Fallon joined Arkadin in February 2019 as the Managing Director of Digital Engagement Service Line and is responsible for its virtual events solutions; going beyond moment-in-time audio and video events to proactive, purposeful and immersive digital experiences, anytime, anywhere.
Tell us a bit about yourself, background and your current role:
I’m a straight-talking, big-hearted person with a passion for solving complex problems and helping other people.
Today, I serve as the Managing Director of Digital Engagement for Arkadin. I’m proud of our excellent team, right now we deliver more than 100 professionally managed events every working day, all over the world. From video conferences and small webinars to large webcasts or operator managed conference calls, it’s an honour to be trusted by customers to deliver their most critical communications and a privilege to work with so many excellent professionals at Arkadin.
Prior to Arkadin, I have spent over 15 years in the IT industry in a range of senior roles with some of the world’s most successful technology brands. I started in Marketing and followed my motivation around revenue-producing engines into broader Operations roles and then executive leadership in companies like Microsoft, Infor Global Solutions, DXC Technology.
Personally, I’m known for my open style, ability to get stuff done and sense of humour. You’ll probably hear me before you see me—I’ll be the one with an Australian accent, laughing loudly.
Did you ever sit down and plan your career?
Yes, but perhaps not how people may expect. I have never been someone who has aspired to certain job titles or a specific role. Instead, I focus on choosing the right people to work with, then finding big problems and get busy trying to solve them. This means my career has been quite organic. I’ve been fortunate that new opportunities find me.
That doesn’t mean it all happens by accident. Choosing the right opportunity is critical. By investing time to discover what I am passionate about, what experiences I enjoy and am looking for in a next role, it became easier to recognize and choose the right next steps when opportunities come along.
Have you faced any challenges along the way?
Absolutely. I won’t bore anyone with the details because some of it is a bit grim. The harsh reality of life is that it is not fair and I am not unique in that sense. Everyone has a private struggle that others may know nothing about.
There is a great quote by Elizabeth Gilbert that I like and that I’ll paraphrase: “the people I love and admire for their strength and grace did not get that way because things worked out. They got that way because things went wrong, and they handled it. They handled it a thousand different ways on a thousand different days, but they handled it…”
Life will kick you while you are down, you need to be resilient.
What has been your biggest achievement to date?
Holding on to amazing people over time and oceans! I have an amazing family and a network of people that make my life better because they are a part of it. To know that people I admire so greatly like having me around is more than I could have ever hoped for.
What one thing do you believe has been a major factor in you achieving success?
Sincere kindness, with no expectation of return. Kindness does not equate to weakness. In the tougher moments, it’s a superpower. If you can choose to be anything – be kind.
How do you feel about mentoring? Have you mentored anyone or are you someone’s mentee?
I have been fortunate in my career to have a number of excellent mentors and to serve as a mentor and coach to others. I make it a deliberate pursuit to receive guidance from a diverse network of people. There is a great book by Janine Garner titled “It’s who you know: How a network of 12 key people can fast-track your success”. It was gifted to me by my long-time coach and mentor Oscar Trimboli, author of “Deep Listening: Impact Beyond Words”, I highly recommend it for people curious about the power of your network.
If you could change one thing to accelerate the pace of change for Gender Parity, what would it be?
I’m passionate about equality of opportunity, in all facets. Gender is only one pivot. I’d love to see a meritocracy—recognizing individuals based on talent, effort, and achievement, rather than factors such as sexuality, race, gender, age, or wealth.
If I could change one thing, it would be to remove biases (both conscious and unconscious) in a way that would produce a diverse pool of qualified candidates for all roles. I’d then like the most suitable person to be appointed.
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self what would it be?
Let people help you.
When I was younger, I used to be fiercely independent when it came to work. I equated needing help to weakness, and I spent lots of my time powering through enormous workloads on my own. It was stressful, lonely and to be frank—I probably wasn’t producing the best possible outcome because I was the onlyone contributing and my experience was limited. I made mistakes and learnt a lot. However, my life changed when I shifted my mindset to focus on two things: the power of teams and the importance of helping others be successful, with no expectations of anything in return.
The reality is that very few of us will achieve great success in life as an individual. But as a team, we can be greater than the sum of our parts. Look at any successful sporting team, it’s not only about the start players, but also the team players and working as one. Importantly, not all the magic happens on the field, you don’t need to be a star player to make a difference; there is huge success in being a behind the scenes supporter and investing in helping others be great.
What is your next challenge and what are you hoping to achieve in the future?
Being new in role, professionally, my next challenge is like many others: ensuring our business performs while we power through transformation. Key to our future success will be how we evolve to not only meet but stay ahead of the needs of our customers.
Personally, my future aspirations are simple, I want to help other people be successful and have fun doing it.
