UP is pleased to welcome Rachel Millar. Originally from Scotland, she has tap danced her way around the globe, before finding UP THERE, EVERYWHERE. With an amazing skill set and a fab experience base, the entire UP community is excited to have her as a member. Welcome to UP’s Cloud Rachel!
How did you learn about UP?
UP came to me through a google search, after COVID had forced me to leave New York and relocate to a brand-new country and life - Sweden, with my boyfriend.
Like many people in 2020, I was adjusting to restarting completely. I was curious to know what global agencies were in Sweden and landed onto UP’s website. I was instantly drawn to it. The more I discovered, the more curious I was – what is a global cloud-based agency? E-ployment?!
In an attempt for a connection, I asked my boyfriend to reach out to his Swedish network and post a Facebook status to see if he knew anyone that worked at UP. I didn’t have high hopes, but you never know. The entire day, no one responded. Oh well, it was worth a shot.
Then, later that night, one person replied to him: ‘Yes.’ He happened to know Robert England! I was able to pass on my details and, amazingly, Robert reached out and we met, and then with Julian soon after. The more I learned, the more enthused I was – and I feel very lucky that now I am here working with UP.
I resonated with the model, the values, the community culture, and of course the amazing global talent and quality of work that UP constantly delivers. It felt as though UP had figured out exactly how the lifestyle of an agency should be. There is this amazing idea of the participants also being the creators and contributors. The level of respect among members is incredible, and it seems that the culture that has been cultivated brings out the very best in everyone – that, in turn, is infectious, and makes you want to do your best.
Where are you located? Have you always been here, or is this a new place for you?
I am located in Stockholm – and yes, this is a new place for me! I arrived at the beginning of the summer, when the smultron berries were ripe and the long summer nights beautiful!
I’m from Scotland – I grew up and studied at university there, but after I graduated, I left and haven’t lived there since (only to visit my family!)
I spent 8 years in Dubai and then nearly 2 years in New York. So, it’s been the best part of a decade since I lived in Europe at all, which is a lovely thing to come to and enjoy the very cool European vibe that I love so much.
Tell us a little bit about the types of things you have worked on before UP? What do you most look forward to each day?
I studied English Literature & Philosophy at Edinburgh, but when I graduated I had more of a travel intrigue than a career intrigue. I knew I wanted to live abroad and work on an international level of sorts, and I knew I loved storytelling - but I wasn’t sure in what capacity.
I moved to Dubai straight after university and fell into working in live events and brand activations. I loved the energy and pace of the industry and was fascinated to learn about how to apply intelligent event design based on people’s needs, behavior and psychology – and tying that in with a brand’s identity.
I worked as a project manager/account manager for a creative agency, as a freelancer, and at Dubai World Trade Center while in the Middle East. I worked on events such as F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Dubai World Cup Opening Ceremony with Cirque Du Soleil, Dubai International Boat Show, and Beach Polo Cup Tournaments in Dubai and South Africa with sponsors such as Julius Baer, Lindt Chocolate, Aston Martin and Longines.
I also worked on a few government projects, meaning they all had a layer of complexity where everything had to ladder back up to the UAE’s positioning and brand interface with the world. Overall, it was really amazing to be a part of such a young, growing country that wasn’t even 50 years old!
After Dubai, I decided I wanted to learn storytelling again from a different perspective and discover a different city. I moved to New York City and attended New York Film Academy to study producing Film & TV. While the line producing/operational aspect was somewhat familiar to me from my work in events, I really enjoyed the pre-development stage – finding the story, developing it and working with writers, and packaging it up to sell. After graduating, I worked in content development for a small production company with a focus on developing unscripted television projects.
What is your area of focus at UP, and what are you most looking forward to doing at UP?
I am currently working on a client account at UP, helping to project manage the content production elements for their medical Portal. I’m already enjoying learning from the incredibly talented UP members and how they work, and hope to build and improve myself as I learn from them, as well as hopefully be a supportive team member to them.
What is your favorite part of what you do?
I love project management because I get to dip my toes into all aspects of a project. I imagine it’s a bit like being a conductor of an orchestra, only the "music" is made up of schedules and lists, plans and the like (Is that sad?!) I get a lot of reward in hopefully being able to help the team feel secure and on track with a project.
If you could have lunch with anyone (living or deceased), who would it be and why?
It would need to be a philosopher like David Hume or Plato – set in the present day. I would love to see their thoughts and reactions to the world we are living in today. Ideally, we would have a bottle of wine and dig deep and have a fun mind jam!
What else would you like UP members to know about you?
Apart from my secret and very useless tap-dancing skills? (Scottish champion when I was 14, you’re welcome).
Just that I hope to be as accommodating and approachable as all the other members have been to me so far – so reach out if you just want to say hello or talk about work! And a big thanks once again to everyone who has welcomed me and supported me at UP in my first month. It’s an honor to be a part of this community.
