After getting to know our Global HR Manager, Stephanie Kelly, in our last blog, this week we’re moving stateside to learn more about the General Manager of the New York office, Rob Edwards.
Rob is celebrating his 13th year at Elevate this year, after joining as a presenter back in 2010. From presenter to BDM to US GM, it’s been a rollercoaster ride for Rob over the last decade and a bit, and he’s spearheaded a number of Elevate’s most significant expansion projects, including the opening of the New York office.
As well as being the man who built the US office from the ground up (not literally – despite his secret welding talent) Rob also possesses some impressive culinary skills and a penchant for a certain UK reality TV show... read on to learn more!
What has your time at Elevate looked like so far?
I joined Elevate as a presenter at the end of 2010, initially because I had a couple of friends who were already part of the team at that point and they thought I might enjoy a public speaking job.
I started in the Elevate Oz office full-time at the start of 2013 as a Business Development Manager and was in that role just under 2 years before starting up Elevate US in 2014. After a year of fly-in/fly-out while building the business up, I boxed up all my stuff to move over to NYC in September 2015!
What degree did you study and why?
I studied Commerce at Sydney University. Subjects like Business Studies and Economics were my favorite in high school, so it felt like the most obvious progression at the time.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
Wearing multiple hats across the week as the need arises (sales, customer service, HR, finance, governance, tech, etc), and in doing so getting to spend time with all the rockstars in each of these parts of the business.
What is your hidden talent that no-one in the office knows about?
I love to make pasta from scratch (although some know this already…). The other one is I’m pretty good at welding.
Go-to karaoke song?
Black Eyed Peas – ‘Where is the Love?’ or anything from the Hamilton musical.
Favourite TV series/film?
Love Island UK. I may or may not have one of the personalized water bottles…
Favourite food?
Slow roasted lamb shoulder with tzatziki and crispy potatoes. That would be my final meal.
What are you most excited about at Elevate at the moment?
We’ve just started running workshops in a number of new states, including California, Florida and Georgia. We’ll be getting on the road these next few months to build our presence across the US.
And that's it from our US GM! Who would've guessed an Australian member of the US team would be such a big fan of Love Island UK? Check in next week to meet another member of Elevate HQ.