Once a journalist, always a journalist.

Once a journalist, always a journalist. Or so they say.

I spent the next 20 or so years as a reporter, editor and columnist for one of the country's preeminent media outlets. So it's fair to say I know quite a bit about media, and communications.

I know how media work. I know what makes journalists tick. I know what makes a great story. And I discovered that those skills are eminently transferable.

So I left journalism for a career as a political adviser. Over the next five years, first as a press secretary and then as principal adviser and Chief of Staff, I picked up a whole host of other useful skills, such as how to manage issues. From major environmental spills to industrial disputes to workplace fraud and allegations of misconduct, I managed them all.

And then, in 2002, I joined a strategic and financial communications firm called Cannings, which is now part of the Ogilvy family of companies. I was there for 21 years, a long but hugely satisfying time, first as a senior consultant and eventually as Chief Executive Officer.

I found that I could use the skills I had picked up in journalism and in politics to assist clients large and small, to communicate better. To tell their stories in a compelling manner. Just as importantly, I learnt how to manage, protect and enhance reputations, an organisation's most valuable asset.

I also learnt how to develop and implement communications strategies, ensuring important messages hit the mark, not just with media but with other important stakeholders, including customers, employees, regulators and policy makers.

I know how to get results. That's what I do. And I know things.