After 8 years with the company, Jenny O’Brien is leaving to start a new role outside Colart.
Starting as a Regulatory Affairs Assistant, Jenny has grown both personally and professionally to leave as the Group Regulatory Affairs Manager. Regulatory Affairs in Colart has also seen a similar transformation mainly under Jenny’s guidance and leadership and we are grateful for the huge impact that Jenny has made.
We wish Jenny every success in her new role and before she departs we asked Jenny to answer a few questions:-
Are you taking any time before your next role?
I’ll be on a flight to Iceland 7am Saturday morning, for a mini adventure to reset before starting the new career adventure.
Who was one person in Colart you couldn’t do without and why?
Its hard to pin point one person. I’ve had the privilege to work with so many great colleagues, who have supported me professionally, personally and been so much fun to work with. I would like to say a special thank you to my mentor Harsa and the “work wife” Ajita. Two amazing women who work so hard behind the scenes supporting colleagues through challenging times.
What is the key thing that you learned in Colart that will help you in your next role?
Team work makes the dream work! It’s ok not to have all the answers, but collectively we can solve any problem.
What is your proudest/funniest/toughest moment at Colart?
Proudest and toughest moment – the labelling project. I’m so proud of what we achieved promoting the business awareness of regulatory issues and adapting our labelling. But I think we all underestimated the scale of the project and it was extremely challenging for a lot of departments. Want to know more about project there is a great communication on the intranet. Funniest moment – the Regulatory Elf and Safety Murder Mystery Christmas Quiz and some of the obscure Freshdesk queries. It’s amazing what some people do with paint.
One thing about Colart you will remember?
Its got to be the people, I’ve had so much fun on trips away, parties and at the garden bar.
What nugget of advice would you give your team?
Regulatory can often be seen as the deliverer of bad news, either when things go wrong or new legislation impacts the business. There is so much work going on in the background to avoid issues, often working with vague or uncertain rules. My message is to highlight the successes and don't sweat the small stuff. Things go wrong, it’s our job to solve problems. Just keep the focus on our long term goals.
What’s the new role you are moving to?
I will be working for Diageo as their Lead Advisor on Packaging Regulations working with Sustainability team on future packaging designs and support the business to meet their sustainable KPIs.
The very best of luck, Jenny. You will always be part of the Colart family, so keep in touch.
Jonathan Spight
Chief Financial Officer
We held a farewell speech for Jenny at the London Hub on Friday 22nd September. All Colart people were invited to view this farewell via Teams. If you missed it, we recorded it for you! Click below to view this.