Talking Heads with Aedhmar Hynes

Sumedha Srivastav - Televisionpoint.com | Mumbai
A man is known by his shoes and a company is known by its CEO. Aedhmar Hynes, global CEO, Text 100, who leads the first PR agency in the world that established a Second Life identity, is a crowing glory for her designation.

An economics graduate from the National University of Ireland and a postgraduate in marketing, Hynes fit the bill perfectly. Currently she efficiently oversees a revenue base of multi-million dollars, a workforce of 475 and 30 offices worldwide. Then there is also the fact that she is readily available to her employees and her sense of belongingness and transparency is admired across the board and employees; all which makes her a much loved boss – now that's a PR expert.

What is the concept of Second Life, and what are the recent achievements of Text 100?
By 2011, 80% of internet users worldwide will have a presence in virtual world. Text 100 was named the 2005 Technology Public Relations Agency of the year by The Holmes Report, and our key accounts includes IBM (their largest client), Xerox, Phillips, Hewlett-Packard, Lenevo and Cisco. I have seen much during the eight years at the helm of affairs and have played a pivotal role in making Text 100 one of the top PR consultancies in the world. Our company has also won PR Week's PR Innovation of the Year award.

Using superior technology to our advantage, Text 100 for the past 25 glorious years of its existence has won mindshare battles and surpassed competitors. We have a broad and strong tech base and it also gives us a very distinct position in the market. Our bet with technology has paid-off so well that even promoters of the company have felt that it should be an IT company as it was considered 'niche' at that time to enter technology. With such high growth achieved during the past few years, it is clear that its annual revenue of $60 million during FY2007 was just the tip of the 'wealth' iceberg.

Can you talk about your leadership mantra?
My focus is on collaboration and team effort as we bring different people together which works real magic. The mantra is simple. Life is short. Don't worry about petty issues as you need to experience life today.

Backed strongly with a culture of maintaining strong relationships with its employees, my company holds a unique position in the marketplace. I work closely with client executives and coach them on their company's reputation, stakeholder value, customer loyalty and brand strategies.

Can you share with us your journey at the agency?
Prior to my move to US to set up the San Francisco office in October 1997, I had worked for seven years in Text 100's London office, tackling the issues of pan-European communications and developing a consistency in communications strategy for multiple markets.

In 2000, I was appointed as CEO and since then I have worked consistently to increase the company's reputation in the U.S. high-tech PR circle. I joined Text 100 at a time when other opportunities didn't appear interesting at all to me. Moreover, I had a great support system and loved what I was doing. Much to the extent that it took me six months to actually agree to the post of CEO.

Where does Text 100 place India on its global map?
The Indian economy is booming, and so are the companies here. The Indian market is very important for us, and it obviously fits in the top five priority markets for the company. We don't want to be an all-American, all-European or an all-Asian company but we want to be a global entity. For the past decade, Text 100 has charted a pan-presence in India as well, and has even launched its Global Resource Optimization (GRO) service here.

The PR industry in India is likely to double its revenues to over $6 billion by 2010, and this stands true globally. The PR scenario didn't change that much in the first ten years but during the last eight years, it has changed by a huge amount and PR in India is similar to what happens in any other country.

What's your biggest challenge, retaining the existing client or finding newer ones?
Both are big challenges. It's 50-50% infact. As 50% of our work comes from existing clients, the excitement from pitching to newer clients is something huge.

Besides IT being a strong platform for Text 100, what else makes them unique in the crowd?
Our clients appreciate our ethics and transparency which leads to our long-term relationship with them. As the company is in a business of 'reputation management', its work in developing strong relations with its corporate clients and other media entities speaks volumes of its influence.

A mother of four, how do you balance your family and work life so perfectly?
A busy schedule prevents me from the many moments that I so like to spend with my family. But I take a family time out whenever I can. It became easier as after climbing up the seniority ladder enabled me the decide my own work timings. Although, typically my day starts at 6 am. As a women, I also manage to squeeze out time for cooking, which I enjoy the most. I love cakes with lots of natural flavors like sugar and butter.