PG Paper Company Inc has opened its first US office, in New York City! Amanda Morrison will head up the NY office; so for this week’s blog, we thought we’d ask Amanda to share her paper journey from growing up in rural Scotland, to moving to the city that never sleeps!
Tell us about your journey
I started my career in marketing and event management, with a spell with a recruitment company, before retraining and moving into teaching. After a spell teaching business in a Scottish high school, I moved to London to teach marketing and events at a private college; you could say my paper journey started as a teacher, but with school jotters, homework diaries and exam papers. ?
I really enjoyed teaching and the feeling that I was making some small difference to the lives of my pupils, but it never truly challenged me and I soon decided to move back into the corporate world.
PG & The World of Paper
I moved back to Scotland and joined PG in 2015. I had no idea of the sheer scale of the global paper industry, nor the challenges and adventures I would face on an almost daily basis, as I developed my knowledge of paper, the industry, markets, and key players.
I can honestly say, I am so blessed and I truly love my job. PG Paper continues to grow but the strong family values that helped build the company in the beginning, remain at its core. My role has evolved over the last four years, with a focus on developing relationships with suppliers in Asia and America, to allow PG to expand our opportunities and the grades that we can offer to our extensive customer base across more than 55 countries.
How will your role change, now you are VP of PG Paper Company Inc?
When I started with PG Paper, I was responsible for developing and maintaining the US and Asian supplier relationships, so I have always been active in America and have some very good relationships with some amazing people in some of the best paper mills in the world.
Looking back, I would say that most of my early successes and more consistent relationships were with my Asian suppliers. This influenced a strategy to refocus a couple of years ago, when we decided to capitalize on strengthening these relationships, with a view to securing more opportunities from America.
After spending some time in New York it was clear that it was easier to develop and maintain the relationships with American paper mills from the US and we made the decision to establish PG Paper Company Inc and a New York City office.
I now have greater responsibility to make sure PG Paper Inc is a success! I will continue to look after and maintain my existing relationships and look to develop new ones. I will also manage the team we recruit in America and help to grow and develop this into an efficient and successful arm of PG Paper.
What’s first on your to-do list for the NY office?
Top of the list will be recruiting some colleagues and creating a PG Paper Company Inc team! I will be on the lookout for people that have the drive, energy, and enthusiasm to work alongside me to allow PG to realize its full potential stateside.
Is there such a thing as an ‘average day’ for you?
I don’t really think many people in business development have an ‘average day’ but I guess the most important thing in my life (work-wise) is my email account! I work very much on an email to email basis and depending on the situation I am working on opportunities that our sales team need or opportunities that our paper supplier want to work with us on. It’s the variety and the irregularity of each day makes it more exciting in some ways.
How does NY compare with your home town in Scotland?
Well, I would have to say there are absolutely no similarities! I was brought up on a small farm in rural Scotland. Growing up, my sister and I used to try to catch lambs or make tree swings for fun.
Manhattan has some of the tallest buildings I have ever seen and there are more people in one square mile in Manhattan, that in the entire town I grew up in! Honestly, I think it’s the contrast that makes me love New York so much, I have the best of both worlds.
What’s your favorite way to spend a day off in NYC?
There is so much to do in New York and it really depends on the season. My favorite would be spring or fall – taking my puppy, Charlie, to the dog park, then meeting up with friends for lunch somewhere new (there are always new places to try). I also enjoy going to different pop-up events in the city, walking the different neighborhoods, and even football Sundays (I don’t love the football just yet, but I do like the beer and the atmosphere).
What do you miss about Scotland?
Without a doubt, my family! I love the excitement and pace of life in New York, but the one thing I do miss about Scotland is the people.
The one thing I definitely don’t miss is the rain!