Hilary Collins

Founder & Managing Director, Big Wave PR
While still studying for a BA (Hons) in Geography at Anglia Ruskin, Hilary saw an advertisement in the window of Campus Travel in Cambridge: they were looking for someone to stage events and write articles about independent travel. She knew this was the job for her, and made sure she got it. Hilary was paid to travel across Mexico and, more importantly, stumbled upon her ideal career: public relations.

After 10 years in PR and the birth of her daughter, having worked her way up to associate director at a top-150 consultancy, Hilary became keen to start her own business. She had led award-winning campaigns for Greene King and had directed PR for BAA Stansted, BT and Youth Music, but it was time to go it alone.

She set up Big Wave PR in 2007 to provide consumer PR campaigns for clients including Carlsberg; property portal getagrip.co.uk; a chain of opticians; hair and beauty manufacturers; and a renewable energy company. Despite only ever trading in a recession, Big Wave PR managed to achieve rapid growth: the business was named a major player in the Eastern Region by industry journal PR Week [note italics] in 2009.