Each month, we’re sitting down with different members of our brilliant team to understand what drives the bold and cutting-edge work we do and find out a bit more about the person behind the work.
This month, we spoke with Ben McCluskey, who is a Senior Account Manager at Midas, as well holding the very important role of head of our culture committee – making sure we live up to our reputation as culture vultures!
Ben works across a number of exciting clients including Audible, The Booksellers Association, The London Book Fair, Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Wolfson History Prize, and has worked with writers and creatives across books, podcasting and theatre including Graham Norton, Kelly Holmes, Robert Webb, Tom MacRae and Stephen Fry.
Here is what he has to say…
Something I won’t shut up about is…
The limit does not exist – I can talk forever about anything, really. That said, interesting history facts, literary fiction by women, and over analysis of pop culture would all be in my Desert Island Discussions topics.
Best thing about my job is…
Working with such an incredible variety of clients. I’m so lucky to get to work with festivals, literary awards, audio creators, podcasters, theatres, comedians, chefs and more. Every project is different.
I got to where I am today by…
Being friendly, helpful and kind (not to sound too much like a pre-2000s Disney princess). That doesn’t mean letting people push you around, but I do think that being decent and generous to people you work with helps a lot, especially early in your career – there isn’t much point succeeding if doing so means you become a byword for someone that keeps others down or ruins the mood in the room.
In my spare time, I like to…
Find prosperous suitors for my five strong-willed daughters in order to save my family from ruin (not a joke, just a fact). Outside of my role as an Austen matriarch, I can be found baking, watching stand up/drag shows, reading, and talking.
One thing I wish I knew at the start of my career is…
That there is no “right way” into a career in arts and culture. There is a bit of a sense that internships/grad schemes/side-hustling since infancy is the only way to get in, but that isn’t true or particularly helpful. There are absolutely ways ahead if these avenues weren’t available to you, or weren’t something you’d ever thought you could do. This isn’t Love Island, there is no age cut off – you can move laterally from other industries later on and still do amazing things. I mean, I bounced from building insurance to theatre ticketing systems before finding PR and publishing, and I’m doing ok!
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