Spotlight on: Independent Council Member Sadie Groom

Get to know Independent Council Member Sadie Groom in the latest instalment of the Spotlight series. Find out why she joined BNU as a council member, what inspired her to start her PR, marketing and events agency, and her plans to return to education in the future.

“I grew up in Oxfordshire and went to a comprehensive school in Burford. I wanted to study Theology at King’s College London but missed my offer by one grade. Instead I accepted a place at the West London Institute of Higher Education where all the courses were joint honours. I had to find a subject to pair with Religious Studies - I started with American studies then switched to film but my heart wasn’t really in either. My professor called me in one day and asked, ‘What are you doing here, Sadie? You know more about religious studies than your tutors!’

“It was time to explain. I hadn’t told school that my Mum had been sick during my A-levels. All I’d wanted was to go to King’s because it has the best theological college in the UK. I explained I was really struggling with a joint honours course because theology was my passion. My tutor said, ‘I know the course leader at King’s and I’m calling her now’. Long story short, I got a place, said goodbye to the Institute and started uni again as a first year.

“It wasn’t the best timing. My dad’s business had just gone bust so my parents couldn’t offer me any financial support and the grant system didn’t catch up with our family’s change in circumstances. I had no money and so I started working in retail two days a week and every Saturday which I continued for the duration of my studies. 

“My situation was quite rare back then but sadly it’s now the reality for so many students. I’m proud that BNU recognises that and steps in to help by delivering award-winning support with the Students’ Union – it means our learners can survive and thrive in education.

“I discovered I was dyslexic when I was 48. I just thought everybody wrote like I did but always wondered why I was often thinking 10 steps ahead of people in my team. It was good to understand why the way I make decisions is different. I’m really pleased that BNU helps to pick up things that might make studying more difficult, and students don’t have to wait for an official diagnosis which can take years because of long waiting lists. We support people to succeed from the very start by helping to remove obstacles to learning.

“I also really understand the struggles of balancing studies with paid work but I tell students that it’s something employers will notice and value. I won’t recruit anyone out of uni who’s never had a job. I need people who know what it’s like to turn up on time, have responsibilities and work with others. It doesn’t matter if they’ve worked in a pub or a shop. I know they understand what it is to go to work, and you can’t teach that in a lecture theatre.”

“Every hour I worked at uni was worth it because it meant I could complete my degree. I loved it and was taught by, and met, some amazing people and got to spend six weeks in Israel and a month in Rome. 

 “I'd always thought I wanted to be a journalist, particularly in beauty or fashion.  And so I wrote to some magazines to see if I could get a work experience placement during the summer break from uni. I figured I might as well start at the top so wrote to Vogue. In a moment of serendipity, the editor’s PA opened my letter and put me in the ‘yes’ pile because she had an aunt called Sadie! 

“I met Frances Bentley, the managing editor who basically made the machine of Vogue happen. She was and remains a huge inspiration as a female leader. My first placement was incredible but daunting. It seemed that everyone else doing work experience lived in Chelsea and had personal connections at the magazine. Meanwhile, I was back living with family in Oxford and catching the 6am bus to London each morning. I had no complaints though, I absolutely loved working there and it was pivotal in terms of deciding what I wanted to do when I graduated. Time in the PR and marketing department made me realise I preferred that to journalism.

 “Vogue asked me back the following summer and tried to find me a job as a subscriptions exec on House and Garden, another title in the Condé Nast family, telling me it was the route to becoming an editor one day. I was very grateful for the opportunity but was honest and told them I really wanted to work in PR. They were so helpful and set up interviews with lots of fashion and beauty PR agencies. However, it quickly became clear that I’d be getting paid £6k a year as I learned the trade – basically putting clothes on hangers for two years – and I couldn’t afford to live on that salary.

“So I went to live with a family in Fulham - babysitting in return for cheap rent – and got my first PR job working for an agency which specialised in the printing industry. Its clients manufactured the massive, traditional printing presses but the industry was on the verge of significant digital transformation. I worked on the launches for Dupont’s Digital Chromalin and Indigo Digital Printer. Although we were still faxing and posting press releases so the PR world remained very reliant on manual processes at that time!

“I worked at the agency for 14 months and knew I’d found the right career. My boss was great and ambitious for me. He said I needed to spread my wings and get more experience in different sectors, predicting I’d have my own agency in ten years. 

“I actually did it in half the time after a stint working in various agencies and as an in-house European PR manager job at Avid, the inventor of film and tv editing software. That’s how I properly got into the media and entertainment space. When I was made redundant, they promised to give their PR account to whatever agency I went to next. I spent the next three weeks freelancing. It’s when the dot.com sector was really emerging and all these new businesses were crying out for PR and events experts. It hit me that I didn’t want to work for anyone else, I was ready to go it alone. I rang my dad to tell him and his response was, ‘Sadie, I can’t believe it’s taken you this long to work that out!’.  

“I guess I’d been inspired by my parents who’d always owned their own businesses. I’d seen the ups and downs that go with it but knew I had their unwavering support. Dad told me to go the bank to get on a start-up course to learn about running a business, and then find some clients to join Avid in my roster. And so in 1999 - when I was 26 - the Bubble agency was born. It was originally called Bubble & Squeak after the Jane Horrocks character in Absolutely Fabulous but we lost the ‘Squeak’ a few years later when we started working more in the US and it was hard to explain it.

“It was exciting and terrifying in equal measure. Although I’ve always thought you need a healthy amount of self-doubt to perform at your best level. People who walk around thinking they’re brilliant tend to head off on flights of fancy and keep repeating the same mistakes. I learned quickly in the early days of Bubble that it’s ok to ask for help and to be enquiring. It’s not a sign of weakness. That said, you also have to know when it’s time to jump, not lean in. I’ve found that to be especially true for women in business – you need to go for it and make your voice heard. It’s something I’ve done consistently throughout my career, even when it’s felt uncomfortable and nerve-racking.

“Bubble is now a global PR, marketing and events specialist for the B2B technology sector.  We celebrate the agency’s 25^th anniversary in 2025 and have acquired a marketing communications agency which has brought new expertise in the physical security sector. And we now have offices in London, Los Angeles and the east coast of the US. 

“I’m still very much hands-on and look after the business side and client strategy. But what also gets me out of bed in the morning is promoting the role of women in the industries I work alongside. I founded Rise in 2017, a global organisation with more than 4,000 members dedicated to fostering gender diversity within the broadcast and media technology sector. We run a huge awards ceremony specifically for non-craft roles to celebrate women working in areas like engineering, sales, and operations. I’m proud we offer mentoring, training, and an Academy for children and university students - Rise continues to change careers and lives.

“I first became involved with BNU in 2021 when I was approached by former Council member and media veteran, Tim Marshall, who I had previously been on the committee for the Royal Television Society with. He told me he was stepping down and introduced me to the University. I was delighted to be accepted as a Council member because it’s given me the opportunity to give something back to the higher education sector from which I’ve benefited so much.

“I was really impressed by BNU’s vocational courses and how the programmes are designed and delivered to develop the skills and experience that industries and sectors need. I remember looking at the TV and film courses and thinking these will really set students up to get good jobs. Things have changed since I was at uni and nowadays people have more of an eye on ‘will this course get me a job at the end of my degree?’. Going to university is a big investment and BNU is passionate about getting students ready to succeed in the world of work from day one.

“And it’s been great to learn so much about how higher education works. BNU is a much bigger business than Bubble and it’s exciting to delve into new areas. On University Council, I engage with people from completely different walks of life and career backgrounds. I'm not a finance person, my successful business is in large part due to my excellent finance director and his team. But when Council talks about brand or reputation, my colleagues look to me because that’s the experience and I expertise I bring to the table. 

“In 2022, I became Co-Chair of the AVIXA Women’s Council in the UK which is committed to supporting and empowering women who work in the AV industry, I resigned from that role in January 2025 to launch Rise into this sector too. I’m also on the board of DPP, the international association for media and technology which brings the industry together to address the technology and operational needs of media businesses.

“I am that ‘give a job to a busy person’ type but I’m not a martyr. I like giving something back but I realised when I first set up Bubble that developing my network was going to help build my business. I encourage everyone to do non-executive director work, it’s fascinating. You learn so much about how different organisations operate and govern themselves, and bring that back to your day job. 

“I know I’ll go back to university in the next decade. There’s a Masters’ course in Japanese religion at SOAS University of London which I’ve told my financial advisor we need to factor into my plans. Lifelong learning is what it’s all about and I’ve come to realise I’m a bit of a swot at heart! 

“And in the meantime, I’ll be living vicariously through BNU’s students. Our graduation ceremonies are such joyous and celebratory occasions which take me right back to my uni days. As our students cross the stage to receive their degree certificate, I know just how hard they’ve worked, inside and outside the classroom, to get there. I’m bursting with pride that they’ve done it and am excited about all that lies ahead for them. University changed my life and it’s a privilege to support BNU in doing that every day for our students.”