining talent who reflect the communities we serve. We equally recognise our broader responsibility to society as a whole and use our power and influence to drive diversity, equity and inclusion within our markets.
CTG: What makes you different from other technology companies?
LS: Technology is transforming at Haymarket - having supported multiple brands over many years, a programme of change to simplify and extend the platforms that underpin the various brands has started, with everyone in technology contributing to that change. That is what is important to us, everyone has a chance to contribute, bring ideas and be a part of our journey.
CTG: What one company achievement in the last 12 months are you most proud of?
LS: The launch of our tech academy. We have a specific academy for the learning and development of our colleagues at Haymarket, with streams around leadership, software development, data, marketing and project management.
CTG: What are you working on this year?
LS: As a technology function we cover over so many areas of our business with regular roadmaps to support key business plans and developments. Platform upgrades, cloud migrations. We have a key project around security and data this year, which is so pivotal to everything in our current environment.
CTG: Why are events like the Digital Technology Leaders Awards important to the IT Industry?
LS: To showcase all of the great work we do. It is important that everyone gets recognition for the work they do. Especially when technology underpins so much of a companies success, when as a department they might not necessarily bring in the revenue but create the core foundations.
