Caroline Keylock

What I do

I help brands make confident leaps forward

Scaling a business is hard, particularly in the fashion, beauty, luxury and lifestyle space. It requires balancing ambition with the reality of getting things done, not something that all consultants deliver on. I’ve worked with brands in these spaces for 21+ years to deliver just that, in three main areas.

Future Strategy

Full business and brand audits; future facing trend work with a clear role for your brand; and innovation sprints to build new products & services.

Community Building

Audience and market understanding; community strategy that connects you to culture; and commercial recommendations that generate community driven revenue.

Story Telling

Brand positioning strategy and creative delivery; communications strategy across creative & media; and content strategy across an ecosystem of platforms.

Who I am

I’ve worked in strategic and leadership roles for the last twenty-one years, eleven of which have been running my own consultancy, specialising in fashion, luxury, media and lifestyle brands. Three of those years were spent travelling the globe with small children in tow, driving impact for clients from the back of a bus / tent / AirBnB. It’s fair to say I was more prepared than most for the hybrid world of work that we find ourselves in.

I’ve been client side, agency side, and media owner side. I’ve worked with start-ups and legacy global brands across nearly every industry and led the agencies that partner them. It’s given me a unique perspective on the world and the ability to see how it all connects.

My consultancy has given me the most brilliant opportunities: creating and leading strategy for a bespoke agency for CHANEL; repositioning and reinventing the fashion show for Victoria Secret; celebrating the 10 year anniversary of fighting for gender equality for GUCCI CHIME and repositioning the brand; and driving the success of LYMA.

I work as an advisor and sounding board for founders and leadership teams, someone who ‘gets shit done’, and increasingly as a speaker, writer and mentor.

Happy clients

Testimonials

Caroline is hands down one of the most impressive business leaders I've ever come across. I can't think of anyone that has the left and the right brain capability she has, from the emotional and creative to the strategic and operational, Caroline is truly in a league of her own. She is the absolute definition of a modern business leader and without doubt, one of the most competent human beings I've ever had the pleasure to deal with.

Mark Adams - Chief Innovation Officer | VICE

Caroline is one of the best strategic minds I've worked with. We have worked together for a number of years, working with clients to aid their business strategy. We've collaborated with a number of our C-Suite clients, long term, to ensure their businesses continue to flourish and thrive- looking at everything from positioning to new product development; working with client in luxury fashion, retail, F&B and tech.

Caroline has a way of being able to simplify and make sense of even the most complex problems, a very rare skill!

Priya Matadeen - MD | Dazed

I have known Caroline for many years and over the years, I particularly lean on her skills when a business challenge is complicated and requires her clear, considered and creative view of the world.

At Apothem, Caroline came in to support me while we were preparing for the launch of our luxury CBD wellness line.

Caroline clearly identified the specific audiences we needed to connect with and developed a full strategy and go to market plan. Her work and thinking provided a clear framework for the team to work to and execute.

Caroline brings incredible value to most business challenges - she is extremely diligent, honest and a fantastic asset to anyone needing senior strategic rigour injected into a business.

Jessica Binns - CMO | Apothem

Working with Caroline is a great experience. She is always able to quickly identify core issues in business strategy and help craft intelligent strategic solutions that can be practically implemented. She is a great business partner, and easy to work with.

Matt Elek - ex CEO | VICE and CEO | Vinyl Factory

Caroline was a founding team member working as the strategic lead across the world from the successful pitch to setting up and establishing a bespoke network . She brought great consumer insight; an in-depth understanding of fashion and beauty as a millennial thinker and influencer under-pinned by an adaptable skill set from comms planning to strategy to media planning.

She worked across all divisions to build POE (paid, owned, earned) thinking into strategic responses for one of the most iconic and most loved brands in the world. Her work included divisional strategies for senior management; supporting products launches; working with markets to interpret and adopt her strategy from East to West recognising that whilst the definition of luxury and wealth vary greatly by geography, there is only one truly luxury global brand. She is an extremely capable strategist and a great communicator.

Susannah Outfin - ex-CEO | Plus and Managing Partner | Mindshare Worldwide

Clients

I’ve been incredibly lucky to work with clients big and small across a number of industries: