Field Note 08: Life After the Logo

Hi everyone,

This month marks two years since I walked away from my dream job at Lamborghini and naturally, it’s been a reflective couple of weeks.

Listening to a podcast this morning with Steve Versano where he touches on personal branding reminded me of something few people talk about: how much of your personal brand gets wrapped up in the brand you work for, especially in luxury. And what happens when you leave?

When I was weighing up my resignation, one thought kept looping in my mind: “Leaving Lamborghini will mean saying goodbye to access.” And I can confirm, it’s true. Working for a marquee name with history, persona and reputation opens doors you can’t imagine. Calls get answered, gifts and tickets appear, invitations flood in. Everyone wants a piece of Lamborghini, and by extension, a piece of you.

It’s intoxicating. It boosts your ego, your social media, even your dating life (I once dated a guy who literally just wanted to drive a Lamborghini. Spoiler: he didn’t).

But here’s the reality: they don’t want you; they want the brand behind you. And in luxury, whether automotive, fashion, watches, this is amplified. In marketing roles it’s even more pronounced, because your job overflows into evenings, weekends, events, travel. The brand becomes your life. And for many, it becomes their identity.

And when you leave, you have to walk out with only yourself and your own “brand.” I guess that’s one reason some people never leave.

Looking back, I spent far more time building up Lamborghini’s brand than my own. Rightly so. They paid me well, moved me across countries, gave me extraordinary opportunities. But it’s easy to wonder sometimes if it came at the expense of my own identity.

Two years on, I’ve realised just how critical it is to invest in your personal brand alongside your employer’s. Because you never know when you’ll need it. I had the luxury of choosing to leave and start something new; others don’t always get that choice.

So ask yourself: Who are you when you’re not working at the big, flashy company with the big name?

What I'm Up To Lately:

Viperium. The Trading Emporium

Big news!

Alongside my consulting and project work at NEON NAVY, I’ve taken on the role of Chief Marketing Officer for Viperium.

If you’re curious about the bridge between luxury marketing and FinTech / Crypto / Web3, get in touch. We’re working on some exciting things ahead of our ICO and platform debut later this year.

What I'm Into Right Now:

📚 Books: The Courage to be Disliked, by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga

🎧 Podcast: A recent Episode from The Gstaad Guy Podcast, with Steve Versano: Founder of The Jet Business - Aviation, Entreperneurship, Corporate Jets & The Art of The Deal