029 | Be Your Own Best Advocate with Kerry O'Callaghan

Kerry O'Callaghan is a Global Brand Builder, Strategic Marketer, and VP of Corporate Reputation and Brand at the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Pharmaceutical Company. She holds a Master’s degree in Physiological Sciences from the University of Oxford. After training as a scientist, Kerry found she was more interested in why people do what they do when choosing products and brands. She has worked with GSK for over 20 years, and her role has evolved from marketing specific products into a corporate brand role. She has worked on key strategic collaboration projects, including London 2012, Comic Relief, and McLaren, to bring the GSK brand to life. 

In today's episode, Kerry shares her journey from studying sciences to an impressive marketing career with a global pharmaceutical brand. She reveals why she enjoys working in brand partnerships and the lessons she takes from seeing how these other businesses work. She shares some of the insights she gained early on in her career and some of the things she wishes she had figured out sooner. She highlights a trait she noticed among the men she works with and how she tries to apply it to her work approach. She also reveals the conversations she is having with her daughter about coming into the working world and how the workplace is evolving for the next generation of working women.

“There are plenty of people in this world that will support you and won't support you, but you really have to be your own best advocate.”
- Kerry O’Callaghan


This week on The Unwritten Rules Podcast:

  • What brought Kerry to her Corporate Reputation and Brand career

  • Why Kerry enjoys working with brand partners and how she learns from them

  • What Kerry learned very early in her career and what she wishes she knew back then

  • What Kerry noticed from men in the workplace and how she uses that in her approach to her work

  • Personal unwritten rules that Kerry had to learn through her career

  • The conversations Kerry is having with her daughter about going into the working world

  • How the workplace is changing for the next generation of women

  • The next steps for Kerry in her life and career


Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Just push yourself forward and don't wait.”- Kerry O’Callaghan.

  • “Make sure that you are always your best advocate and putting yourself out there.”- Kerry O’Callaghan.

  • “Give yourself the best chance possible, and don't be the person that holds you back.”- Kerry O’Callaghan


Connect with Kerry O'Callaghan:

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Thanks for tuning into today’s episode of The Unwritten Rules with your host, Helen Appleby. If you enjoyed this episode, please head over to Apple Podcasts to subscribe and leave a rating and review.

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030 | Being Human is Good For Business with Heather Marasse

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028 | Navigating Work and Life as an Executive Mom with Joann Lublin