Steve Underwood is managing partner of the Dentsu Aegis Network in Newcastle. Born in Stockport, he studied at Newcastle and Northumbria Universities before working in marketing, initially in-house, and then at Newcastle firm Silverbean. He joined Dentsu Aegis four years ago, heading up its iProspect and Carat brands in the North East.
Who’s been the biggest influence on your career?
Probably my dad, as he was very hard working. He worked his way up from a difficult start in life to being quite successful in the legal sector. Growing up, there was a level of aspiration and that inspired me to seek a similar level of success in what I did.
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What would you say to your teenage self?
Follow your dreams and aspirations. Don’t get to the end of your career and be disappointed that you didn’t follow something you really wanted to do because of the risk. If there’s something you really want to do, be brave and go for it. Have a calculated risk to how you assess things.
What is your biggest indulgence?
I immediately think about food and drink. Chocolate is a weak point of mine.
What are your main motivations at work?
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To achieve our vision, which is to be recognised as the leading agency in the region. I want to create a really special type of company that doesn’t currently exist here both in terms of the positioning of the agency, the quality of the work we do but also the environment that we’re looking to create for employees around enjoying their work.
How is your business going to change in the next 10 years?
We work in the media and digital communications, which is a very fast-paced area in terms of change. We need to be at the forefront of that change in order to offer the best solutions for our clients’ needs so we will evolve with the changing developments in our sector. Specifically, we’ll become more integrated as a business in terms of the solutions we offer across creative, media and digital.
Talent, hard work or ambition: which is the most important?
Hard work. All three are really important but fundamentally I truly believe that you need the right attitude around how you work and apply yourself. Hard work is the best route to achieving what you want to do.
What ambitions do you still have?
We’re really on the start of our journey at Dentsu Newcastle. We want to achieve our vision of becoming recognised as the leading agency up here but also creating a really special company to work within and with. For the next three to five years, that will really be our focus.
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What is the secret of your success?
Never forgetting the importance of how you communicate around people. Always have respect for people, regardless of whether it’s your boss, your colleague or an employee.
Outside of work, what are you really good at?
I certainly try to be a good dad and husband - whether I succeed, you’d better ask my wife!
What do you look for when you’re hiring new staff?
A good attitude and with that, that they will be a good cultural fit. People need to have a good level of skill and experience, but once we’ve get past that, it’s absolutely on character, cultural fit. We do our best to get the right people to join us to create the great environment we want to have here.