Byron has over 20 years of marketing experience starting in South Africa from the young age of 17 where he was responsible for the marketing of his mothers pottery business. His passion for marketing was ignited as soon as one of his marketing campaigns generated a $50,000 order from the other side of the world in Australia that ended up helping save his mothers business.
Byron has been part of the First Page group for just over 6 and a half years and originally started his journey as an Account Manager. Within his first three years, he worked his way through the ranks and was offered an opportunity to move to Hong Kong and run the First Page office as a General Manager.
When Byron arrived in Hong Kong in June 2018, First Page Hong Kong had a headcount of 17 staff and by the time he left in March 2021, Hong Kong’s headcount grew to 50 members. This growth was still achieved in light of 6 persistent months of intense political unrest that led to daily protests from June 2019 to January 2020, followed directly by the pandemic. First Page was heavily affected by the protests and business started slowing down dramatically.
In light of the changing circumstances, Byron focused on pivoting the business by focusing on hiring A-grade talent, building a solid culture, installing stronger leadership across all departments and tightening up processes that directly contributed towards increases in the company’s overall productivity and efficiency which in turn led to a significant increase in the value that was able to be demonstrated to clients.
The reduction of inbound enquiries during the protests forced him to think outside the box and construct a disruptive offer with a strong marketing hook designed to capture the attention of a market where confidence was at an all time low. The unique offer gave First Page a competitive edge that led to a strong increase in inbound leads. This gave First Page Hong Kong enough momentum to achieve a record sales year in 2020. By the final quarter of 2020, First Page Hong Kong ended up becoming the fastest growing, most profitable agency in the group.
In light of First Page Hong Kong’s success, Byron was offered the opportunity to step up again and move back to Melbourne to become a partner and start a First Page in Australia. The Australia office has grown to 20+ staff in its first 4 months of operation.
