Abbie Leonti

A results-driven commercial leader with over 20 years of digital sales experience across leading ad networks, publishers and digital start-ups. I now work in the talent advisory, recruitment marketing and employer brand space. I'm passionate about making work better for everyone, and skilled at cultivating strategic partnerships, and translating market insights into tangible business outcomes.

Both personable and professional, I'm excited to bring high energy and extensive skills to my next challenge.

Employer Brand & Culture Consultant at SMRS (2026-01 – Present)

• Spearheaded market entry into the workforce culture vertical by designing and executing highly targeted outbound lead generation strategies.
• Leveraged advanced AI tools to architect sequential messaging and hyper-tailored outreach workflows to accelerate prospect conversion rates.
• Devised a comprehensive go-to-market (GTM) strategy and established data-driven KPIs to track and optimise business development performance.
• Partnered with marketing to refine brand positioning, co-develop new culture products/services, and deploy high-converting event collateral.
• Secured 2+ net-new business meetings weekly (from month 3 onward), successfully contributing £250k in weighted value to the sales pipeline.

Associate Director (Employee Experience FTC) at MSL (Publicis Groupe) (2024-06 – 2025-07)

Appointed on a fixed-term contract to lead key strategic campaigns within the Employee Experience team, working across global accounts including McDonald's and AB InBev.

• Led the full research, strategy, and creative development lifecycle of McDonald's 2025 EVP project, managing inputs from Leo Burnett, TBWA, and internal creative teams to produce a cross-channel brand campaign rooted in consumer and employee insight worth approx. £260k in revenue.
• Developed on-trade activation decks for AB InBev's global alcohol brands, integrating local market insight, trade strategy, and creative planning for upcoming 2025 campaigns.
• Acted as a connector and advisor, bringing new partner networks and suppliers into the agency ecosystem to enhance client offering and open new streams of revenue.

Client Relationship Director at TMPW/PeopleScout (2021-09 – 2024-03)

• Directed end-to-end delivery of integrated employer brand and marketing campaigns for national and global clients, with a focus on high-impact strategy, creative development, and digital activation.
• Delivered award-winning solutions: TIARA Awards Winner (2023) – Best Employer Brand Strategy, EBMA Winner (2024), RADS Shortlisted (2025) for Direct Line Group EVP campaign
• Developed detailed account growth strategies that expanded revenue across existing portfolios, introducing new services and digital solutions to increase client value. In less than 18 months I had grown revenue across my 2 key accounts significantly – Direct Line Group from an initial budget of £90k grew to £380k annual spend, Circle Health Group from £500k pure media spend to £800k annual spend made up of video, careers site content and brand development.
• Responsible for full budget ownership, P&L forecasting, and performance tracking across all accounts, with year-on-year revenue growth and high client satisfaction scores.
• Mentored and line-managed a team of 3 account leads, implementing structured development plans and career progression frameworks to improve retention and capability.

Food Blogger/Freelance Chef at CJ's Café Bar/Other Local Venues (2020-01 – 2021-09)

During the pandemic, I took a career-break to focus on a life-long passion of cooking

• I completed a professional course and certification at Leith's School of Food and Wine in London and then created a food blog and worked at a local café/bar, introducing a new concept menu and hosting occasional supper clubs

Digital Director at The Independent & Evening Standard (2018-10 – 2020-01)

• Managed and coached a team of six digital sales specialists, responsible for display, programmatic, content partnerships, and branded campaigns. Delivered structured team development plans, clear KPIs, and coaching to drive high performance.
• Collaborated cross-functionally with editorial, product, and analytics teams to create content-rich, data-led commercial partnerships that aligned with audience behaviour and brand strategy.
• Played a central role in key high-impact campaigns including: Diageo – Bailey's Christmas Campaign (branded content + video), Warner Bros – 'IT Chapter 2' Experiential Campaign, delivering strong uplift in engagement and brand recall.

GCSEs – Imberhorne School (1999)

Professional Cooking Certification in Culinary Arts – Leith's School of Food & Wine (2020)

Level II Food Hygiene and Safety in Food Safety – Leith's School of Food & Wine (2020)