Speaking with IET’s Executive Director, Toni Allen FCIM

This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Toni Allen the Executive Director- International, of Strategic Marketing and Engagement at The Institution of Engineering and Technology.

The IET is one of the world’s largest engineering institutions with 169,000 members in over 150 countries. The IET is working to engineer a better world by inspiring, informing and influencing their members, engineers and technicians, and all those who are touched by, or touch, the work of engineers.

Not only is Toni the Executive Director at The Institution of Engineering and Technology, but she is also very active in her industry, for example, she sits on the board at the IET, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and also regularly judges Marketing & Business Awards. During our interview, Toni explains how important it is for her to network and connect with her peers and others in her industry. Toni says that allyship has been one of the greatest advantages throughout her career, being able to learn and be supported by the people around you giving her the confidence to speak up and voice her opinions.

When discussing Toni’s 22-year marketing career she tells me how trends seem to have come full circle, especially with the recent rise in content marketing. She describes how the marketing landscape has changed throughout COVID-19 to become centred more around digital, data and insights. She remarks on the fact that marketing has become more about the purpose and putting customers first as opposed to just lead generation.

As a leader, Toni says her main focus is making sure her team is happy and supported, a job especially important throughout Covid, Toni says she has done this through an open-mindedness to hybrid working. As well as this, we talk about Toni’s contribution towards equality, diversity and inclusivity within The IET. Toni talks about her passion for ensuring STEM careers are attractive to everyone and not just the usual candidates, alongside this Toni explains how women in engineering have increased from 9 to 14% in recent years. However, she reiterates that this is still not enough and that there is still much more to do in this field.

To hear the full interview below.