Rafayal Choudhury

Relationship-focused professional with 20+ years' experience building partnerships, negotiating with senior stakeholders, and running CRM and email-led engagement programmes across commercial organisations. University of Birmingham graduate (BEng, Computer Science). Track record spans securing and managing partnerships with FTSE100 organisations, leading a team that turned email communications into a primary engagement channel, and coordinating teams to deliver against agreed targets.

Drawn to this role by a genuine interest in supporting the University's alumni community and bringing relationship-building experience back to the institution where my own career began.

Director of Operations - Three Sixtys - West Midlands, UK

(2024-01)

• Leading operational strategy and business process improvement through advanced workflow automation saving the team an estimated 50 hours per week.
• Managed relationships and delivery across 5 client accounts simultaneously, increasing throughput by approximately 125% with no additional headcount.

Director of Marketing - GREYHAZE.CO.UK - West Midlands, UK

(2018-01)

• Instrumental in doubling revenue through multi-channel acquisition, AI-powered automation and strategic e-commerce portfolio management
• Negotiated and managed long-term partnerships with Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco (both FTSE100), building and sustaining senior stakeholder relationships over multiple years.
• Built and managed CRM workflows and database segmentation in HubSpot to track and grow engagement, contributing to wholesale and distribution revenue growth from approximately £1.5m to £2m over a few years.
• Led a team designing and building segmented email nurture campaigns and automations, in partnership with Klaviyo and Omnisend, growing email marketing's share of overall brand revenue from around 10% to over a third, turning regular communications into a primary engagement channel.
• Produced newsletters, reports and stakeholder updates in a clear, engaging style to keep partners and audiences informed and involved.
• Led and coordinated teams and cross-functional projects, managing workload across multiple priorities to hit agreed targets.
• Recommended and implemented a change to campaign workflow tooling (Asana to ClickUp), cutting delivery time by approximately 80%.

Director / Lead Creative - Rafyl Photography - Birmingham, UK

(2009-01 - 2018-12)

• Directed visual strategy for A-list talent and global broadcasters, managing high-stakes creative logistics.

Managing Director - Elusive Arts - The Custard Factory, Birmingham

(2006-01 - 2009-12)

• Founded and scaled a web and digital consultancy agency at the forefront of the city's creative district.

Digital Growth Consultant (Early Adopter Phase) - Self-employed - United Kingdom

(2002-01 - 2009-12)

• Early-stage pioneer in Google AdWords and SEO strategies for the hospitality and service sectors.

BEng - Computer Science / Software Engineering - The University of Birmingham (2006-12)

A Levels - King Edward VI Camp Hill