Lily joined Mantis in January 2018, after a classic Anna/Eleanor/Bryony interview that started and ended in a pub. It was in the days before we had a regular office, and Lily joining as an SAE signified a really important stage in our growth as a tech PR agency.

In fact, in true Lily style (she’s one of the most self-effacing people you’re likely to meet in PR), she maybe doesn’t realise what a pivotal role she played then, and, three years later, now.

Lily and I created our Bristol office together, choosing our first premises, and she helped build our team here too. In our mission to expand the business, we wanted to provide bigger teams with dedicated media relations and content creation skills. We also wanted to create a tech PR agency where people could grow and thrive with us. On Thursday last week we promoted Lily to a Senior Account Manager role, and she also now plays a crucial role in our talent team, nurturing our staff and recruiting new ones.

In the past year, especially, Lily has shone as a senior staff member who has taken the remoteness of our professional lives and made it work for all her clients. Like many of us, she has clients she hasn’t met yet in person, but that hasn’t stopped her and her teams achieving superb outcomes for them. I miss seeing her, and was so excited when I realised I could fib my way into her garden by feigning a line managerial visit once it was allowed, to promote her as a surprise.

If you’re reading this and you work with Lily in any capacity, you’ll know how dedicated she is. Congratulations Lils, a truly deserved promotion for the South-West FLOMANTOSIA.