Profile: Beverly Landais

A catch-up with editorial board member Beverly Landais. By Kate Clifton.

I’m a big Harry Potter fan and if I have a role model, it’s Hermione Granger,” says Beverly Landais, director of marketing and business development at global firm Baker & McKenzie LLP, with a smile. “I know it sounds a little cheesy, but you’ve got someone in that character who’s really bright, but also practical, fiercely loyal and hugely determined. What better role model? So, it’s her, but without the big hair.”

What is evident from her highly original response to my ‘who inspires you?’ query – and the rest of our chat – is that Landais is driven by a passion for what she does, a tremendous loyalty to her firm and an ability to think creatively and strategically, simultaneously. Alongside her management commitment to the development of the individuals in her marketing and business-development team, Landais is responsible for the infrastructure of the department at the London office and works with partners to deliver the marketing, business development and public relations required for their specific practice areas.

She also works closely with the firm’s global function, which is based in Chicago, on initiatives and strategy that are to be applied in London. In that capacity, she provides input on matters ranging from policy issues, to campaign ideas, business development and client management.

Here, the onus is on sticking to Baker & McKenzie’s roots as a ‘local’ business. Despite its size (the firm currently has almost 10,000 people worldwide, with 70 offices in 38 different countries); the firm’s ‘pattern’ is to hire local talent, to ensure that it maintains a deep local knowledge and capability.

The global function takes care of generic, firm-wide programmes – for example, in brand management, ensuring that there is a visual identity programme with a joined-up look and feel. This leaves Landais and her colleagues in other offices to drive their campaigns and provide feedback to Chicago as to what works and, indeed, what doesn’t.

“It’s very much a virtual team,” says Landais. “So, at any given point I’m in touch with my colleagues in, for example, Sydney, New York, and any one of the European offices to discuss anything from advertising matters, to public relations, through to coordinating client conferences. We’re used to sharing and working in this way.”

Once a year, the London office hosts a forum for representatives with marketing, business development and public-relations responsibilities for the European and Middle-East region, which usually runs over a couple of days. The event, which is run by Mark Grant, head of european business development, features guest speakers and is an opportunity for marketers to get together and discuss specific campaigns and projects. Beverly also participates in a global version of this forum, which takes place in Chicago around once a year with about 60 senior marketing and business development staff from around the world.

“When you spend time with somebody, you can understand where they’re coming from - it helps to oil the wheels,” says Landais. “It gives us a common agenda, which is really important. When you’re working in an organisation of this size you do need to have interventions, if you like; activities, meetings and specific projects that people can rally around.”

Landais mirrors this onus on internal communication and knowledge sharing within her work at the London office. Improving people’s understanding of the firm’s business strategy, its clients and the role that everyone plays in the smooth running of the business is something that she has ploughed a huge amount of time and resources into since taking up her post in 1999.

These efforts have encompassed various components, including regular staff briefings on the business – discussion about where the firm is with regard to actual implementation of business strategy, how it is performing, how projects are being implemented. These sessions, says Landais, require a lot of organisation, but the investment is worth it.

“I’m quite proud of them because they are a huge step forward in transparency, sharing information and also in showing our people that we want them to be engaged in every aspect of the business, and that it is something that they should share and be proud to be a part of,” she says.

Another highly successful project under Landais has been the introduction of the firm’s quarterly magazine, Commonground, which includes news, features and comment from all areas of the business, as well as interviews with staff about their hobbies outside of work, and catch-ups with those who have left to work in other areas. Landais felt that as the firm continued to grow in London, it was vital to have a publication that celebrated its people. A self-confessed ‘feedback obsessive’, she was also pleased to include positive results from the firm’s staff survey in a recent issue.

“For me it’s the heart and soul of the organisation – celebrating people’s successes, helping our staff to identify each other, providing information, covering the fun and social side of things, which is really important, plus our pro bono work,” says Landais. “A lot of effort goes into pulling it together but the feedback we’ve had has been really positive and we never struggle for stories.”

In the past few years, a huge amount of effort has gone into honing the existing CRM programme and implementing a database-management system, InterAction, to support this. “Our people are now able to share and act on information far more effectively than ever before and the net result is a better understanding of, and service to, our clients” says Landais.

One thing that Landais noticed when she joined the firm was that marketing was seen very much as communications – brochures, events, newsletters and other publications. These, she says, are important and do have a place, but she was – and still is – keen to demonstrate that the marketing mix can offer much more. “These issues were on my agenda when I first joined and still are,” she says. “We’ve made a lot of progress on some, others are works in progress and some I’ll never be satisfied with.”

Testament to the success of Landais efforts is that the firm now has a business-development team in place that provides core services to the business. There are joined-up processes for looking at panel reviews, targeting and client care, to name but a few.

“The proof of the pudding is that my team are increasingly being asked to provide support in things like post-pitch de-briefs, talking directly to clients to get feedback,” says Landais. “That, I think, is an achievement for us and it’s a mark of the business understanding better how properly qualified, trained and motivated marketing staff can really add value beyond communications.”

To achieve this Landais and her team have spent considerable time talking through issues with the firm’s various practice areas. She also stays in close contact with the management team, discussing exactly what is needed to support the business, and is confident that her focus on business development – along with the recruitment of talented staff – will stand the firm in good stead.

“Our focus on business development has been a real step forward, I think,” says Landais. “Plus, not falling into the trap of having some kind of standalone business development and sales unit that has no relationship to internal communications, marketing, PR or any other communications activities. This may work well at other firms, but I really think that to leverage the support that we have – and to get the most out of your people – they need to understand that there’s an end-to-end process from developing a client, managing that client and working with partners to ensure you’re providing excellent client service and care. And this extends right through to how we communicate with the media and recruiters.”

One thing that is apparent when chatting to Landais is a fantastic rapport between her, the marketing and business-development team, and the firm’s partners and other staff. She acknowledges that the firm’s management team is very open-minded and there is an atmosphere whereby people are willing to listen and take on board new ways of thinking – and that without this support her job would be incredibly difficult. But she also understands that this support should not be taken for granted and that as much as her role requires creativity and abstract thinking, she also has to be incredibly practical and able to explain her ideas in terms of actual benefits to
the business.

“As a marketer you can’t just work in isolation with your bag of tricks – knowing how to do a corporate event or put together a client-account plan – you have to know exactly where it will add value,” she says. “My management team is very challenging, so I sometimes have a hot seat, but I like that, it’s stimulating. It’s great to have one’s opinion sought and listened to. Management support is really important but you have to earn it, and not just once. You have to keep demonstrating your value, keep everything fresh.”

Here, the fact that Landais is an active member of several marketing networks, including the Marketing Directors Network and the Aspire Executive Womens’ Leadership Network, is a valuable endeavour. Along with her continuing input to the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s professional-development programme, Landais relishes the opportunity to hone her skills and remain as up to date as possible in a fast-changing environment. Networking meetings and other events also enable her to benchmark the work she is doing against that of her contemporaries, and explore new ideas.

“My main motivation is to keep my eye on the ball and the only way to do that is to find out about what others are doing,” she says. “Change is happening all the time. I don’t think we’re ever in a situation where things are dormant – and I don’t think I would like that. The networks give me a lot of personal support, but I can also bring back intelligence about others and how that applies to us.”

So. Hermione Granger. Practical and determined. What better role model, indeed? And after seven hugely successful years at the firm, here’s hoping for more marketing magic from Landais and her team in the future.