Get Ahead welcomes new regional director

Virtual outsourcing agency Get Ahead welcomes new regional director, Vicky McKenna (pictured), to its growing team. McKenna will be helping businesses across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire to get ahead.

After graduating with a degree in Business Studies, McKenna went on to enjoy a successful career in commercial buying, working for many well-known brands including Dixons, GAME, Ryman and H Samuel. 

McKenna said: "My dad ran a retail company and my mum had five hairdressing salons, so we always had a business family. I worked in the holidays in my dad’s business and grew up knowing that I always wanted to go into business. I really enjoyed my commercial buying career and worked on some fantastic projects for inspiring mentors like Theo Paphitis. He was great at spotting opportunities and while working for him I learnt a lot about consolidating businesses and bringing teams together.

"I travelled the world but after 25 years I felt ready for a new challenge. I decided to attend The Flexpo business exhibition, as I was keen to find a flexible working option that would allow me to spend more time with my son. That’s where I met Rebecca Newenham, founder of Get Ahead, at Flexpo and everything started to fall into place. Thinking about my experience in retail, buying, product development, product marketing, as well as managing teams of people with different skills, joining Get Ahead as a regional director felt like the right next step. I love trying new things and I am not scared to just do it. Feel the fear and do it anyway is definitely my motto."

Over the next few months, McKenna is looking forward to meeting lots of new businesses at networking events in her local area of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. She added, "I have always been a troubleshooter. I love to solve problems and to help. I know there are many small businesses and entrepreneurs who are brilliant at what they do but don’t have time to concentrate on running their business, manage day-to-day tasks and make time for family and friends outside of work. The Get Ahead team can help support them to achieve their goals and spend more time on what they want to do, not what they feel they have to do. I have already been impressed with the great energy the Get Ahead team has and wide range of hugely talented marketing and business support experts they have in their team."

Rebecca Newenham added: "When I first met Vicky at Flexpo, I could see that she could be a great fit for our team. We both started our careers in corporate buying in Sainsbury's, and share a passion for branding and retail. We were also both inspired into a career in business after growing up with successfully self-employed mothers. I know she has the passion and drive to make Get Ahead a success in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, and I am looking forward to mentoring her over the coming months. 

"We have already opened up three new regions this year with York an Harrogate, Manchester and Oxford, and I am excited that our first international director in Sydney, Australia will be launching soon. With our existing regional directors in Berkshire and north Hants, East Midlands, Surrey, Leeds, Suffolk and Essex, West London and Wirral and Cheshire West. We are well-equipped to provide effective outsourced services to businesses across the UK."

About Get Ahead

Get Ahead was founded in 2010 by Rebecca Newenham in Guildford, Surrey. Get Ahead offers nationwide marketing and business support services enabling businesses of all sizes and from all sectors to get ahead. From bookkeeping to blogging, database management to design and telephone answering to Twitter, its team of highly skilled virtual business experts delivers support on an hourly, project or ongoing basis.

In 2021, the team consists of over 40 virtual assistants and 10 regional directors across the UK.