Name: Shardee Manzouri
Job title: Digital Marketing Specialist
Tell us a bit about yourself
I am mum to Luca and Maya, and partner to James. My weekends are filled mainly going to kids’ parties (I’m in that era of life) and decorating our never ending “doer-upper”. We love to cook, host and eat and I have a large family, so often chaos descends on my house for a party.
Describe your job to a five-year-old
When people are scrolling on their phones or watching YouTube videos, and a picture of a bathroom comes up, right at the time when they need a bathroom. I make that happen.
What do you like most about your job?
Watching campaigns, events, plans come to life. When things start from a “wild” idea and take months to plan, when you get to see people engage with it, their reactions and results, it makes it all worthwhile. That and the fact that the marketing team get to work with so many different departments around the business.
How did you get here?
I made a very last-minute decision at 17 when applying to university to do marketing, it was between product design, interior design and business, which ironically my career has involved all three in some way. My first marketing job was in pharmaceuticals working on brands like Zoflora and Covonia, Then I joined Fellowes who make office products, I was on a graduate rotation so moved around departments learning all about shredders, laminators and desktop ergonomics. Next I worked at Hull University, before joining Ideal Standard as a keen 25-year-old marketing exec. I’ve had various roles here in my time all within marketing across product management, channel and digital. I left briefly in 2019 but just couldn’t stay away from the place for too long!
If you could swap jobs with anyone, who would it be?
Definitely a food critic or food blogger. Maybe Grace Dent or The Greedy Model, my dream would be a food tour of the world, but I’d have to hire a personal trainer to travel around with me!
Your favourite song lyric or line from a film
“Sanka, you dead?” “Ya, mon.” From the film Cool Runnings.
Your favourite app?
Spotify – it feeds my soul in every way. I swear the algorithms can sense what kind of mood I’m in. I listen to a lot of podcasts & music of every era and genre, whilst walking, gym-ing, and dancing in my kitchen.
Biggest facepalm moment at work?
Far too many to name. My marketing colleagues often laugh at me not understanding the fluffy marketing spiel I am asked to proof read, what even is “the Epit-ome of gossamer”