It’s that time again where we get to post our favourite blog feature ‘Meet our Team’, to tell you all about our amazing team and what they do.
We are growing here at The Point.1888 and have recently recruited 6 more members of our team (with more joining soon!) meaning Meet our Team is more exciting and relevant now than ever, for both us and our lovely readers!
This week we are introducing another one of our newest members to the team, Kate Buitendach. Kate has been with us at The Point since December 2020 and is our new Contracts Manager. She works with our brands, licensees, and retailers to create contracts for new products that accommodate everybody involved and we are so excited to have her on board. With Kate’s years of experience in both marketing and legal she brings a unique and vast knowledge and insight to our team which we cannot wait to learn more about.
Here is what she had to say when we caught up with her this week…
Kate, tell us a bit about your career to date and your studies –
When I left school, my dad told me I needed to get a degree. However, at the time he didn’t give me much more guidance than that. I had no idea what I wanted to do so I studied a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Psychology and Communication. I studied through distance learning and worked at the same time alongside my studies doing legal work (quite by accident!!). From working here, I found that although I was working in the legal field, I wanted to do something more creative. It was this that led me to the decision to build on my BA in Psychology and Communication, and so I decided to study a Post Graduate Degree in Marketing Management.
It was at this point in my life I met my husband and we moved to the UK from South Africa which would be 14 years ago now. I again fell into legal work, first working at the BBC and then Disney, which was where I stayed for 11 years. Whilst at Disney, I decided that I wanted to solidify my legal experience and learn as much as I could surrounding legal, so I made the decision to study a Graduate Diploma in Law.
I think that my mix of knowledge in marketing and legal that I have gained from my years of experience and my studies have held me in really good stead as it had allowed me to work at some amazing companies, and now The Point.1888.
What is it about the licensing industry that you love?
I think the thing I love most about the licensing industry is that I love seeing brands connecting that traditionally would not have done so, resulting in some really amazing products coming to life.
How are you finding your move to The Point.1888?
I have to say I haven’t joined The Point at the easiest time having to onboard remotely and not knowing when I might get to meet anyone else in the team in person. However, in saying that I do feel like I have settled in very well as everyone is so friendly, helpful, and accommodating to me as a new member of the team. I am so happy to be back in the industry after taking a different route for a year, it has made me realise that I definitely know that this is where I am meant to be.
What might we find you doing in your spare time?
I have recently moved to the country with my family and I love being outdoors. So, in my spare time you will be most likely to find me walking, hiking, geocaching, riding my bike or taking my children out to ride their new pony.
What are you excited about for 2021?
I am excited to progress my career at The Point.1888. It’s not easy being new to a company, especially after being at the same company for 11 years, so I am looking forward to being familiar with my role and how the company operates. I am also looking forward to lockdown being lifted so that I can hopefully seeing my friends and family again. Going on holiday to a nice sunny country would also be amazing (but maybe that is too much to ask at this stage!)
If you want to chat to Kate more please head over to her LinkedIn page. She has lots of stories to share!