Donna Sheridan joined Ombudsman Services as Senior Marketing and Communications Manager in February 2020. In her new role, Donna will be responsible for continuing to improve how we communicate and engage with all customer groups, including member companies. This includes events, email communications and other B2B interaction between Ombudsman Services and our member companies. You can connect with Donna on LinkedIn here.
Q: When did you join Ombudsman Services and what are your first impressions of the organisation?
A: I have been with the Ombudsman Services for two weeks! So I really am a newbie. My first impressions are that everyone is really friendly and welcoming, even after two weeks here I think that this is the way people are. There is a commonly shared attitude that people who work here want to help people and that comes over loud and clear.
Q: What does your new role involve and what are your priorities / key areas of focus?
A: I am leading the marketing and communications team, focusing on ensuring our communications are right and that we market Ombudsman Services in the right way. I have some major projects that I’m already working on, including the Consumer Action Monitor (due to be published in May) and our annual conference in June, so there will be a lot to keep me and my team busy.
Q: Tell us a bit about your life and career before you joined Ombudsman Services.
A: I have worked in global medical marketing for years, so I have been lucky enough to work in New York, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and Czech Republic. I also lived in Finland briefly. I have done a lot of travelling and understand cultural differences. I speak German and French. My last role was working as Senior Global Marketing Manager for a medical devices company, where I launched a range of products to help people who have been really poorly with bowel cancer, Crohn's and Colitis. This was an engaging role putting the customer at the heart of everything we did. I ran many focus groups to really understand what the customer wanted. Other notable things I have done in my career include launching Compeed® Blister plasters, hosting an event for more than 1,000 business leaders in the North West with Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Kenny Dalglish as guests and Heather Small as the entertainment. I was also the first person to launch gluten-free cereal on prescription. I am passionate about marketing, so much so that my summer holiday this year is a digital marketing and yoga retreat!
Q: How do you enjoy spending time outside of work?
A: I spend my time doing something very different outside work. I have an allotment and grow prize-winning vegetables. I also have 100 chickens, yes you read that correctly, 100 chickens! I have won first, second and third place prizes for best in breed for my chickens at the renowned Royal Cheshire Show held every year at Tatton Park in the North West. I love spending time outdoors. I also run a “Sow, Grow and Eat” programme at my allotment to encourage children to plant and grow their own food and then eat the food they have nurtured. I also source funding and charity donations of time to help with the allotments, as reported my local newspaper!
Q: Give us one surprising fact about you or your ‘claim to fame’.
A: If you Google Donna Sheridan, you get more than 11 million hits. …. Meryl Streep played “Donna Sheridan” in Mamma Mia.
Q: What’s your favourite meal?
A: My favourite is a lamb roast dinner with lots of tasty vegetables from my allotment.
Q: What’s your favourite film of all time?
A: I love watching Harry Potter films and I can also watch the Back to the Future Trilogy over and over. My recent favourites are A Star is Born with Lady Gaga, Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody.
Q: Getting musical and thinking of the bands and artists you like, do you have any guilty pleasures?
A: I am still in my youth when it comes to music and my guilty pleasure is Guns N’ Roses – their music is my go-to stress reliever. I equally like ABBA, Wham and other 80s and 90s music. I am enjoying listening to Radio 2 on my commute to Ombudsman Services, again reliving my youth with Zoe Ball and Sara Cox.
Q: If you could choose to visit one place in the world that you’ve never been to, where would it be?
A: Borneo. I would love to see orangutans in their natural habitat.
Q: If you were to win the lottery tomorrow, what would be the first thing you’d buy or do?
A: I would treat my friends and family then I would buy a vineyard and bed and breakfast in New Zealand and run wine tours.