UP for DIGITAL’s Alice Smith announced as one of the winners of Surrey’s 40 under 40 business awards.
It was fantastic to see so many talented young entrepreneurs and leaders at the event, and even more encouraging to see that approximately one third of the winners were women: The future of our businesses is in great hands.
About the awards
INVEST IN SURREY CELEBRATES ‘40 UNDER 40’
Invest in Surrey is the investment Service for Surrey, established to proactively promote the region as a world-class place to start, grow and relocate a business. They bring together world-class industries, academia, and government partners to support business and growth across the region.
Surrey wanted to recognise the innovative individuals who live or work in Surrey, and showcase the achievements of the next generation of young entrepreneurs and business leaders under the age of 40 across the primary sectors in Surrey.
The award ceremony was held at the new Surrey County Council headquarters in Reigate on the 28th April.
UP for DIGITAL and their MD, Alice Smith
UP’s digital hub is based in Guildford, in the heart of Surrey, and Alice Smith became Managing Director of UP for DIGITAL in December 2021 just before turning 33.
She emerged as a natural leader for the business, as not only is she very commercially aware, but her unwavering beliefs on equality has resulted in a workplace where true talent rises to the top.
Alice joined the business (then DPC) in 2018 as an Account Director and in 2019 DPC was acquired by UP THERE, EVERYWHERE, a global, cloud-based agency. Alice supported the business through the 3 year acquisition, firstly as General Manager and was recently promoted to MD.
That progression and experience alone was a huge achievement, however, even more remarkable was the integration took place through the pandemic where thanks to the trust built with existing clients and the work put into merging with an international business, Alice didn’t have to put anyone in the team on furlough or make anyone redundant.
Alice was able to keep her team safe thanks to to UP’s existing flexible working model and she also had the privilege to hire more people, doubling the team and providing security for all.
Commercially, UP for DIGITAL’s turnover has more than doubled and the profit margins have increased by double digit growth as well.
Personally, Alice has strived to develop the culture of equality within the business, so it is a huge achievement that UP for DIGITAL are a digital business made up of 63% women where there is no gender pay gap. Actually, it’s quite the opposite; it is a statement we wish more businesses could make.
UP for DIGITAL has women leading many of their departments: Back end development team, User Experience team, and Digital Marketing team are all led by amazing women.
As Managing Director, Alice’s ambitions are to empower and support her peers and younger colleagues inside and out of the company. She wants to see more businesses embrace the flexible, supportive and inclusive model UP have.
The awards
It was fantastic to see so many talented young entrepreneurs and leaders at the event, and even more encouraging to see that approximately one third of the winners were women.
UP would like to congratulate all of the winners, the future of our businesses is in great hands.
To find out more about UP for DIGITAL, or have a chat about a current challenge, please call the digital team at +44 1483 560333 or email digitalinfo@upthereeverywhere.com