Georgie Gibbs' career to date has been truly liberal in its scope, encompassing the arts, sciences, technology and property. The common thread linking such diverse sectors is, simply, people. And Gibbs believes she has a flair for bringing people together, helping them understand each other, and fostering constructive, effective and mutually beneficial working relationships.
"I’m a good facilitator and catalyst," she says. "Helping people to work in concert to achieve tough objectives is very rewarding."
She developed these communications skills on a global journey that began with her escaping her Anglican convent school to study English at Bristol University. On graduation, she worked as a researcher for head-hunters Spencer Stuart, before taking a belated gap year starting in the cotton fields of an Israeli kibbutz and moving on to college in Brooklyn, New York, for postgraduate studies in Economics and Political Science - with some computer programming on the side. Back in London, a spell in marketing led to a communications job with Logica, the fast-growing IT and systems house.
"It was an incredibly exciting time", says Gibbs. "I had to get my brain around some very new and sometimes complex technology, ranging from word processing to space and defence systems - and make it intelligible and interesting."
Her first consultancy job followed, getting to grips with airborne, naval and military defence and communications systems and launching the world’s first energy-saving light bulbs for Phillips.
She witnessed the start of the personal computing revolution in the Eighties - she turned down a plum job with Apple - until Sir Tim Bell lured her away to work on the Canary Wharf development in 1988. Little did Gibbs know that she would spend much of the next 12 years on the project to create London’s new business district.
Seconded in-house, she set up Olympia & York’s press and public relations office, working closely with a multi-national management team, not to mention a diverse set of stakeholders.
"Helping to turn a multi-billion pound vision into a reality was an unbelievable experience," she says. "It was a very exhilarating time, requiring massive commitment from everyone in a very challenging environment."
At Bell Pottinger, Gibbs has worked on an eclectic mix of projects, from Beirut (reconstruction) to Dubai and from the BBC to Norman Foster’s landmark Gherkin for Swiss Re. Balancing art and science in true renaissance fashion, she has advised the Henry Moore Foundation, Christie’s and the Marlborough Gallery, as well as the Science Museum.
As a break from all this communicating, Gibbs enjoys completely contrasting pastimes, whether that means trekking in the Himalayas and on glaciers in Kyrgyzstan, browsing through art galleries, or restoring and upholstering furniture.
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