Q & A
Sarah Lewthwaite, CEO, Movio CT: Please introduce yourself and your
their footprint across EMEA. Hearing I was
like role, helping several cinemas design or
background.
living in Ireland he thought I might be the
improve their customer data strategy based
Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, I started
perfect fit given I also used to be a Movio
on my own experience in that space. I grew
working in my local cinema when I was at
customer at Cineplex and knew the benefits
the Movio team and client portfolio in EMEA
university. Never at that time could I have
of the product quite well from first-hand
and
imagined that my part-time job popping
experience. It was another instance of being
Director for the region.
popcorn would lead to a 25-year career in
in the right place at the right time for me as,
The opportunity then came about to
the cinema industry. While I studied to be a
during that same period, I was starting to
help Movio unify our approach to client
journalist, about the time I was graduating a
doubt my ability to really make the tearoom
services and sales globally so I took on the
marketing role opened in the home office of
concept work.
Chief Client Officer role back in 2020. And
ultimately
became
the
Managing
Cineplex [Canada’s largest cinema chain]. My
I think I needed a dream like this to help
then our CEO resigned in late 2021 and I
cinema manager encouraged me to apply
give me the gumption to quit my job and
began to step into a broader company
and, despite me having zero marketing
start a new life abroad, but I then realized it
leadership role.
experience, Cineplex took a chance on me.
was never really about tea. It was about
I then spent the next 17 years growing
starting afresh and doing something for
CT:
with the company, building the marketing
myself. I decided that the opportunity with
congratulations! What does your day-to-day
team, and helping to launch several new
Movio might actually be an interesting way
look like?
brands, products and business units as
to put my experience from Cineplex to good
Thank you so much, I am incredibly honoured
Cineplex rapidly expanded its footprint
use in a new and different way. So, after my
to have stepped into this role. Since we are a
across Canada. And I learned so much about
one-year lease in Ireland was up, I made the
New Zealand-based company, but I live in
marketing, business, and the dynamics of
move to London.
London, my days are quite varied as I work
the cinema industry along the way. I also learned a lot about myself and, after 17 years as the Vice President of Marketing, I resigned and made a bold decision to move to Europe, with the idea to open a tearoom.
“If you believe in your voice, it becomes incredibly satisfying proving others wrong.”
CT: Tell us more about the move to Europe
And
you’re
now
Movio’s
CEO,
across multiple time zones. It was important to me, and to Movio, for me to stay based in the UK, keeping close to our clients and the film and cinema industry; but it has forced me to also learn to work quite flexibly as a result. Mondays and Wednesdays I usually start
and the tearoom?
CT: Tell us a bit about your career path with
my business day in the early afternoon and
So, the tearoom actually never made it past
Movio.
work through until about 11pm, ensuring I
the concept stage. I did put the prep work in,
It was all quite serendipitous. I also learned a
have good overlap with my LA and Auckland-
such as studying to become a tea sommelier
good lesson in that it’s so important to treat
based teams. Those days are spent on a lot of
(yes, there is such a thing) and learning café
your suppliers well. Given I was originally a
Zoom calls, but I also try to carve out time to
management on an organic farm in Cork.
Movio client, the opportunity to work for
focus on bigger projects or board reports,
But then out of the blue I got an email
them would never had come about if we
given I’m at home with fewer distractions. On
from Movio’s founder and then-CEO, Will
hadn’t worked well together! I initially
Tuesdays and Thursdays, I head into our
Palmer, who was looking to open an office in
started in a sales capacity, helping Movio
London office to have some face-to-face
London. They were based in Auckland and
expand across EMEA while simultaneously
time with the Movio and broader Vista Group
LA at the time, and wanted to start growing
adding value to our clients in a consultant-
staff, and often use those days to try to catch
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