In our special column, we are pleased to host an interview with Ms. Jeannie Ivanov, Marketing Director Marine and Offshore, Lloyd’s Register, who defines as successful anyone who achieves his goals without compromising his/her principles, wellbeing and personal/ professional relationships and invests in effective communication and collaboration. Also, Ms. Ivanov notes that ”ambition is nothing to be ashamed of as long as you preserve your integrity” and advises us to be authentic.
When it comes to the maritime industry, she would like to see more encouraging efforts toward diversity. As she notes, the industry needs to ensure the right blend of experience and marketing expertise. Moreover, that it is attractive to new talents, coming from a broader spectrum of ages, genders, geographies and cultural backgrounds.
SAFETY4SEA: How did it come about that you joined shipping industry and your field of expertise specifically?
Jeannie Ivanov: I joined LR 18 months ago, with a remit to build a more strategic approach to marketing and communications. Prior to joining I had little experience of the shipping industry beyond being a passenger, so I’ve been on a steep learning curve and have gained huge respect for the people and organizations that make up such a unique industry.
S4S: What about your current job/ role most excites you and why?
J.I.: I’ve come into shipping at a time when the whole industry needs to work together to navigate a period of perhaps unprecedented change and disruption. Playing a part in that process – from helping to shape the LR portfolio of products and services to bringing together cross-industry stakeholders to collaborate – is a hugely exciting prospect.
S4S: When you think of the word successful who’s the first person who comes to mind and why?
J.I.: I think success looks different for different people; anyone who is able to achieve their ambitions without compromising their principles, their wellbeing or their personal and professional relationships is successful in my eyes.
S4S: Who is/was the most influential person/mentor to you & why?
J.I.: I ran a digital marketing business in Beijing for a few years when I was in my twenties and my business partner (also a good friend and travelling companion) was a massive influence. He taught me that quiet self-confidence far preferable to arrogance. It wouldn’t have even occurred to me we had the skills to do what we did without his assurance.
S4S: What is the best and what was the worst piece of advice you’ve ever been given and why?
J.I.: When I joined LR somebody told me not to be overwhelmed by the knowledge that would surround me, but instead to make use of it at every opportunity – that has come in very useful.
S4S: What is the most worthwhile career investment (in energy, time, money) you’ve ever made?
J.I.: Spending time with and on my team even when time seems to be too short. The more you communicate, collaborate and develop the people who work with and for you, the more successful you’ll be.
S4S: If you could give a piece of advice to your 18-year-old-self one thing, what would it be and why? What piece of advice should you ignore?
J.I.: Ambition is nothing to be ashamed of as long as you preserve your integrity.
S4S: In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your business life?
J.I.: It’s very much a cliché but in the past couple of years I’ve worked hard on being willing to say no, for the right reasons. I realized that if you always say yes, you are often holding things back rather than driving them forwards.
S4S: What would you like to change in the current maritime landscape and your area of expertise specifically and why?
J.I.: I’d like to try and encourage more diversity: in my team, we need to create the right blend of shipping experience and marketing expertise. In LR we need to ensure that our incredible heritage and knowledge is preserved, but also strengthened by incoming talent. And in the industry we need to ensure that both familiar and new voices are heard from across a broader spectrum of ages, genders, geographies and cultural backgrounds.
S4S: What is your personal motto?
J.I.: Be authentic
About Jeannie Ivanov, Marketing Director Marine and Offshore, Lloyd’s Register
Jeannie Ivanov joined Lloyd’s Register (LR) in July 2018 as marketing director in the Marine and Offshore division. She and her team are responsible for steering the marketing engine that provides LR with the insight, messaging and capability to drive the marine and offshore strategy, ensuring we meet our clients’ needs today, tomorrow and in the future.
To fully understand the challenges and opportunities facing LR’s clients in this fast-changing world, Jeannie spent most of her first year immersing herself in the industry. Before joining LR, she led the segment marketing team at Virgin Media Business, one of the UK’s leading telecommunications providers, prior to which she spent three years in China running a marketing agency for European and US small and medium-sized enterprises. Jeannie began her career as a graduate at Vodafone UK then Vodafone Global, where she built a career backbone in many aspects of marketing and communications, from brand to customer relationship management.
Jeannie has traveled extensively both professionally and personally, which has helped to steer her vision for maintaining a single LR brand across multiple geographies, whilst also creating a local market approach that best serves clients in every corner of the world that LR operates. Jeannie is passionate about ensuring that LR’s unrivalled brand and heritage grows stronger as it expands its portfolio of products and services to meet the changing requirements and demands of its clients, and that its increasingly diverse and talented global workforce remain its greatest marketing asset.