Celebrating Karen Horsup | IWD

For International Women's Day 2022, we decided to celebrate successful women in our business, get to know them and promote their achievements both inside and outside of the workplace.

Please introduce your role and tell a bit about your journey at Midwich?

So my role is Head of Strategic Marketing UK&I. In 2019, my role developed into supporting the business with wider marketing projects and adding value to the group. I joined in 1998 but what’s kept my journey fresh is the ever-changing technology and acquisitive nature of the business taking us into new markets.

Have you always planned to be in marketing?

When I was a student, I didn’t know what I wanted to do after A levels. My dad advised me to take a business course and I enjoyed the marketing segment so much I applied for jobs in marketing and signed up to complete a professional qualification from the Chartered Institute of Marketing. My first job was marketing assistant at Sovereign Foods.

If you couldn’t do marketing, what would you like to do instead?

I used to want to be a shop window designer. Creating fantasy worlds to attract people into the store or just brighten up their day. It’s all changed now with the online world – not quite the same appeal!  

What is one thing people don’t know about you? A secret hobby?

I make sugar paste flowers. I made the sugar paste flower bouquet for my own wedding cake and my mum still has them in a cabinet at hers!

What do you love most about your job and working at Midwich?

The diversity of the role and talking to people from many different countries around the world are probably the two best things. It’s great to see how Midwich nurtures people and their careers, alongside supporting their wider family and home life demands is second to none.

What makes your day easier and more fun at work?

The team around me!

What does success mean to you and how do you see it?

Success comes from when people follow their heart and believe in what they do.

Do you feel successful?

Being able to make a difference to people around me both inside and outside of work – for me that’s success.

Was there someone that really made a difference to how you see your role?

In my second role, working for a Ford Dealer Group, I had a manager that would always want you to strive to want to be the best you can be. That always made me feel confident and believe in myself. I’ve also been influenced by seeing so many people within Midwich progress their careers over the years, such as Mark Lowe, Tom Sumner, Tracey Perkins, Silke Wehling, seeing their fantastic journeys.

What would you say to your younger self?

Don’t listen to the doubters, be led by your own intuition and believe in yourself first. Because if you believe in yourself, everyone around you believes in you.

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women's achievements or rally for women's equality. 

International Women's Day has occurred for well over a century with the first gathering held in 1911. The campaign theme for International Women's Day 2022 is #BreakTheBias. Whether deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it difficult for women to move ahead. Knowing that bias exists isn't enough. Action is needed to level the playing field.