We're up when
everyone else is asleep
and vice versa 5
LIFE IN ADAY
A day in the life ofDenise Shaw (48), Media Relations Manager,
Rabobank Australia New Zealand
'We have to be flexible'
"I was brought on board in December 2002 -
when we were rebranding to the Rabobank
name from Primary Industry Bank of Australia
- to ramp up our public relations activities and
help build the bank's profile in the media. It's a
two-person department and we look after the
media for Rabobank across New
Zealand and Australia. I'm flying
solo this week because my Media
Relations colleague, Jess Martin, is
on holiday. Much of what we do is
based around what's going on in
business and in the wider F&A
sector. So however much we try
to plan ahead, we also have to be
flexible and responsive so we can
maximise any media opportunities
that come up for the bank.
We've built up Rabobank to the
point where we're now a go-to
commentator on the F&A sector,
so we have a lot of calls from
journalists looking for information
and interviews with our experts.
Rather than the bank just telling
clients and potential clients that
we are the specialists in F&A, we're
out there in the media showing it.
Sydney is such a vibrant city to be
working in. It's very colourful and
can be a little brash, but it's fun. I
live up on the Northern Beaches,
where there's a real holiday feel.
The downside is it's a long
commute - on the bus it typically
takes, door to door, an hour and
a half. But I'm fortunate.
I can telecommute some days.
Today, my working day began at
home, at about 7.45 am, with
media monitoring and checking
overnight emails from our Utrecht
head office. I had a trip over to Utrecht last year
and that was enormously helpful because it
gave me a better understanding of the bank
and especially how it operates in the Nether-
lands. With today's media, you really do feel
part of one big global workplace. But working
accommodate all the time zones. In summer, in
Australia, the calls can start at 11 pm. But with
mobile phones, it's relatively easy to do. Much
of our communication with the head office
is by email - and Blackberrys are marvellous.
Even within my region, there are time zones to
By the time I get home, it's dinner and
family matters. I save my relaxing until
the weekend. I enjoy swimming and
watching my boys - who are 13 and
17 - play rugby. Also, not having
come from an agricultural back
ground, I have embraced it since
working at Rabobank and a few years
ago purchased a hobby farm - 100
acres - about three hours from
Sydney. We run a very small herd of
beef cattle and have some horses.
My professional philosophy is only
distribute material that's newsworthy.
I come from a journalistic background,
and we write every release just as we
would as journalists on a newspaper,
TV or radio. At Rabobank, we also have such an
amazing amount of knowledge and expertise
within the bank. That's a gift to us in media
relations - to have this relevant, substantial
knowledge and expertise. It makes our job so
much easier."
consider. New Zealand is two hours ahead of
Sydney and Western Australia is two hours
behind. So early this morning I interviewed a
farmer in New Zealand, who'd won a Rabobank
business management award, and wrote a
media release. Then I went along to Rabobank's
F&A spot on the Sky Business channel
- we provide a different specialist
each week and write the lead-in and
questions.This week it was our head
of wholesale banking, Paul Beiboer.
Today, l've also reviewed a media
release and edited a regional news
paper article for our New Zealand
business. I followed up RSVPs for
several journalists who've been invited
to our annual Rabobank Leadership
Dinner. l've also started work on the
next quarterly Rabobank Rural Confi-
dence Survey for Australia - we'll do
eight releases on that - and arranged
three interviews with our people
about the financial market activity that
took place overnight and its impact on
F&A commodities. It's been very busy.
in Australia, you do notice the time zones -
we're up when everyone else is asleep and vice
versa. So you have to be flexible.
Twice a month we have global conference
calls with our media and Communications
colleagues around the world and you need to
ISSUE 29 0< 1 OBER RI WORLD
