They’re the first faces you see when you walk through the door, the friendly hello that makes you feel welcome and the helping hand that somehow always knows where to find what you need.
From front-of-house stars to office managers, they’re the people who keep the office ticking and make sure everyone, from staff to clients to the odd journalist running late for an interview, feels right at home.
This list draws on the word of colleagues, the reputations these legends have built across the industry and a little of our own experience turning up at offices in various states of disarray. They might not always be in the spotlight, but their impact is impossible to miss.
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So, without further ado, here are the Best of the Best Directors of First Impressions.
10. Paige Lindholm, workplace operations lead APAC, Pinterest
No Pinterest office experience would be complete without Paige Lindholm, the office manager who keeps everything running smoothly behind the scenes. From organising the day-to-day operations to making sure the team has everything it needs, she is the organisational force that helps bring the office to life.
Lindholm is skilled in operational strategy, senior stakeholder relations, financial and project management, and team performance. And she makes Pinterest a place people love walking into.
Pinterest also wanted to give its front desk security guard Lachlan a shout out. He has earned a reputation among employees as being nothing short of “amazing”. From playing fun songs as people walk through the doors to making every visitor feel welcome, he helps set the tone from the moment someone steps into the office. He might be the first face people see, but he’s certainly one they won’t forget.
9. Selina Govind, director of executive services, Havas
Selina Govind is a valued member of the Havas team, helping keep the agency running smoothly through her strong organisational skills, proactive approach and attention to detail. In a fast-paced agency environment, she plays an important role in supporting leadership, coordinating competing priorities and ensuring the day-to-day operations tick along seamlessly.
Known for her reliability, discretion and warm approach to stakeholder relationships, Govind goes above and beyond to support colleagues and bring people together. Her ability to anticipate needs, solve problems and keep things moving behind the scenes makes her an integral part of the business and the wider team.
Govind has also worked as the executive assistant to the CEO across Havas Red, Global CEO Havas Red and Havas Creative Network Australia since November 2021.
8. Claire ‘Bear’ Aylott, projects and office manager, WPP Media
Across more than 20 years at WPP Media (and when it was GroupM), Claire ‘Bear’ Aylott has become a person everyone trusts to make things happen.
She’s often the first person that employees, clients and partners meet, and the person they continue to rely on long after that first introduction.
She knows the answers to everything knows who to call and can find a solution to just about any challenge. She has orchestrated hundreds of WPP Media’s most important client and publisher engagements, leadership meetings, training programs, employee events and company celebrations with a level of precision and care that few can match. She is often the glue between teams, clients, partners and stakeholders.
Her impact is reflected in the countless moments, initiatives, events and experiences she has helped make possible throughout her career.
7. Lauren Inch, the fixer, Thinkerbell
Lauren Inch is the Fixer of Thinkerbell South. She is key to creating an environment and an experience that is aligned to the agency’s actions, clients, partners and visitors. Inch is equal parts measured and magic, and weaves creativity through everything she does.
She embraces the weird and knows how to make things happen, no matter what curveball is thrown her way (and there are loads!). She is forever solution-oriented and is not afraid to have an opinion. Inch does a wonderful job leading the Makers Of Measured Magic that bring Thinkerbell’s people together by creating big and small Measured Magic from Magic Hours to larger events.
Inch ensures each person who walks through the pink and green doors feels welcome and part of the team, whether that be a client, a partner or a delivery guy. Each person is met with openness, care and a slight raised eyebrow if they don’t push their chair back in. Whether she needs to dial the vibes up or down, she knows exactly which levers to pull
6. Laura Keo, national head of operations, Hatched
Laura Keo is the organisational engine behind Hatched. She keeps the agency running with absolute precision, and her impact goes far beyond making sure the stationery and kitchen cupboards are flawlessly stocked. First and foremost, she is the backbone of Hatched’s day-to-day operations. She manages policy, risk and compliance, onboards new staff, and streamlines internal processes and planning, so the agency runs like a well-oiled machine.
In the past year, she’s played a massive role in championing psychological safety, writing and implementing policies and overall helping make Hatched a place where people can do their best work.
5. Georgia Willey, communications director and people experience manager; Blake Lewicki, office manager, Howatson+Company
Georgia Willey wears two hats that shouldn’t logically fit together, but she pulls them both off brilliantly. As communications director she’s shaping how the agency talks to the outside world – from press to awards; as people experience manager she’s shaping how it feels to be inside it. She’s the first face anyone sees at Howatson’s front desk, and she brings the same warmth and attention to everyone who comes through that door – from clients to agency people to couriers – whatever’s happening behind the scenes.
Blake Lewicki is the office Manager, and on paper that means keeping the lights on. In practice it means he’s the reason people leave the office in a better mood than they arrived. The coffee, the catering, the small details – Lewicki notices all of it, and he does it with a warmth that makes guests feel genuinely looked after. Guests remember Lewicki, and they leave wanting to take him with them. He’s just as invaluable to the people inside the agency – there at breakfast time, when you need a random HDMI cord, and there for the 4pm Friday Aperol.
4. Lisa Derbyshire, office manager Adelaide and executive assistant, SCA
Every great office has a heartbeat and SCA’s is Lisa Derbyshire.
As the Adelaide office manager she keeps everything running like clockwork, from the smallest daily details to the big moments that brings the office together, often handling things so seamlessly that no one even realised a problem even existed. But what truly sets Derbyshire apart is the warmth she brings to every interaction.
She is a safe space for all of SCA, the person you can walk up to with a question, a worry, or just a need to talk, knowing you’ll be met with kindness, patience and genuine care. Derbyshire sets the tone the moment anyone walks through the doors.
3. Sue Franklin, office manager Melbourne, Mindshare
For 25 years, Sue Franklin has been part of Mindshare and, according to the agency, has become “quite literally” part of the fabric of its Melbourne office.
She sits at the heart of the office and the experience of everyone within it. She brings warmth, care and personality to the role, helping create an environment where people feel welcomed, supported and part of something.
After a quarter of a century, Mindshare said Franklin represents continuity, commitment and care. She has been there through generations of Mindshare talent and has helped shape the culture and character of the Melbourne office along the way.
A first impression isn’t created by a reception desk or an office fit-out. It comes from the people who make you feel welcome, looked after and like you belong. Franklin doesn’t just help run the Mindshare Melbourne office, in many ways she IS the Melbourne office – its personality and its culture.
2. Emir Kiraci, guest experience ambassador, Omnicom Media
Emir Kiraci is the first friendly face most people see when they arrive at Omnicom Media’s Eveleigh office. Anyone who has walked through those doors have been welcomed by his signature warmth, energy and genuine willingness to help.
Beyond creating an exceptional experience for our people and visitors, Emir immerses himself in the culture of each agency, championing connection across the group and bringing colleagues together through the themed social events he curates each month. He is often the first to put his hand up when support is needed, whether that’s helping to bring a pitch to life or creating inspiring environments where our teams can do their best work and our clients feel right at home.
1. Diana Younes, receptionist extraordinaire, BMF
For 30 years, Diana Younes has been the beating heart at BMF. Hired as one of the agency’s first employees, Younes has watched BMF grow from the ground up, and in many ways, she’s a huge reason it still feels like a family all these years later. Her signature “Hello Chicken” has become shorthand for the warmth she brings to every single day at BMF.
A brilliantly skilled administrator, Younes is as respected for her sharp capability as she is loved for her personality. She’s the person new starters remember first and long-time staff can’t imagine the place without. Thirty years on, she’s still the face of BMF, and still exactly the reason the agency feels like home.
