As Synergy Vision continues to grow with our global business in mind, we are facing up to the Big Questions about how we equip ourselves to make the best possible decisions, open ourselves to broader perspectives, and ensure that people feel safe enough to say the thing that needs saying.
And that’s why we’re thrilled to welcome Pamela Hutchinson, OBE, as a Non-Executive Director, joining the Synergy Vision board at a moment when her fresh perspective, challenge, and clarity will help us to transition into our next phase.
Pamela brings decades of experience as a senior leader in equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) across global organisations. But what stood out most, in conversation, wasn’t the CV (you can find that on LinkedIn). It was her unmistakable and unshakeable vision for leadership: that organisations work best when they are fair, build deep trust, and make sure people can show up fully – and be heard.
Finding the work that was meaningful and meant to be
Pamela’s path into leadership wasn’t linear – and it certainly wasn’t inevitable.
“Growing up, I faced low expectations at school, but at home, ambition and possibility were the message,” she says. “That contrast shaped my understanding of fairness, not as a corporate concept, but as something deeply personal.”
She studied law at university, got involved in activism, and later moved into HR, providing practical advice on new legislation. Then the Head of HR suggested that she take on a groundbreaking, almost-unheard-of role: diversity and inclusion lead.
“That was the mid-1990s,” she laughs. “I was like… what’s that?”
A mentor’s encouragement and a literal coin flip led her to Goldman Sachs. Within weeks, she knew she’d “found my lane, my purpose”, and she hasn’t looked back.
Leadership is the backstage actions, not the performance
Ask Pamela about leadership and you won’t get a meme-ready slogan. Instead, you’ll get three fundamental principles – underpinned by how people feel supported to behave when no one’s watching.
First: Trust. “Employees need to trust each other. They need to trust their teams. They need to trust leadership. And importantly, your clients need to trust you.” When that trust exists, she argues, decisions happen faster, feedback lands better, and people don’t default to defensiveness.
Second: Clarity and alignment. Clarity of mission, of strategy, and of how decisions actually get made. “When people understand the parameters of how the organisation operates, and understand their role in that, performance improves,” Pamela says.
And third: Respect. This means “creating a culture where people can speak up and be heard, where they can be themselves, where authenticity is valued and everyone feels included,” she says.
Pamela is very clear that great leadership isn’t about grand gestures. It’s about being intentional and consistent in behaviours and processes. But it’s also about tapping into empathy for what it feels like to be empowered and bringing that to the table every day.
How she’ll bring Big Authenticity Energy to Synergy Vision’s future
Pamela is refreshingly honest about the fact that she hadn’t heard of Synergy Vision before being approached about the non-executive director role (which gives us something in common with Goldman Sachs… we’ll take it!). What happened next is probably familiar to anyone who’s ever tried to understand who we are from the outside.
“The first thing I did was go on the website,” she says. “It was quirky, engaging, and impressive. I loved the storytelling. It’s so compelling; no corporate spin. It felt authentic and honest.”
Synergy Vision was founded by ex-pharma execs to provide the support that they wanted from an agency: expertise delivered in partnership, as an extension of their teams, to elevate outputs. We’re full-service, delivering the difference with work across strategy, insights, education, events, and creative pillars. In addition, we have a 4-day working week, flexible working, and employee-ownership.
Pamela says that she was drawn to the employee-owned model, our growth phase, and the challenge of scaling without losing culture. Synergy Vision knows that our purpose and our culture are differentiators in medcomms, and we are dedicated to keeping the things that make us Synergy Vision. At the intersection of those challenges is where Pamela sees her role.
“I’m not joining to drive wholesale change but to help create the conditions for others to succeed, support the executive team, and ask the questions that lead to better decisions,” she says.
Super-charged and ready to go
As Synergy Vision enters its next phase, that combination of challenge, empathy, and strategic clarity is exactly what we need at board level. We’re delighted to welcome Pamela – and very much looking forward to the conversations ahead and facilitating the future, together!