James McGowan | Head of marketing at Maeving

With a decade-long career in marketing under his belt, but a growing passion for sustainability, James was looking to weigh up how he could best make a difference, sticking with marketing or pursuing a more purely sustainability-focused role.

The challenge:

I’d had an 11 year career so far in marketing and – in response to all the greenwashing I’d seen – it had spurred me on to do a Master's in sustainability. At that point, I was at a crossroads. Should I be switching my career into a sustainable lead role? Or should I continue with marketing with a focus on sustainability?

The solution:

Having worked with Shannon, it was clear for me to stick with marketing, because that's where my strengths lay, but to increasingly bring my understanding of sustainability into that role at the same time.

The result:

I actually realised it was way more fun to be in the marketing side of sustainability. Whereas sustainability roles are hugely important they tend to be very technical and quite heavy. That’s what I realised and I’m now head of marketing at [electric motorbike brand] Maeving.