Fiona Sexton

Tell us a bit about yourself?

At University College Galway, I studied Economics and Classical Civilization (I'm showing my age! It’s now called the National University of Ireland, Galway) which was a wonderful experience. It is a great city, packed full of culture and fun, the perfect setting to study humanities and read everything I could get my hands on. After that, I spent two years working in Paris. Then I came home to do a postgraduate degree in Business Studies in UCD Smurfit Business School.

I was incredibly lucky with my first job. I worked for a very successful Irish startup software company called Entropy in a sales and marketing role. My CEO was amazing and I learned so much very quickly. I ended up working in various software companies for the next twenty years as an EMEA Marketing Manager with Phoenix Technology Group, Business Objects (now SAP) BT Ireland, and Microsoft.

I’ve been incredibly lucky and had really interesting roles, but I’ve chosen very carefully along the way. I’ve continued to learn about great technology, I’ve travelled and worked with really great teams across Europe. And as an EMEA marketing manager, in effect I’ve just continued to tell stories, and create great content to help people understand how various technologies help to improve business performance and people’s lives.

I’m into my fourth year with CoolPlanet and I’m really enjoying it. It’s definitely the best company I have worked for. The culture is very special. I consider myself very lucky. It’s so important to be happy in what you do every day.

What do you enjoy most about working at CoolPlanet?

I've had a variety of roles since joining CoolPlanet, which is great because I enjoy learning new things and changing things up. I still get to write stories and create useful content on climate, whether it be for climate education or for marketing purposes.

But it’s ultimately the people. The culture is very different from any other place I have worked, they are a talented and enthusiastic bunch, so it's inspiring and fun to be around people with the right attitude! And it's very important to work for a company that is helping businesses and individuals to decarbonize.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Probably a singer! I take singing lessons now but there’s no way I’m hitting the stage. It's just for fun :) But I’ve always been a reader and I think that has helped me in what I do, as there’s a lot of writing.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Enjoy the simple things! That’s what it's all about.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

In the evenings I go swimming, walking, or practice yoga. I returned to study art history at night a few years ago. I'm really happy I did, it's turned into a true passion.

What keeps you motivated?

Creating things that matter.

What are three interesting things about you?

• I once was a ghost writer on a book
• I’m a trained yoga teacher 🙂
• I won the Vodafone World of Difference award in 2009. Vodafone provided my salary and budget for 2 years, so I could implement my idea/project for social change. I created an online toolkit to help non-profit organisations engage with volunteers more strategically. My project resulted in a 30% increase in skills volunteer placements nationally.

What is your life mantra?

Chill out and keep going :)