LIVE24SEVEN // Interviews
closet at work in the advertising industry and I was able to say that this was something I’d spent a lot of time being involved in. At that time several businesses were wanting advice on what they should do with these environmental challenges and so since then I’ve been able to combine my work with the environment and sustainability with commercial interests and have sat on many commissions, to include Government initiatives and so on. We need to make people engage with the idea of sustainability at a very fundamental level. Nowadays of course any self-respecting business has a sustainability policy. If we don’t get the environmental issues sorted out there won’t be any other issues left to worry about!
You were awarded a CBE for your services to the advertising industry. How did you feel when you found out the news? I felt thrilled and totally surprised. Of course the whole thing about the CBE system is that you don’t know you’ve been nominated, people have to write in and recommend you secretly and that’s what I found most affecting. I was thrilled for myself, the people I work with and, of course, my mum and family. On the day of the award we were lucky enough to be presented by the Queen, and my mother, who was in a wheelchair and who is 90 this month, was literally sitting six steps away from the Queen on the front row, so it was a life defining experience for her and the most amazing day.
both with huge success? Firstly, it never occurred to me that I wouldn’t carry on working when I had children. My mother was a shop assistant and a cleaner, so when we were very small, we were looked after by my grandmother and her sister, as my father was very ill, so it was normal for me to have a working mother. Secondly, I never wanted to be dependent on anybody, even my husband, whom I love and adore, so it was never an issue, I was always going to carry on working. In the late 1980s, when I had my children, it wasn’t usual for women in senior positions to carry on working after having children, so it was strange. I had a couple of months off with my first child and three months off with the second. Those were very different days, but there’s no point pretending – it was very difficult. I was very upset the first time I went back to work because above everything else, nature demands you want to be with your children physically and you long for them. On the other hand, now that they’re grown up they say that they are very proud of me. I love them unconditionally and I think that’s important that they know that, whether you are there every day or not. So yes, I worked ridiculous hours and looked rubbish, I was exhausted, overweight and really felt knackered. [laughing] Every minute I wasn’t working hard I was with the children, and no doubt about it, it wasn’t easy, but it was important to work hard and achieve what you’re able to achieve whilst also dropping everything if they needed me – the children always knew they came first. We had great nannies; one was with us for 12 years and was like their big sister. I’ve been privileged in all I’ve been able to do.
You’re a mother to two daughters, so two things: how did you find managing an ambitious career with being a mother and also, what’s your opinion on the much debated topic of women in senior roles, as you have managed
With the many, many hats you wear, do you get down time and if so how will we catch you spending it? Probably best ask my husband, when he has to deal with me as a gibbering wreck when I stop doing what I do…[laughing] I like to go to Greece, I go there to relax, also a hotel in Cornwall that I won’t mention because I love it so much I don’t want my sanctuary spoilt – [laughing] we go there twice a year. I also like walking, I do yoga and I love to dance and watch
documentaries and occasionally…I like to watch rubbish television!
Who would be your dream five dinner guests? Oh my! Someone like Aristotle. Nelson Mandela, terribly clichéd I know. Definitely Sir David Attenborough. Michelle Obama. Sass, brain and principles personified. Elizabeth 1 (how did she do it?). I would have said my dad (who died when I was 12) so I could see him again, but a public dinner party would hardly feel like the right environment…
Which three words would best describe you? Best ask others! If I had to, I hope it would be: optimistic, you have to be that otherwise you curl up and bend; human (happy to admit personal flaws, and really like to understand other human beings); nosy – I also really like to find stuff out about so many things and am a sucker for documentaries, non-fiction and obscure sessions at the Hay Festival…
Elections are looming! Out of all three party leaders, who do you think has the best personal brand? This really has two parts: who do you think has the best personal brand professionally and who do you feel personally engaged with. In terms of professionally the best brand, I don’t like to say this, but Nigel Farage has a very strong personal brand because people feel that they know what he stands for and he has captured a new public mood, whether people like him or not. Whether he creates real impact or not in the next election, there is this definite image of beer in one hand, fag in the other and speaking what is to a lot of people ordinary talk. He has electrified or changed so many aspects of the political debate, so he has a very strong brand in that it’s clear what he stands for, to include the props around him and what he says and does, the places he’s seen etc. He’s not the brand I relate to personally, but professionally he has really created something very strong.
To find out more about Rita Clifton CBE visit
www.ritaclifton.com
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