Known Unknowns | Ete Davies

KNOWN UNKNOWNS IS A SERIES THAT PROFILES MOVERS AND SHAKERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE

TO DRIVE BETTER, MORE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS PRACTICES.

Meet Ete Davies - Chief Executive Officer at Engine | Creative, a creative service and digital product agency helping organisations navigate disruption and thrive in the future.

Ete has over 15 years’ experience working at some of the UK’s biggest digital agencies including AnalogFolk, AKQA, Tribal DDB, Modem Media (Digitas) and SixandCo. He has led and worked across innovative and award-winning projects ranging from global digital campaigns to business transformation, as well as digital products, platforms and services.

A true mentor and leader, Ete co-founded WeAreStripes and founder of CultureHeroes, both of which aim to create opportunities for Black Asian and Minority Ethnic talent across the creative industries.

Describe yourself in one sentence

I would say I am impossible to describe in one sentence.

You joined Engine Creative as CEO in 2019. What does creativity mean to you?

I think the meaning of creativity in our industry is twofold; to help brands grow by building  new connections with their customers but even more so, to do this in a responsible way. We want to help brands add meaning to the lives of their consumers, either through a service, utility or communication.

You describe yourself as an X shaped person. Why?

The concept has been around for a while. For me, it aligns with my background and career journey, which has not been conventional. I started out in my career in production and project management. I gravitated towards that because I'm good at understanding nuance and the detail of things. I enjoy learning about a variety of different subjects and have a deep curiosity about the world. I also like to work with different people with different skills and combine those together to make something new. I think that as you progress into leadership roles, particularly in creative businesses, you need to have a continual learning mindset where you can go beyond the surface layer into what the different components and expertise and people in your business can do, and find ways to connect those to move towards a collective objective. This is what an X shaped person does.

Your bio says you are “obsessively passionate about driving innovation and social change.”  Some examples include co-founder of WeAreStripes and founder of CultureHeroes - where does this passion come from? 

A lot of my passion comes from my upbringing and background. My mom is a doctor and she worked many years in the NHS, so from a young age I have been brought up in a home that prioritises kindness, community and acts of service. We learnt from her that life is not about your money or your status but rather, the effect that you have on the world around you. When I got into this industry as an ethnic minority, I realised that out of all the industries in the world, we (the creative) should be the most representative and diverse and progressive for a number of reasons. One is that diversely represented teams drive creative and innovative ideas so that businesses perform better. But more importantly, is that we exist in that communications and experience space, where we're trying to connect brands with the outside world. And if we don't look like that public, and we don't think like them, and we can't have representative views, then we cannot do the job. We have a responsibility to create a more open minded, collaborative narrative by telling stories of different people in authentic ways. We have a responsibility to show both where the commonalities between us are, as well as the beauty of our intersectionalities. I am deeply passionate about this huge opportunity that I think we have - to influence culture, to make sure that mass media - where most people consume their information - is driving progression and inclusivity and tolerance and adding a bit more good into the world.

COVID was a turning point for many businesses - some flourished while others sadly did not survive. What impact did COVID have on you? Did your feelings or thoughts around leadership and social good change?

COVID was a really strange time because in a world where we're all so polarised for so many reasons, we had a collective experience where we all faced mortality together - and this rarely happens. As a result, we  all started to reassess what was important. We (Engine) took this time to slow down, and think about the real priorities. When it came to leadership, what became clear was the importance of having an environment where people feel psychologically safe. When you're working remotely, and going through a pandemic, you realise that the focus needs to be on creating an environment where lots of different people can come together to do interesting things, and foster that divergent thinking and collaboration. If you do that, and you do it well, everything else takes care of itself.  I think too often leaders focus on the outcomes of doing that job, which is great work or revenue or margin. COVID really crystallised the role of leadership for us - to bring people together, empower them, and make sure that everybody feels in control and can positively contribute towards the business.

What life lesson do you know now that you wish you knew at the start of your career?

It's more of a general theme, which is that where you start is not necessarily where you finish. So learn as much as you can and be open minded to where the journey takes you. When you start your career, everyone asks you about your objectives, and what your next steps up the ladder are but when I look back on my career thus far, I got to where I am now by taking different directions - and I am richer for it. No one tells you that the time is yours, so just think about using it in the most useful way. Don't be inflexible as to where life might take you because it could lead to some really interesting and unexpected places.

As we reflect on the multitude of lessons learned from the past few years, what values do you, as a CEO, wish to leave behind? And what will you be taking with you into 2022? 

I will be taking transparency and collaboration with me. So much of what we do involves people collectively working together to try and solve problems. What we do in so many ways, is a team sport. Central to that is trust. We want more people to feel free to be themselves because it drives collaboration, and makes for a happier workforce. Then finally, the power of optimism. When things are bleak, it is really important to generate positivity and show we have the opportunity to create some good out of the bad.

One thing I'm really glad to leave behind is the challenge around clocking in and clocking out. Gone are the days of slavish office hours and a post-war factory behaviour of how businesses should do things.
What do you do for fun? Mainly hanging out with friends and family. I am also big into cinema. I watch everything and I love everything about cinema, from photography, to soundtracks to acting. I always feel like I'm a bit of a frustrated script writer or director at heart.

What podcasts are you listening to? I definitely recommend 99% Invisible. It explores the process and power of design and architecture. 

What is the one thing people don't know about you, when they meet you? When I was a child, my mom was a junior doctor working so I was brought up by Monks in a Roman Catholic monastery from ages 3 to 10. 
What makes you feel powerful?  Powerful is an interesting word. I guess what makes me feel like I've got the most energy is the mentoring work that I do. I love being able to help people achieve something. I always find I leave those sessions with energy and inspiration.

Fill in the missing word.  I dream of a world where ….. Everybody feels free to be themselves.

For more information about Engine Creative’s work, visit https://www.enginecreative.co.uk