Matthew Gidley Email & Phone Number

Birmingham, Gb

Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

I am currently a part-time student at Birmingham Newman University, studying for a foundation degree in Integrative Counselling.

Head of Strategy at TFI Lodestar, creating physical and virtual live events and experiences for businesses and associations.My responsibilities include brand and business strategy, internal and external communications, training and development, writing and creative direction, employee mental health and safeguarding.

Birmingham, United Kingdom

In August 2018, after nine years with Momentum Worldwide and nearly four years leading Momentum Chicago, I resigned my post and returned to the UK so that my wife could accept a job offer (only fair - she did the same for me back in 2014).Back home, I quickly found myself in the role of carer - to the elderly, vulnerable, and dying - the most challenging and fulfilling experience of my life. When not doing my best to help others, I spent some of this time focusing on my writing.

Greater Chicago Area

MANAGING DIRECTOR, MOMENTUM CHICAGOResponsible for around 80 FTEs, $20m annual revenue, and business development. Clients included U.S. Army, United Airlines, Mondelez International, Chevron, NIKE, and Random House Children's Books. NORTH AMERICA PRACTICE LEAD, EXPERIENTIAL MARKETINGResponsible for the growth, development, positioning and profile of Momentum's core experiential offering across North America. During my tenure Momentum was the most-awarded agency of its type in experiential marketing.NORTH AMERICA HEAD OF LIVE EVENTS GROUPResponsible for around 45 FTEs in live events production across Momentum's NYC, Chicago, St Louis, and Atlanta offices, handling client budgets in excess of $90m annually and delivering thousands of live events and experiences nationwide. During my tenure I introduced mandatory training programs in crowd control, first aid and basic CPR, and FEMA-accredited terrorism vigilance.MEMBER OF GLOBAL EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAMA key member of the team that guided Momentum Worldwide to the top of the global experiential advertising industry.

UK & EMEA strategy lead and member of global Executive Leadership Team.Responsible for UK Planning and Strategy, and all UK Discipline heads (Shopper Marketing, Sponsorship, Consumer Events, Corporate Events, Retail Training & Advocacy). Happily married to the Creative team.Instrumental in re-positioning Momentum Worldwide as a total brand experience agency.Internal change agent and evangelist for greater strategic thinking and smarter insight-led creative. Developed tools to help generate useful insights and pragmatic creative and business strategies. Encouraged a democratic and collaborative culture of co-ownership, co-development, mutual support and shared reward. Bearer of the 'vision flame' with a mission to keep the fires burning across the agency.Press spokesperson for Momentum (features in Brand Republic, Contagious, The Drum, Cream, Director, Lions Daily News, and author of Momentum ‘Red Paper’ series) with remit to raise Momentum’s broader intellectual profile.Employee development trainer with a passion for better and more effective employee engagement.Recognised as McCann Worldgroup Change Agent (2010)Clients included: AB Inbev, American Express, Asda, Black & Decker, Ford, HTC, Microsoft, Nestlé, Nokia, Pottermore, Ricoh, Rowntree's, Sony, Subway, UNICEF, UPS, William Grant & Sons, YouView.

Originally recruited to focus on JMW’s Nokia Nseries retained relationship. Campaign strategy lead at JMW and member of IPG Team Nokia Planning Community. Responsible for JMW’s Nokia Nseries campaign strategy and planning, including content development and some key areas of creative delivery. Creative strategist, speechwriter to Nokia Multimedia CEO Anssi Vanjoki, creator/writer of two multi-award-winning Nokia brand strategy vision films (see them at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V-2qQS3NY0 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q145Zx-LSNg), copywriter of Nokia’s promotional, POS, and internal brand e-Learning training materials. Managed multiple projects, opportunities, and a small rotating ‘squad system’ of creatives and producers.Senior member of JMW’s Creative Messaging department, spearheading the charge toward more insight-led and strategically-driven creative solutions. Active member of JMW’s global planning and strategy community and ‘1Jack’ international team dedicated to winning new global business. Ultimately headed JMW’s Creative Strategy department, responsible for a team of three.Focused primarily on the IPG Team Nokia account (2005-2008), my post-Nokia clients included Thomson Reuters, Zain, and Procter & Gamble. My final project for JMW was creating and successfully pitching the global experiential launch of Thomson Reuters Eikon.This was an incredibly challenging and rewarding four years, during which the world of marketing and advertising was turned on its head. The field was thrown open for agencies to cross-pollinate, integrate, and rapidly evolve into new forms, and I am proud to have been able to drive that evolutionary process at JMW.Winner of Jack Morton WOW (Walk on Water) Award 2006Winner of IPG Team Nokia Connected Achievement Award 2008

Freelance creative, strategist, writer, consultant, event producer. Regular clients included Line Up Communications, Jack Morton Worldwide, PCI Fitch, Cheerful Scout, Live, TFI Group, Franklin Rae Communications, TMB, makeUP, Karen Dunn Ltd, and Lawes Consulting. Created/wrote two award-winning films for Line Up Communications (“Being Meridien” for Meridien Hotels and “Just Add Robinsons” for Britvic). End clients included AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, RAC Business Solutions, Lex Vehicle Leasing, HSBC, Strategic Rail Authority, Allen & Overy, New Look, Britvic, Meridien Hotels, Carphone Warehouse, T Mobile, Hoover Candy, Department of Health, Department of Work & Pensions, Bard, Compass Group, Pleasure Project, Invest in Hackney, Tern Television, The Comedy Unit, Boomerang TV, Kudos Film & Television, Reef Television, Cloisters, Thomas Lawes Media, Pioneer Productions, Lion TV, and Rainbow Post Production.

Where I learned the practicalities of the live events trade. At Line Up my role broadened to encompass all areas of traditional event planning and execution. Led creative sessions, wrote pitch documents, developed creative propositions and event themes, designed sets and staging, developed software and speaker support, wrote scripts for presenters and VT voiceovers, managed production budgets, showcalled, and liaised directly with production managers, clients and suppliers. Produced events ranging from dealer car launches and senior management conferences, to awards ceremonies, exhibitions, and roadshows. I also wrote most of Line Up’s own marketing materials. Clients included Marks & Spencer, Hyundai UK, Nissan Europe, Dixons Stores Group, AstraZeneca, RAC Auto Windscreens, BSM, Compass Group, Britvic, New Look, KLM UK, House of Fraser and Royal Sun Alliance.

Member of the Tindal Street Press Editorial Committee, the panel that selected which submitted manuscripts would go through to publication. I was a member of the panel that approved Clare Morrall's 'Astonishing Splashes of Colour' for publication, a novel which subsequently earned a place on the shortlist of the 2003 Man Booker prize (the UK's leading literature prize), a major achievement for a new writer and small independent regional press.

Raw Edge had the largest distribution of any Arts Council funded publication in the UK, distributed free across the entire West Midlands region (inc Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire).Co-edited all submitted content (poetry and short fiction) and wrote numerous book reviews. Contributed exclusive interviews with writers including Peter Reading, Jonathan Coe, and Benjamin Zephaniah.

A crash course in what would later become Experiential Marketing; moving to Caribiner enabled me to test my arts event management experience in the world of corporate events. I worked as an assistant to various producers and quickly gained experience across a wide range of production disciplines. Also wrote pitch documents and keynote speeches, contributed a regular column to the monthly intranet magazine, and worked closely with the Creative Directors on pitches and project development. Whilst at Caribiner I wrote the dealer sales training guide for the Vauxhall VX220 / Opel Speedster, a handbook which was translated into 14 languages. Additional clients included Warburg Dillon Read, Toyota Motor Europe, Glaxo Wellcome, BAE Systems, Vauxhall Motors, and NatWest.

Sole full-time employee, managing a small team of volunteers. Duties included creative programming, marketing, and advertising of Birmingham’s annual literature festival, also financial management, sponsorship revenue and maintaining the festival’s Arts Council funding. The two-week festival featured around 100 events in a variety of venues, including theatre, debate, comedy, poetry readings, and music gigs. Responsible for the production management of all events. I also wrote the copy for the festival’s brochure of events and all other promotional materials including feature articles for the Birmingham Post newspaper. During this period and up to 2002 I was also Deputy Editor of literary magazine Raw Edge and a regular feature writer and columnist for international contemporary art and culture magazine Frieze.