Talking transformation: we interview Alex MacLaverty, COO and PR agency advisor

Alex MacLaverty is no stranger to transformation. Having played a pivotal role in scaling and integrating some of the world’s most ambitious communications agencies, she brings a wealth of experience in navigating growth, international expansion, and leadership transitions. From her early days at Hotwire, where she helped grow the agency from a 30-person team to a global operation, to leading Clarity through seven acquisitions in just four years, Alex has seen it all.

As an interim Chief Operating Officer and strategic advisor to consultancies, she now works closely with agency founders and leadership teams to drive performance, manage change, and set businesses up for long-term success. Alex talked to us about the realities of scaling an agency, the challenges of M&A, and the leadership lessons she’s learned along the way.


1. Can you give us a brief introductory overview of your background and experience?

I started out in tech PR, joining specialist firm Hotwire as an account manager when it was just 30 people, and leaving 15 years later as Global COO when it was 270 people. From there I moved to a start-up agency, Clarity, where we grew phenomenally, doing 7 acquisitions in 4 years to expand internationally and move from just PR into integrated marketing. Most recently I’ve taken those skills into a variety of agencies as a consultant and interim COO, advising and coaching founders and leadership teams on how to improve performance, grow and / or exit.

2. Given your focus on transformation in scale-ups – perhaps you can tell us about a time when you needed to make significant structural changes and how you maintained business momentum?

My first rule is always ‘don’t break anything’. This means figure out the stress points in advance and make sure there is always enough focus on the BAU to overcome these. This is particularly important in M&A when it is very easy for all the senior people on both sides of a deal to get consumed by lawyers and numbers and take their eye off the actual ball – running their existing businesses well. The trick is to divide and conquer as a leadership team, and be prepared to pivot fast if things start getting too far off track. It’s better to pause and regroup than push through with a plan that’s starting to look wonky.

3. In your experience with international expansion, what has been the most complex market entry you've managed?

Every market has its challenges, whether that’s to do with the culture, the scale, the red tape or the industry. The US is always top of people’s wish-lists, but it’s a tough one to crack simply because of its size – you can’t go in small over there and expect to succeed, you need a lot of cash and a lot of energy. Mexico was probably the most interesting though, as it was so different in almost every way to my experience at the time. The legals, the labour laws, the clients and services, I’m exhausted just thinking about it but I certainly learned a lot.

4. Can you walk us through a situation where you encountered resistance to implementing new accountability measures, and how you overcame this?

Accountability is often seen as a threat, but when done properly it’s an amazing opportunity to set a clear purpose, increase the support you’re given, show off how well you’re performing, and progress faster. The trick is to get teams really engaged in setting their own goals, make achieving them meaningful and rewarding, and be consistent and fair in how they’re applied. There’s nothing more pointless and demotivating than setting goals that no one agrees with, understands or measures.

5. You've worked on both business integration and culture alignment – I’m sure you have some eye-opening stories about clashes. Can you tell us a gem that you have learned along the way which may help others thinking about merging?

A key tenet of my approach to change management of any kind is that you have to get hearts aligned before you work on minds. If teams don’t truly understand why a change has to happen, and why that’s a good thing for them, change almost always fails to deliver. Leadership teams easily forget that they’ve had ages to get over this first hump, so rush to the operational side of a merger without giving teams adequate time and support to get properly on board as well. Start far earlier than you think you should, and give everyone plenty of time to process.

6. What's the most challenging conversation you've had to have with a founder about letting go of control, and how did you help them navigate this transition?

I don’t think I can or should name names(!) but we all know founders can be tricky! They say they want to step back, but it’s their baby and that can be really hard, and you have to respect that. Again it’s really a change management thing – do they truly know they need to step back, and can they genuinely see how it will benefit them? Crucially, most founders are entrepreneurs, so if they don’t have something else lined up to keep them busy once they step away, they’ll just keep poking their noses back in whether they mean to or not! So make sure that alignment is there, and tangible, so they have a real incentive to make the transition stick.

7. What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve been given along the way and by whom?

The best advice has been given to me several times in different ways by different people, and it boils down to “slow down!”. I’m naturally very fast-paced and impatient, which makes me very efficient – but also sometimes comes across as a bit intense! I’ve learned over the years to take the edge off and be sure to bring people with me, listen rather than talk, and appreciate that sometimes there are more important things than just getting sh!t done.

8. What or who inspires you and why?

So many agencies, especially in the last few years, feel like they’re running on a treadmill just to stay put. Everyone’s exhausted. Being able to work with founders and leadership teams to help them find a path forward that gives them back that energy and spark is hugely motivating. I love a challenge!

9. If you could start all over again, is there anything you would change in your career path? Why?

Working with teams in multiple countries, I spent much of my career pre-covid jumping on planes and travelling. While mostly useful, and fun – that definitely feels like something I’d do differently now that we’ve seen how effective remote working can be. Back then it felt like the only way to get things done and get ahead, but of course it was awful for the environment, and I missed out on a lot of time with my children (who were very young then). They still complain about it now…

10. You are incredibly busy in your professional life, what do you do outside of work to de-stress? Any hidden talents?

No hidden talents sadly! We live by the Thames so when the weather’s half decent we spend as much time as possible on the river – swimming, paddle boarding, and mudlarking – or just kicking back on a sunny day with a good book or good friends, and a glass of wine. Bliss!

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