Day in the life interview

day in the life

Jenny Hicks

We caught up with Jenny Hicks, Head of Technology at Midwich Group PLC. Let’s get to know a bit more about her.

“How does your day start? I start my day at 6.30AM, I reach for my coffee first and then news on the TV.

What time does your workday start? Most days 8.45 but it can be 7am for calls down under and as Dubai have already been up for a while, I often answer emails before doing the school run. How do you start your workday, what is Make my second coffee, have a mild argument with Lee the first thing you do? Harris, my partner, about whether the main light should be on or off in the office and then check the AV trade press online or jump into my first meeting. What does your job involve on Lots of research and calls, or demonstrations with a typical day? potential new brands or technology. If I don’t have a presenting engagement, I am always creating the content for my next one. Right now, I am sketching display wall designs for NMK’s new show room. The fast evolution of technology, I love seeing the ideas and development of products at the early stages. That would be Infocomm, you see many smaller start-up tech companies there, that typically don’t exhibit at ISE. I love looking at all the small booths hidden away, that’s how we discovered Mersive, amongst others. That has to be my Midwich Live co-host, Chris Neto! Play with the tech - it’s fun!

What do you enjoy most about working in the AV industry?

Which AV industry event do you look forward most to?

Who is one person you work with that makes your day easier/more fun?

What advice would you give to someone starting out in the industry?

Would your typical day be working in the office, at your home or elsewhere?

How have you adapted to agile working?

How do you balance your professional and personal life?

When does your workday end?

“What is your go-to hobby to wind down after work? Mostly at home now as I have regular speaker engagements, but I’m regularly visiting vendors at their offices. I also spend time visiting our Midwich offices in Diss and Bracknell and our many Midwich Group company offices.

I have wholeheartedly adapted! I have thrown a lot of personal investment into my home set up so that has helped, as I now have a studio style home office.

Honestly, it can be tricky. I often return to work after I’ve put the kids to bed, for my appointments with our Starin colleagues or my councils and advisory board engagements through Avixa and AV Nation. I walk the dog every morning and I always do bedtime reading with Teddy, plus the weekends I keep completely work free, even though NMK start their week on a Sunday!

That can vary a lot… My latest ever has been 1am, when I was supporting a virtual event in the USA, but generally I’m wrapped up no later than 9.30pm. I have a customer event coming up with our APAC colleagues which starts at 10pm for me, so that will be a late one.

That would be Lego! Although I’m not currently building anything, as I have run out of space and need to buy another table for my next project - which is the collector’s edition Millennium Falcon.