I've become an employee again

Five years ago I decided not to go back to my job at the BBC in Cardiff after a year off on maternity leave. I'd spent 7 years in the Audience Research team and it was time for a new challenge.

I joined Mark to help him run Mark Boulton Design day to day. We both founded the company in 2006 but with a full time job, I hadn't much time to play an active role. Initially I took the Studio Manager role but gradually Mark handed over more of his unofficial hats to me - HR, Marketing, Finance and so on. A year later, we published our first book after Mark's and we were suddenly publishers as well as web design consultants.

As both businesses have grown, we've hired different staff and our roles and responsibilities have morphed and changed. I've most recently been the Commissioning Editor for Five Simple Steps, working closely with our editorial team to commission and develop our Pocket Guide Collections. I've also been able to bring my research background into some of our major client projects. It's been a priviledge.

Today, I'm joining the team at Monotype as their Research Director and I couldn't be more excited. Since I first worked as an embedded researcher within a production team at the BBC 10 years ago, I have understood the power of breaking down silos and research being part of a product team. Working with clients can be very rewarding as a researcher but to be given the chance to get to the heart of an organisation again and influence it's very core, is something I couldn't turn down.

The decision to join Monotype and close Five Simple Steps has been an enormous one to make. With so many factors and people involved, it has almost felt too big for us to handle. It's been a real rollercoster of a ride running a company. The highs are addictive but the hard times can come at a price. So, this deeply personal decision has also come with a price - to say goodbye to some of what we've been doing. But, in doing so, it will enable me to focus on what I am best at and have real impact at the heart of a product team.

I'm thrilled to be starting a new chapter of my career today and to be able to bring our amazing team along with me is the icing on the cake.