Lesley Schroeder Mclean

Experience

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  Consultant to Newcastle Municipality and own small agency start up

  Jan 1987 - Feb 1997

  Pioneered socio-economic ventures

  Worked mainly in communication, tourism and market research: Managed communication, investment marketing and tourism development for Newcastle Municipality and Thukela Joint Services Board | Managed Corporate communication for Falkirk/Defy (appliances) and Karbochem (Synthetic Rubber)Co-pioneered the now well established KZN Battlefields Route and then went on to work with the Midlands Meander and developed the 1000 Hills Tourism Route.Did market research (FMCG, Socio-economic) and handled surveys and focus groups for clients including: Arrive Alive – Dept of Transport - Managed interviews with 1000 commuters and 40 Taxi drivers. Ferobrake: Interviewed 60 taxi drivers in focus groups to probe the level of maintenance of their vehiclesBlue Ribbon Bakeries Investigation in five rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State: Managed 40 field workers | Did competitor tracking | Delivery Route viability | Identified New Business Opportunities and Customer Relationship improvements. Result: sales tripled within three months of acting on our research findings. Show less

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  Hilton International

  Jan 1997 - Jan 2007

  Public Relations Manager - Hilton Hotels, South Africa

  Our consultancy was appointed to launch the flagship Durban Hilton property in South Africa and ended up keeping the account for 10 years. During this time I conceptualised and Implemented a South African communications and marketing strategy aligned with the global strategy. Managed the public relations and marketing function on a contract basis across five divisions until Blackstone bought Hilton International in 2007 and PR/Marketing was changed to an internal function under a new regional structure.Highlights were meeting Bill Clinton, Fidel Castro and former South African president, Thabo Mbeki not to mention my all time fav Rugby player Zinzan Brooke! Show less

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  Enforce Security Services | Colour Planet | Simply Aloe | Natal Witness Printers

  Aug 2000 - Jan 2004

  Customer Retention Campaigns

  Conceptualised highly effective communication campaigns for these and other companies after management buyouts, rebranding, mergers, or purchase of a liquidated company.The campaigns were designed to build reputation and involved close consultation of staff and customers through focus groups and thoughtfully planned communication. There was a high level of personal contact and the external communication campaigns were only implemented once internal stakeholders were well informed. The Enforce Campaign was so effective they had a nett client gain during the merger period. Show less

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  Consultant to Smith & Nephew

  Mar 2003 - Sept 2017

  Corporate Communication Strategist

  One of the most rewarding opportunities I've had came from my agency's 2003 appointment to communicate the new global Smith & Nephew brand to internal and external audiences in South Africa. The workload varied in scope and included: Designing communication strategies to differentiate the brand from competitors; highlighting social outreach, education of nurses and surgeons, product innovation and adherence to global compliance. Positioning executives as thought leaders and trained them in media interviewing techniques. Helping to set up academies aimed at closing skills gaps for newly qualified orthopaedic surgeons in the state sector. Creating innovative study programmes. Devising and implementing internal campaigns for sales staff. Undertaking B2B research and preparing motivations/presentations to funders, hospital groups and health care professionals.An important component of this contract was content marketing – compelling written and video stories that show how Smith & Nephew help people get their lives back, often using well known celebs who could keep on doing things they loved after surgery. Many of these stories were featured on national television and in daily newspapers. Show less

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  Revitalisation of Airport for Zululand District

  Oct 2003 - Dec 2016

  Tourism and Marketing Consultant

  My journey with Zululand District Municipality started in 2003 when I was appointed as the tourism and communication specialist on a multi-disciplinary team which undertook strategic planning for Tourism, Business and Agriculture in the Zululand District Municipality - we called it the Siyaphambili Local Economic Development programe and it was funded by USAID. During this process our team secured inter-governmental funding for capital infrastructure and development initiatives to grow the district economy. Implementation required close liaison with communities, business people and the political and administrative leadership of the district. A key project identified was the need to revitalise the regional airport at Ulundi. My agency has worked with the ZDM to achieve this since 2007. Scope of work:Business planning; stakeholder mobilisation; feasibility research; liaison with government, commuters and travel policy makers. Secured funds for a 30 million rand infrastructural upgrade. Managed airline bid process and successfully implemented daily scheduled flights. Managed passenger research, media publicity, and community engagement to support these processes and convert potential customers from road to air travel. Show less

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  Fuller Insight - Communication Strategy & Research Consultancy

  Jun 2012 - Oct 2017

  Head of Communication & Research

  As the senior business partner my role was strategic counsel, research, communication strategy and support for clients. Fuller Insight also provided public speaking and media spokesperson training for companies, medical professionals and public figures.

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  Muizenberg Improvement District

  Jul 2014 - Oct 2016

  Board Member responsible for the Stakeholder Engagement Portfolio

  I served on the MID board for three years, volunteering my time because I love to surf and I loved living in Muizenberg. This is a great community and I enjoyed making a positive difference by clearly communicating what the Muizenberg Improvement District does to fight crime and grime and build a prosperous neighbourhood.

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  Fuller Consulting - a team of mother-tongue English business coaches (British, USA)

  Oct 2017 - now

  Managing Partner Fuller Consulting

  Justo o no, los ejecutivos ya no pueden alcanzar el nivel superior en las empresas multinacionales si no pueden hablar inglés con fluidez. Como socio de Fuller Consulting, capacito a ejecutivos desde el inglés básico hasta el inglés avanzado y ayudo a las empresas a implementar su estrategia global de idiomas. Áreas de enfoque:  Capacitación de presentaciones, reuniones y conferencias Comunicados de prensa y preparación para voceros Traducción de español a inglés y edición de informes, sitios web y redes sociales Gestión de la reputación  English Online Help Desk - un servicio en línea donde los ejecutivos pueden revisar frases y traducciones con hablantes nativos Además ayudamos a facilitar las reuniones de negocios entre los hablantes de inglés y español que no pueden expresarse bien en el otro idiomaContacto: lesley.schroeder.mclean@gmail.com Show less