My first guest of BABIB 2026 needs no introduction.

I was so happy to kick off the year with the badass energy it deserves - by sitting down with my gal, a total grade A BABIB Gemma Rees, Managing Partner / Founder of FABRIC, to unpack the dark arts of account service.

Let’s be real, If there’s one group in our industry that rarely gets the credit they deserve, it’s accounts. The so-called “suits”. The problem-solvers. The ones navigating the clients and creatives, the special personalities and pressures, the budgets and big ideas. All while keeping the wheels turning and asking the right questions along the way while building relationships that keeps the work going and the wheels spinning.

Or as Gem coins it perfectly, the ‘therapists with a deadline’.

In this episode, we dive into Gem’s wild, non-linear career journey across account leadership – which is as chaotic, unexpected, and inspiring as they come. We talk about where the origin story behind “the suit” and how wrong it actually kind of it, how to antagonise a brief in the right way to get the best creative work, and what great problem-solving really looks like as a good account service leader when the pressure is on.

Gem also breaks down how she immerses herself in her clients’ worlds and the ingredients that separate good account people from the truly indispensable ones. She also shares some genuinely incredible advice for anyone in – or aspiring to – kick it in account leadership.

Not going to lie, things get a little silly in this one - so go easy on us. We don’t know what was in the air the day we recorded it, but if you’ve ever been in a room with Gem and me, this will make sense. Recorded in the final week of the year, we fully lost the plot. Lean in and laugh. That’s my completely unsolicited 2026 hot tip.

This ep is for or every account person who’s ever felt unseen or overwhelmed. We see you. You’re doing the most and, And let’s be real… the wheels wouldn’t spin without you. 🖤

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.