Meet Hayley Conway, marketing, partnerships and fan experience consultant, and the co-founder of Principal the Label.
Hayley's career began on the agency side, spending five years in media, buying TV ads for household brands (yes, including Red Rooster during the footy), before making the jump to client work, where recruiters kept telling her the skills weren't transferable. So she went contract-to-contract for two years, a self-imposed MBA in events, brand activation and PR and built the exact toolkit that now sees her working across Formula 1, the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, the AFL and AFLW, the Australian Open, Fox Sports and ESPN.
Then in 2024, she backed herself even further, co-founding a racing-inspired fashion label that's just landed a NASCAR collaboration in the US.
In this episode, Hayley shares how she turned a career working in corporate into a freelance career across F1, the Olympics and the AFL, why two years of contracting built a network no full-time role could, and the moment she moved away from agency work to choose the work she loved, over the corporate climb.
We cover:
(03:07) - Interview begins
(05:21) - Quick Fire Questions
(14:51) - Hayley's career in corporate before transitioning to sport
(35:02) - How Hayley's business, Principal the Label, came to life
(50:54) - What does the design process for a new drop look like
(55:12) - Other labels or brands Hayley draws inspiration from
(56:24) - Hayley's vision for Principal the Label in the future
If you liked this ep, give these a go next:
#265: From Westpac to the Adelaide Crows FC in 29 days with Community Engagement Manager, Parth Suri
#302: Paris 2024, Content Creator | Stella Barry
#325: How to build a career in sports media from scratch with Brody Burrows
Want a job in sport? Click here.
Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok
Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok
Thanks for listening, much love!
","author_name":"SportsGrad"}