So here I am, my 10^th anniversary at Fifth Ring has just passed. So what’s happened over the past decade? Well, quite a lot as it happens…

On a personal front it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride (that probably wont be the last cliché I use so will make my apologies to Reuben Webb right now). I became a father (planned), had a car accident that resulted in an operation and 3 months off work (not planned), travelled to lots of nice places, made some great new friends and got back in touch with some old ones, contracted arthritis (by contracted I don’t mean that I raised a Purchase Order, I just have to now avoid that bumpy rollercoaster I mentioned earlier), fell in love with the game of poker (well I need to supplement my income somehow – hope the company Directors are reading this) and have struggled to sell my house during the worst market slump in  decades (40 months and counting). All of this with my understanding, patient and far better half Michelle at my side.

As for work, well, in my best X-Factor contestant voice, it’s been a journey (told you the clichés would continue). The company has grown dramatically from when I started all those years ago from an Aberdeen-only agency with around 15 employees to what is now a leading international B2B agency with additional offices in Houston and Dubai and a five-fold increase in staff numbers (give or take). Not all solely down to me, granted.

Our visibility, our offering and our expertise have all increased greatly and we’re now proud, leading members of the prestigious BBN network to help take us to that next level.

It’s not all been plain sailing though. Like all companies, we’ve had our ups and downs, our good times and our bad. I’ve seen people come, people go and even people return. Like everyone else, we were not recession-proof and it took its toll, but we’re coming out the other side stronger for it on several fronts. We’ve made some big strides of late, not least of which was to increase ties with our friends at IAS, an extremely successful, award-winning B2B agency from south of the border. Just doing our bit for Anglo-Scottish relations – it’s not been the same since Mel Gibson sacked York.

Don’t get me wrong, we’ve still got a lot of work to do and are already in the process of making some very positive changes to benefit both the company and our clients. You can’t stand still in this business without falling behind pretty quickly so it’s onwards and upwards for us (couldn’t resist squeezing in a couple more clichés there but hey, it’s true).

As for me, well I’ve gone from Production Co-ordinator to Production Manager and now Operations Manager over this period of time. Much of my work is now done behind-the-scenes but impacts on everyone and at all levels to varying degrees – though most people don’t realise it half of the time, which tells me I must be doing something right. Either that or they’re just keeping me on for my good looks and great sense of humour. I like to think it’s all of the above. Anyway, who else is going to organise and run the office sweepers, poker evenings and quiz nights?

As for what’s going to happen over the next 10 years - well, who knows? Life is just not that predictable. No doubt it will be full of twists and turns and highs and lows, with a few surprises along the way (though less of the ‘unplanned’ events please). Bring it on.

Now, does anyone want to buy a house…?