LDC Top 50 2022

Sally Laycock grew up in South Africa and was inspired by the headmistress at her all-girls’ school. “She encouraged us to excel in business and not let our gender hold us back,” she says. Laycock moved to London and qualified as a chartered accountant before joining digital marketing agency Incubeta.

She became UK CEO in 2021, spearheading the company’s international expansion into countries such as the United States and Ireland, before recently being promoted to EMEA CEO. “The stereotype of a CEO used to be brash and aggressive. I want to show that you can be kind and polite at the top. It doesn’t make you weaker.”

Q&A

What’s the international ambition?

From a digital marketing perspective, the UK market is incredibly mature. We recently made acquisitions in Mexico and Dubai as Latin America and the Middle East are key emerging markets for us. We’re also seeing massive growth in mainland Europe and the United States. The aim is to increase global revenues threefold over the next three to five years.

How do you look after your employees’ wellbeing?

Our employees’ safety and wellbeing matter a great deal at Incubeta so we have lots of support structures in place, from Wellbeing Wednesdays to counselling. Last year, we introduced a ‘Get Home Safe’ policy. If an employee feels unsafe, no matter where they are or what they’re doing, the company will pay for them to get a taxi to a place of safety.

What’s your biggest leadership lesson?

When it comes to hiring people, think outside the box. Don’t just hire carbon copies of people. We have a recruitment platform which removes as much unconscious bias from the hiring process as possible. You can’t see a candidate’s CV and you can’t look them up on LinkedIn or Facebook. All the questions are standardised and every interview is the same length. A diverse workforce brings different ways of thinking and different approaches to problem solving.