Alumna Spotlight: Imogen Pudduck, Class of 1996

Bath High Alumna, Class of 1996, and now Royal High School Bath Governor, Imogen Pudduck comes from marketing some of the biggest brands in the world (Hasbro, Polaroid and Red Bull), building award-winning teams who devised exceptional ideas each year that surprise and delight. 

It was during her time as Head of Brand at Red Bull, she realised that to have a truly amazing brand that consumers fall in love with, you need infectiously passionate and energised employees that drive that ethos forward. 

She left Red Bull to set up FizzPopBANG in 2012 with her fellow pirate Carla Cringle (Head of People at Red Bull), in pursuit of sharing this knowledge and making the world of work no longer a drab and dreary chore – but one that makes you bounce out of bed and whistle on your way.

FizzPopBANG helps businesses across all industries unlock their potential by engaging their people through vibrant, high performing working Cultures, Learning & Leadership. 

Her mission is to fill the world of business with colour and to make work a place to have fun & be fearless where people can be their best and shine.

She is a keen mountain climber with a love for the outdoors and when not travelling, lives in the Malvern Hills with her husband and 2 dogs, pigs and shire horses.

She was a pupil at Bath High School in the 90s and rather surprisingly, studied Dentistry after school at University in London. 

What aspects of Royal High School Bath did you enjoy and find most rewarding? 

I have many fond memories of being at School. Great friends, clubs to be part of – Saturday Hockey fixtures, being part of the amazing Sixth Form based in Lansdown Crescent.  I remember always feeling a sense of freedom to be myself and that anything was possible. 

I am sure I gained my determination and an innate sense of not settling for average here.  I never felt afraid of speaking up and saying what I thought. It would come to no surprise that I was quite a rebellious girl – not wanting to be the same as others, I think Bath High helped me channel this into working hard to give me choices for the future (even if I didn’t know what I wanted to be).

Any key memories? 

I remember we were part of a year group that successfully campaigned to allow GCSE years to have a different colour sweater so that we could stand out from the rest of the school. This was an important moment to help us transition into 6th Form and have an identity. It sounds small, but in the 90s, it was a big deal to stand out!

What did you aspire to while at school? 

This is a difficult question to answer. I always struggled to know what I wanted to be in the future (and to a certain extent still do!). I was always jealous of those around me who seemingly knew exactly what they wanted to do at University and went for it. I was good at science so I focused on that and eventually went to study Dentistry! I also had to work hard to get good results, so I remember making a choice to get my head down and do all I could to do my best to keep my options open. I think looking back I struggled with not knowing all the answers but I think the work hard ethic that the school gave me has helped me develop a sense of ability to thrive with change, grab every opportunity and not need to know what the future holds has helped me be successful today. 

How did Bath High empower you for your future? Are there key things you still reflect on that you learnt while in school, that help you to this day? 

Find out who you are, what are your strengths, use these to your advantage to build confidence and aim to be your best in everything you do. Do this by constantly pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and don’t accept the norm or follow others or settle! 

Learning how to cope with change and be free to accept that life is unpredictable. With the statistics saying that 65% of young people in education will have jobs that don’t exist yet. I think that my ability to be creative and problem solve has helped me be successful.

How did your studies at Bath High inspire you to follow your chosen career?  

As above, I think the main things that have helped me is the ‘work hard’ ethic and determination to succeed no matter what I end up doing helped me to grab any opportunity to learn. I am now passionate about helping young leaders fulfil their potential and work with a lot of women leader groups to help them achieve success. 

I also think being able to talk to others and have a bit of humour is no bad thing. I remember in my interview at Red Bull they asked me if I was to write a love letter to Red Bull what would I say about myself and if I won £1m what would I do with it – I was only prepared to answer questions about why I was able to do the job! So in the absence of a perfectly prepared answer, I was just myself, answered as honestly as I could with a smile. 

I think my ability to talk to others and speak up (even being quite shy!) has helped me be successful – and I am sure I learned this from school. I remember volunteering to show perspective pupils and their families around the school, something that wasn’t in my comfort zone for sure, but helped me to push myself to improve. Doing things that make you nervous and feeling the discomfort, will help you discover and learn more (and make you feel alive and proud of yourself).

Bath High School showed me that if I am my brightest self with others, that comes back to me in how people react back to me (even if deep inside the nerves are wild) .

What has been your proudest moment? 

I have been so fortunate to have many proud moments in my life. I have climbed many big mountains I never thought I would be able to. Travelled to amazing places. 

When I was given the big job at Red Bull to run the marketing team I felt like my hard work and determination had paid off (even if I didn’t know exactly what my end goal was). But probably my proudest moments have to be from my business baby FizzPopBANG. Setting up a business from scratch with just a sketch of an idea, giving up my hard-earned career and going in to the unknown is a scary thought. But 10 years later, hearing from companies like Sony Music and Sweaty Betty how much they love working with us and how we have made a real difference to their business and their lives is very rewarding. Seeing business leaders open up, discover how to be their best selves and flourish is always a proud moment. 

What would you say to your 11-year-old self? Or what advice would you give to yourself in Sixth Form/ what do you know now that you wish you knew then? 

I see too many young people putting themselves under so much pressure to aim for perfection in their lives and future aspirations, that it affects their wellbeing. I think I felt the same when I was at School so I would like to tell my younger self simply that everything will be ok. Keep working hard and being determined in whatever you are working on, be open to what comes along and don’t feel like you need to know all the answers now. 

I would tell myself that you will discover that despite being terrible at Art, you will be very good at Creative Thinking and innovation. 

I was given a great piece of advice by a mountain guide once…you don’t eat an elephant all in one go…it takes a piece at a time….the same is true with climbing mountains…you don’t reach a summit in one go, it is step by step. Set a small goal and aim for that and then see what happens next and go again. I think the same is true in your career and work. And by the time you reach the top, it might be a very different summit than when you set out. Try to fill every day of your life with as much colour and play as you can…it goes very quickly.

Plus… one day you will be invited back to be Governor of the school – I bet you never expected that!

What are your hopes for the future? 

I hope to continue to help women and young people in business. I want to continue to do good work with good people. And keep curious and open to possibility and opportunities. To practice Serendipity wherever I can and give my time generously wherever I can to help make a difference. Who knows where that might take me…but I am excited to discover what will be…