A day in the Life... Kelly L Tavener (DEW, 08-15)

What is your current role? Aston Martin Marketing Manager

How did you arrive at Aston Martin? Almost accidentally. After finishing my degree in 2019, I joined the automotive industry through a dealer franchise group working in their central marketing function on marketing data. This then gave me the insight into the industry to help me understand where I wanted the rest of my career to go and I knew I wanted to be involved in brand and product marketing within automotive. I then took an opportunity to work at Porsche as a marketing executive and that very quickly confirmed to me that I wanted to work for luxury automotive brands so when I got approached a year later to work for Aston Martin I knew it was ultimately the right move for me and I have tried to gain as much experience as possible to put work my way up and take every opportunity ahead. 

You are now in Marketing – was that always your intention? Initially no - because truthfully i never knew my job existed or how I would get into a role like mine. Ever since I can remember I have wanted to be in business so that was a clear intention when i left CCB and went to university and I have grown up around cars so knew it was always a passion of mine. During my degree I was able to understand a lot of disciplines within business so that I could make an informed decision on where I wanted to go and marketing was so interesting to me that i really wanted to explore it more. and now I have been very lucky that I have been able to forge a career out of something I am really passionate about and love! 

How did CCB Help? CCB helped so much in nurturing me into an adult who could believe she could achieve things and instilling in me a confidence that I can get anything that I work hard at. Working hard will ultimately get you where you want to be in all areas of life and that was something that CCB always taught me. 

What do you do outside work? I spend a lot of time travelling so any downtime I try and experience as much as I can wherever i am. Also, I am a massive Formula One fan so most weekends are spent with friends watching the Grand Prix. and despite living in London, I still love coming back home to Wales and getting out on a run in the mountains. 

What does the future hold? I don’t entirely know and I really enjoy that! Automotive is incredibly fast paced and new opportunities present themselves all of the time as the industry changes and evolves. We are in the midst of an incredibly exciting year/18 months at Aston Martin with new product launches and a whole new era for the brand which I love being a part of. In the future, moving to another manufacturer brand is a possibility as each brand is so unique I want to make sure i am constantly challenging how I work. So who knows but it will definitely involve fast cars! 

Advice for this year’s 6th form Leavers? Take your time in everything that you do! From understanding where you want to be to who you are. There is a lot of pressure that comes with leaving school and/or university and you will feel as if you should have it figured out right away and the truth is you won’t or it is likely to change every few years. For some you will know exactly where you want to go but for others it will take a while longer as it did for me. You have the time to make the decision that’s right for you and taking two months to work out what you want to do for a career for the rest of your life is worthwhile. Also the most practical bit of advice I have is network! It takes confidence but it really works - put yourself in front of the people who you want to work for and ask questions!