Welcome to the Team – Marisa Harwood

This summer, the Interdirect team were delighted to appoint Marisa Harwood to the position of Digital Project Manager.

Marisa has already had an incredible digital career, working for the likes of Aviva, Virgin Money, Naked Wines, and Proxama with roles ranging from a Front End Web Developer to Marketing and Client Services.

Throughout her career, Marisa has worked on some exciting projects but has also been involved in some challenges too. Back in 2009, in her very first week at Virgin Money, she witnessed the big market crash and was also involved in a conference call with the company’s founder, Sir Richard Branson!

So, how is our new recruit feeling about her first few months with ID? Marisa said: “It’s been going well so far. I was given such a lovely introduction and allowed to properly connect with my new colleagues and get used to the software we used. This in turn allowed me to get up to speed easily and probably quicker than if I was just thrown in at the deep end.”

For her Digital Project Manager role, Marisa will be focusing on managing processes and helping guide people and teams through a project’s development life cycle. And it’s so far so good for our latest recruit.

Marisa added: “The best thing about this role has to be the team. There doesn’t feel like there’s a hierarchy, and everybody has their skills that they bring to the table, the knowledge throughout the team is extraordinary and we have a range of subject matter experts. There are no weak links, and everyone has been super helpful and welcoming. The hardest part? Giving up control and relying on others to get the job done. It’s been a real change in mindset because I’m so used to just doing everything in other teams I’ve been involved with.”

If money was no object, Marisa would love to have fun in the office, giving clients so much more on top of the already fantastic service they get from Interdirect. She said: “I’d fund more projects for fun, definitely. For example, I’d cost out a project to make a whole, interactive advent calendar, with all the festive bells and whistles, it would be nice not to worry about budgets!”

Our self-confessed foodie loves Thai food, stemming from an incredible voluntary project in Thailand which saw her immersed in the culture of the country as she worked in an orphanage caring for hill tribe children.

Marisa commented: “That project was incredibly rewarding. The living standards were a bit ‘raw’; it was proper bathing with a bucket and ladle type stuff. There was no air conditioning and no luxuries, but after a while, it became a way of life. It made me realise just how lucky I am, it was incredibly humbling.”

Luckily, at Interdirect, Marisa will get to enjoy a few more luxuries and let’s hope she will find her time just as rewarding.

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