Since 2015, Fleur Hicks has led the onefourzero group overseeing its growth from a small consultancy to a thriving data-led commercial consulting firm. A strategic marketing and commercial operations professional with over eighteen years of experience managing blue-chip digital and broadcast brands, as well as turnaround situations in the B2C and B2B sectors, Fleur has delivered industry-leading digital and transformation strategies at board level in consultative and client-side roles.
European CEO gave this Manager’s Statement regarding picking Fleur Hicks as the overall winner:
“As the Manager and custodian of the European CEO Awards, I am truly delighted that Ms Fleur Hicks, for the first time, has been recognised by the readers of European CEO in winning this award.
Considering the scope and depth of these awards with the Chief Executive’s across 28 countries in Europe, the high calibre of participants and nominees, being named a winner is truly a wonderful achievement.
There is one quote that the judging panel and I feel perfectly encapsulates Ms Fleur Hicks and her success, ‘great companies in the way they work start with great leaders’.
People need to feel their self-worth, and when they do not we need to help them recognise it
The judging panel noted that Ms Hicks is not only the CEO, but the founder of onefourzero Group, a company that Ms Hicks has led since 2015. The panel were greatly impressed that Ms Hicks had the ability and foresight not only to identify a need in the market, but to back herself in believing that her firm could do it better.
Ms Hicks also impressed the judging panel in the fact that through her leadership, experience, determination and an ability to bring people together, Ms Hicks has led onefourzero Group to become an outright leader in their field in just six years.
Ms Fleur Hicks embodies all of the qualities, such as leadership, accountability, ability to inspire others, that help elevate and make these awards what they are.
Once again, I would like to congratulate Ms Fleur Hicks on her awards success in our 2021 CEO of the year awards”.
A leader with substance
Fleur is also a mentor with The Migrant Help Dream Academy, a member of the Supper Club and a member of Level 20, empowering women within STEM, Finance and Technology.
Fleur has worked hard to make the visions she had for onefourzero come to life, knowing an idea can be hard to achieve, but that change is possible if the work is put in. Fleur knows that a large part of growing a company is hiring the right people who have the talents to flourish and help make the company grow. Hiring people who possess the right combination of skills is also an essential aspect of her leadership, leading to success. Fleur recognises the importance of being comfortable with seeking out the help and experience of others in order to grow.
This is why at onefourzero the values that Fleur leads with are kindness, empathy, collaboration and integrity, believing deeply in leading more as a team than alone. She is a leader who listens to her team and their suggestions and wants every voice to be heard even among the recent growth.
Success is built from teamwork, a collegiate ethos, respect and integrity
Fleur’s leadership allows both her and the team to go above and beyond what other companies can offer and provide. The team at onefourzero offers clients a range of tech-enabled products to assist with M&A Advisory, Asset Monitoring and Value Creation. The platform also enables the use of multiple data sets from myriad sources in one central database. This one-stop platform consistently offers clients a means of using AI to transform data into a usable form for detailed analysis. The tech-led, big data, analytical approach that onefourzero takes allows clients to save time and money.
In regards to the inspirations which shaped her into the leader she is today, Fleur said: “I think my leadership style came from seeing how brilliantly things can be done through mentors such as Michel Cassius who led, nurtured and encouraged. That and holding my personal values true within my business life – plus a sprinkling of humour to get us through the day”.
The value of people
When asked what has led to her success, Fleur said: “it is essential to treat all people in any company as team members – whether you are the boss or not. I’ve never been scared to employ people a lot smarter than me, and I want to nurture their development for the betterment of the company and them”. It is crucial to be building up your team as you are building up your company to see the vision of growth you imagine come to life. “You can’t be scared to lose people through empowering them, they may leave, but you will have gotten the best from them while they worked with you,” says Fleur, noting that it is important to leave the door open for talent to come and go too. “Success is built from teamwork, a collegiate ethos, respect and integrity. This is a significant cultural value for me. I aim to act with absolute integrity at all times”.
Fleur recognises the importance of empowering people no matter what level they are working at within onefourzero “people need to feel their self-worth, and when they do not we need to help them recognise it. Everyone has the right to feel special and valued in whatever part they play in the company”.
The overriding philosophy of encouraging and equipping others is far reaching, Hicks believes in empowering people from diverse backgrounds as she comes from a multicultural, multinational, liberal family. “Neither gender, race nor nationality has ever been a consideration to me in regards to being better or worse for any task, role or job. It does not occur to me and continues to surprise me that people will consider this prejudice in any form, consciously or not. I am not so ignorant not to see that society still holds endemic prejudices against people, so I work to extend that sense of empowerment and respect beyond my company through mentoring and volunteering. Maybe if I can help one other person recognise their value and self-worth and go after their dreams then that will help their world”.
Fleur Hicks continues to lead onefourzero with a flexible and barrier-breaking style, celebrating the success of others and constantly trying to improve herself as a leader. This leadership style of never being static has been a defining attribute that has led to her success in the European CEO Awards 2021.