Nine years in. One to go.

It started with a coffee at Monmouth in Borough Market.

Back in 2016, Ria sat down with us to interview for a PA and Studio Manager role at Stepladder. What followed wasn’t just a job — it turned out to be the beginning of something much longer, and much more significant.

The PA and Studio Manager role is one of those positions that gives you an unusually honest view of how a creative agency actually works. Not the polished front of it — the real machinery. The detail, the rhythm, the ten things that need to happen before a project even gets off the ground. Ria got under the skin of it, learned fast, and quietly made herself indispensable.

A few years in, it was clear she was ready for more. Account Executive came first, then Account Manager, then Senior Account Manager. Each step earned, not given. And now, Ria sits as Account Director — working closely with Ben on strategy, new projects, and pitches. The kind of role that takes years to grow into, and she has grown into it brilliantly.

Nine years at The Avenue Group. Nine years of shaping projects with care and pride, of helping build this company into what it is today. She’s been here through the changes, the moves, the growth — and her fingerprints are on more of it than she’d probably admit.

This summer, Ria hits ten years with us. A decade. And if she’s sure of one thing, it’s that a gift of some kind is surely, absolutely, non-negotiably on the cards.

Watch this space.

Carrie Bayley