(Kate Cox pictured left, Kathryn Allsopp pictured right)
At Pentland Brands, we believe that your potential is our potential. Pentland Brands is special, but it’s our talented people that really make us shine so it’s our mission to support everyone who works here while giving them the freedom to become the best they can be at their work. Here, we catch up with two Pentland people – past and present that value their Pentland Brands experience for its family culture and exciting career development opportunities.
Kate’s story
For Kate Cox, it was our family culture and values that sparked her emotional connection to Pentland and helped her shape her 6-year career with us. Beginning in 2013 as PA to the Brand President of Speedo, Kate credits her time at Pentland for growing her confidence and allowing her to be courageous and prove to herself how able she can be.
After taking a short maternity leave, Kate returned to her PA role and with Pentland’s support reduced her hours to work around her family commitments. However, in 2016 the first part of her Pentland journey came to a reluctant end as she decided to take some time out of working life to spend it with her children before they started school.
“I had an amazing year focusing on my family, but when I started the job hunt again, I struggled to find something that really did it for me as much as Pentland had. Culturally, Pentland has something really special, so I had a look to see what roles were on offer – I was missing the place!”
Taking the position as Brand Executive in the newly formed Teamsports department, Kate loved the challenges her new role presented. Giving her the opportunity to push herself out of her comfort zone and get stuck into the world of Canterbury.
An ambassador for our belief that everyone has the power to shape the future, in her career at Pentland Kate has not only created a legacy for our business but for herself too.
In a mission to help her local community to make a positive impact on the environment, Kate has recently launched her vision of a zero-waste store that aims to create a healthier planet by keeping single use plastic consumption to a minimum. The store has only been open for 3 months and Kate has already been shortlisted for Business of the Year in the Rushcliffe area.
“The intense nature of my Brand Executive role and the newness of the department gave me the guts and determination to set up my business The Good Weigh.”
Kathryn’s story
As Kate closes her Pentland chapter, the door opens for new talent to join our community. Nottingham Trent University graduate Kathryn Allsopp had her first experience of Pentland as part of her BA Hons Fashion Communication and Promotion course, during which she took part in a Live Project which Pentland sets as part of the programme every year.
Tasked with creatively designing and developing a Mitre campaign proposal that would appeal to the under 24’s demographic, the Live Project was Kathryn’s first experience of working with a real brand and using her creative and marketing skillsets professionally. After impressing in the project, she decided to interview with Pentland for the vacant Brand Executive role.
“We were made aware of the job at the end of the Live Project and I had a gut feeling I needed to know more,” explains Kathryn. “I loved what I did in my repositioning proposal work and didn’t want it to end. This role seemed like the perfect next step for me, and I was right! Pentland is so prominent in the active brands scene globally and that is so exciting!”
Joining the Teamsports division just two weeks before the Rugby World Cup kicked off, Kathryn has hit the ground running working on many exciting projects for the brands.
A year since Kathryn received her Live Project brief from Mitre, sees the beginning of her journey from University to her first professional role come full circle. Nottingham Trent students taking part in this year’s Live Project have just been set a brief by Kathryn herself and Kathryn is helping to shape a work experience opportunity as part of the programme.
“This is a particularly proud moment as it was exactly a year since I was the one receiving this brief, and now I’m facilitating this project from the brand side – something I wouldn’t have believed if you told me that a year ago.”
Being there for people, in more moments that matter drives everything we do at Pentland. We care about creating a positive business for our customers, consumers, communities and each other. We’re a team – working together to build some of the world’s best brands and we welcome anyone with the passion to join us on this mission.
To find out more about opportunities at Pentland visit our careers pages