COO @ Kurogo | We Create Thought Leaders Through Personal Branding | x2 TEDx speaker | Advisor, Investor & NED | Law Graduate | I talk about entrepreneurship, agency life and grief

Hey, I’m Lewis! 👋 I'm an operator, builder, and believer in doing work that matters.

For the last 4 years, I helped scale Kurogo, one of the leading personal branding agencies, as Chief Operating Officer, partnering with 300+ world-class founders, CEOs, C-Suite Execs and public figures to grow their influence and impact. I joined in September '21 and within 4 years, we scaled to a 7-figure business, with a global, remote team of 20+. We had clients across the UK, Europe, USA and MENA regions.

I have 5+ years' experience as a Non-Executive Director, particularly within the non-profit and social impact sector. At present, I continue to serve as:

- Vice Chair & Non-Executive Director, Child Action Northwest
- Non-Executive Director, Spring North

Currently, I’m travelling and building quietly behind the scenes - creating space to explore what’s next.

Lewis Alexander Baxter

It’s been a tough week.

And a harder start to 2026 than I expected.

There’s been some personal stuff going on.
Nothing I want to share publicly right now.

I’ve had to pull back on work.

Slow things down. Create a bit of space.

That hasn’t come easily. 

I've talked a lot recently about building work around life, not the other way round.

I guess this is what actually living that out looks like.

It’s been a reminder to keep the people around me close.

Not to default to busyness.
Not to disappear when things feel heavy.

And to come back to a simple, poignant message:

In a world where you can be anything, be kind.

I’ve felt that this week.

From compassionate clients.
Understanding colleagues.
Friends who’ve checked in.

I’m really grateful for it.

Life can feel fragile at times.

And moments like this are an important reminder of what actually matters.

Age 18, I had no interest in a gap year or solo travelling.
 
Age 27, something had shifted.

When I step back, the thing that stands out most isn’t necessarily the places I visited. 

It’s how significant it felt to be away from home, and away from work, for nearly 3 months.

Because as a teenager, it just didn’t appeal to me then.

Not in the way it seemed to for other people.

Several friends had gap years.

They spoke about travelling constantly.

I listened, but honestly... I never felt the pull myself.

From 18 to my early 20s, I had no interest in travelling on my own.

And if I’m honest, I don’t think I even questioned that at the time.

I absolutely LOVE travelling, though.

That came from my mum, predominantly. 

My parents and I went on some great holidays, and I know how fortunate I was.

But, until last year, the idea of jetting off to the other side of the world, didn’t appeal.

Over the last year or two, following Lukas and Ellie (and others), hearing how they’d travelled, explored the world, built space into their lives, planted something.

So spending 3 months late last year across four countries, meeting strangers, having unfamiliar conversations, learning how to sit with my own thoughts…

That version of me wouldn’t have made sense to 18-year-old me.

I was an only child.
I spent a lot of time on my own.
I never had a huge group of friends (only a few close ones, and we often moved in different directions).

So stepping that far outside my comfort zone, even at 27, felt significant.

Let’s not underestimate that.

We’re quick to tell ourselves we’re “late” to things. That we should’ve done them earlier.

That having adventures somehow has an expiry date.

But even at 27, it felt like a big move.

A stretch.

And I don’t think age matters when it comes to travel.

It doesn’t matter if you do it at 18.

Or 27.
Or 46.

It still takes courage.  

In the end, it came down to saying yes. And giving myself the chance to have the trip of a lifetime.

A reminder that it isn’t as out of reach as it can feel.

--

P.S. Have you ever surprised yourself by doing something much later than you thought you would?

P.P.S. Hi, I’m Lewis! 👋 I share reflections on business, life and travel. I’m on a mission to design work around life, not the other way around. I'm a fractional COO, builder and believer in doing work that actually matters.

22,000 people have chosen to follow my thoughts on work, life and whatever else I end up thinking out loud here.

So, thank you. 🙏 

I’m not entirely sure why I celebrate follower milestones.

But I do. So… here we are.

Since Jan 1st, this little corner of LinkedIn has grown by almost 2,000 people.

(This feels slightly surreal, given I’ve been on here for 9+ years and for a long time it was mostly me, my dad, a few friends, and the occasional recruiter checking in!)

This recent growth has come from the hiring posts I’ve been sharing. 

Each week, I share a roundup of genuinely good agency roles across marketing, social and communications. Roles I’d actually send to a friend.

Last week, an amazing copywriter saw one of those posts, applied, and now has an interview lined up. This alone made the whole thing feel worth it!

The goal of my content? 

To provide as much value as I can, share what I’m learning about scaling agencies and operations, and connect great people with companies doing interesting work. 

--

So, if you’re new here, hello! 👋

Probably a good moment to reintroduce myself.

I’m Lewis. Age 27.

A northerner now living in London.
A law graduate turned agency operator.
A believer in doing work that actually matters.

👉 Until Oct '25, I was COO at a leading personal branding agency, helping scale it into a seven-figure, fully remote business working with founders, CEOs and senior leaders globally. Learnt so much!

👉 I love travel (and was lucky enough to spend late last year in Australia, Fiji, Bali and New Zealand).

👉 I’m hugely passionate about the charity sector, and currently sit on two charity boards. 

👉 After my own battles with mental health, and losing my mum aged 21, I talk openly about grief and human leadership (and encourage others to do the same)

Right now, I’m building a few things:👇 

- An operations consultancy, working with agencies on ops, finance & hiring
- FUNC, an online marketplace for functional drinks and better-for-you products
- A new agency in a space I genuinely love (more on that soon!)

And this year, I’m designing work around life, not the other way around. 

More travel, more gym, more life, more 'me time'. 

If you’re here for hiring, leadership, building from 0-1, or the more human side of work - welcome. 

And if you’ve been here a while… thanks for sticking around. 🙏

One of the biggest lessons I learned in 2025:

Under-communication creates more problems than you ever anticipate.

In October, I shared a post announcing I was stepping away from a business to go travelling.

At the time, I didn’t think much of it.

In my head, the plan was clear.

I was still supporting one of our consultancy clients after leaving.

The team knew that.

I knew that.

But the client didn’t.

They saw the LinkedIn post before hearing anything privately, and their first reaction was:

“Lewis has left. Who’s my point of contact now?”

From my perspective, nothing had changed.
From theirs, their point of contact had suddenly disappeared.

Their knowledge gap came down to one thing:

I hadn’t given them the courtesy of a heads-up.

People rarely struggle with your decisions. They struggle with not knowing them.

This year, I'll operate by a few simple rules:

- Send the courtesy message.
- Share context early, not reactively.
- Keep people informed, so they’re not left guessing.

Over-communicating isn’t a weakness. It’s how trust actually gets built, especially as things grow.

When people don’t have clarity, they fill in the gaps themselves.

And it’s usually not the version you had in mind.

So, if you're a leader, manager, project lead or freelancer...

Remember,

Clear communication isn’t optional.

It’s part of the job.

--

♻️ Please repost if this message resonated.

PS. hi, I’m Lewis! 👋 I share reflections on business, life and travel. I'm a fractional COO, builder and believer in doing work that matters. I'm on a mission to design work around life, not the other way around.

I’ve been using the phrase “designing work around life, not the other way round” a lot recently.

Partly because it captures something I’m trying to be more intentional about.

And partly because I’m still figuring out what it actually means for me.

It doesn’t necessarily mean working less.
Or escaping responsibility.
Or building some perfectly balanced, always-calm life... (I don’t think that exists).

What it does mean, I think, is starting from a different place.

Instead of asking: “What does my work demand of me?”

I’m trying to ask: “What kind of life do I actually want to live, and how does work support that?”

It’s a small shift, but I’ve noticed it changes how I think about most decisions.

For me, this isn’t a binary thing.

It’s not something you “achieve” and tick off.

It’s a mindset.

A process.

A way of noticing when work is taking over more space than it deserves, and deciding, consciously, whether that’s a trade-off I’m happy to make right now.

Some weeks, work will come first. 

Other weeks, life might take the front seat. For some family time and space to think.

Designing work around life, for me, is about being intentional in those choices - rather than defaulting to work winning every time.

These are a few of the questions I’ve been asking myself lately, and maybe they’re useful for you too:

- What am I optimising for right now (travel, energy, learning, money)?
- If nothing changed for the next three years, would that be okay?
- What parts of my work give me energy (and which drain it)?
- What does a “good” week actually feel like?
- Where am I saying yes out of habit?
- What am I protecting time for?

I don’t have crystal clears answers to all of these.

Some of them shift depending on what life looks like at the time. But asking them has already shifted how I approach my work, and how much space I'll allow it to take up.

It feels less about getting it right, and more about paying attention as things change.

Curious, what does designing work around life look like for you, in practice?

--

PS. hi, I’m Lewis! 👋 I share reflections on business, life and travel. Right now, I'm on a mission to design work around life, not the other way around. I'm a fractional COO, builder and believer in doing work that actually matters.

5 awesome agency marketing jobs YOU can apply for this weekend:👇

--

1/ Account Director 
Raptor 
Salary: £55K - £65K (DOE) 
Location: London

Raptor is a culture-led, youth-first marketing agency working across brand, social, experiential and real-world engagement. In this role, you’ll lead 2–3 key client accounts end-to-end, owning integrated campaigns, managing budgets, driving account growth, and leading a team of up to 6 in a fast-paced environment.

--

2/ Content Manager (Executive Thought Leadership) 
Triangle 
Salary: £30K - £35K (DOE) (+ bonus) 
Location: UK-based 

Triangle are a thought leadership and personal branding agency working with an exclusive group of leading CEOs as well as C-Suite executives at billion-dollar companies who want to leverage their own personal voice to transform their business. In this role, you’ll turn podcast-style executive interviews into high-performing LinkedIn posts and long-form content, combining writing, research, content strategy, and strong client communication.

--

3/ Senior Account Executive (PR) 
Citizen Relations 
Salary: £31K - £34K 
Location: London

Citizen are a global PR agency focused on building authentic connections between brands and communities. In this role, you’ll take ownership of client programmes, managing timelines, developing media materials, pitching press and talent, supporting crisis comms, and presenting campaign results, while mentoring junior team members. A great opportunity to grow your career in PR.

--

4/ Senior Social Media Executive
Plus 1 Communications
Salary: £30K (DOE)
Location: Windsor

Plus 1 Communications are a global creative and communications agency working across consumer, lifestyle and culture-led brands. In this role, you’ll lead end-to-end social campaigns, creating high-impact content, running paid social, and optimising performance across Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube and X - helping shift social from reactive posting to strategically led, high-production work that matches the agency’s award-winning creative standard.

--

5/ Podcast Producer (Personal Brand)
7xContent
Salary: £25K-£35K
Location: Remote-first

7X are a specialist video-first podcast agency helping world-leading creators and brands turn conversations into high-impact content engines. In this role, you’ll own the strategy and production of Creator Playbooks - leading the founder’s podcast end-to-end, while also driving the marketing engine behind Callum’s personal brand and 7X’s content funnel across YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and email.

--

Every week, I share fresh roles across marketing, social and comms. All posted in the last 10 days, with salary shown.

♻️ Repost to share these opportunities with your network.

5 agency marketing jobs YOU can apply for this weekend:👇

--

1/ Senior Account Executive - Publicity (Film & TV) 🎬
Substance Global
Salary: £30K - £34K (DOE)
Location: London (Hybrid)

Substance Global are an independent, insights-led digital marketing agency working across Film, TV and entertainment, with teams in London and globally. Known for their collaborative culture and creative ambition, they deliver high-profile campaigns blending strategy, publicity and innovation. In this role, you’ll support Film & TV publicity campaigns, working on media liaison, client relationships, screenings, premieres and events. A fast-paced role for someone organised, confident and plugged into Film & TV culture.

--

2/ In-House Content Creator
HonestBrands
Salary: £40K - £50K (+ bonuses) 
Location: Remote (UK / Barcelona preferred)

HonestBrands run a beginner-to-advanced e-commerce training community helping people build real brands across Amazon, TikTok and Shopify. Content sits at the centre of growth. Your job is simple: create a high volume of high-quality content that drives demand. You’ll work closely with the founders on organic, paid and long-form content that builds trust, attracts the right audience and scales repeatable content systems.

--

3/ Senior Account Executive (Public Relations)
Group42
Salary: £28K - £30K (DOE) 
Location: London

42 Bruton, part of Group42, are a high-growth boutique PR agency working with ambitious scale-ups and challenger brands across the UK and US. Known for sharp positioning and clean execution, they deliver storytelling that drives real audience and investor engagement. You’ll support PR and digital campaigns across lifestyle, FMCG, travel and tech, working on media relations, content and client comms.

--

4/ Account Executive
adam&eveTBWA
Salary: £30K (+ bonuses)
Location: London

adam&eve\TBWA are a global creative agency built on the belief that emotion drives business growth. As the European hub for one of TBWA/Omnicom’s longest-standing global clients, the London team delivers fully integrated campaigns across ATL, digital, social, CRM, POS and internal comms. You’ll support the day-to-day delivery of international campaigns alongside senior account, creative and partner teams.

--

5/ Marketing Assistant
Signal Group
Salary: £26.6K - £26.8K
Location: Watford

Signal Group are a growing, people-focused marketing organisation delivering collaborative, detail-driven campaigns for a range of clients. They place strong emphasis on developing talent and long-term growth. In this role, you’ll support campaign delivery, brand consistency, research, performance tracking and reporting. A strong entry-level opportunity to gain hands-on experience across marketing.

--

Every week, I share fresh roles across marketing, social and comms. All posted in the last 10 days, with salary shown. 

♻️ Repost to share these opportunities with your network.

PS. Check out my comments section for links to every role.👇

We’re very good at being busy.

But, we don’t check in nearly enough on our energy.

Meetings.
To-do lists.
Deliverables.

Important, yes. But only part of the picture.

Some of the things that matter most aren’t obvious while you’re in the middle of it.

Energy. Presence. How you feel at the end of the day, when the laptop closes.

I’ve been paying more attention to that lately.

Not simply what I’m working on, but how the work leaves me feeling.

Energised. Or, drained.

Because you can be doing all the “right” things, ticking off tasks from your to-do list, and still finish most days feeling depleted.

Intentional life design, I’m realising, starts in these small moments.

In patterns you notice early, before they harden into defaults.

What consistently gives you energy.
What slowly takes it away.
What you’ve normalised, simply because it’s familiar.

So if there’s one thing worth paying attention to this week, maybe it’s this:

At the end of each day, pause for a moment and ask yourself:

Did today’s work give me energy, or take it away?

Answer this honestly.

You could even treat it like a simple energy audit - 'red, amber, green' your tasks, or loosely score them based on how much energy they gave you.
 
(I might write more on this separately).

Because how your work feels, day after day, matters more than we often admit.

Curious, when you think about your last few working days: what’s been giving you energy lately?

--

♻️ Repost if this resonated.

PS. hi, I’m Lewis! 👋 I share reflections on business, life and travel. I'm on a mission to design work around life, not the other way around.

Today reminded me how much depth can exist in a short conversation.

Even with someone you’ve never actually met.

Earlier today, I chatted with George for 30 mins.

We’d been connected on LinkedIn for about six years.

But until today, we’d never actually spoken.

And as it turns out, I first reached out back in 2019.

Today was the first real conversation.

We started with work.

Marketing. Social media. Creative careers. Where things are heading. The challenges and the opportunities for companies and those looking for new opportunities. 

Then, quite naturally, it shifted.

Mental health and wellbeing - particularly for men.

Grief and loss. Identity.

Family. Relationships. The stuff beneath the surface.

All with someone who, until today, was effectively a stranger.

What struck me most was how easy it felt once we moved past the polite first few minutes.

Many of these topics can feel hard to talk about - especially as men, and especially with people we don’t really know yet. 

There’s often a sense you should keep things light and 'professional'. 

(especially when you've connected originally on LinkedIn)

But when there’s openness on both sides, it doesn’t feel forced.

It feels human.

It was a rich, thoughtful, wide-ranging conversation. 

The kind that reminds you how much depth can fit into a short window of time (if you let it).

One more thing that feels worth sharing:👇 

George has a book coming out next week.

"Be A Man About It: Building a Healthier Idea of Masculinity" (22nd January) (more details in comments) 

After the conversation we had, I’m genuinely looking forward to buying it and sitting with it properly.

Stephen Fry described it like this:

‘An absolutely fascinating enquiry into the nature of masculinity, coming at a time when it's really needed."

If the book carries even a fraction of the openness, depth and honesty that came through in our call, it’ll be an important one.

So, thank you, George. I’m really glad we finally connected properly.

Today made me realise how much we often leave unsaid, and how powerful it is when we don’t.

--

PS. hi, I’m Lewis! 👋 I share reflections on business, life and travel. Right now, I'm on a mission to design work around life, not the other way around. I'm a fractional COO, builder and believer in doing work that actually matters.

Most people don’t have a time problem.

They have a thinking problem.

Or more accurately, they’re trying to think and execute at the same time.

This rarely works.

One thing I’ve been paying more attention to lately is separating strategy time from execution time.

Intentionally. 

Because when everything is 'execution mode', you default to reacting.

Emails. Slack. Tasks. Requests. WhatsApp messages.

And when thinking time is squeezed into the 5- or 10- minute gaps between meetings, it never really gets the space it needs.

There are a few ways I’ve seen this work well:

1/ A dedicated strategy day each week (I'm trialling next week!)
2/ Every morning (for ~2 hours) as locked-in thinking time
3/ Or, weaving smaller “thinking blocks” into each day

There’s no single right way. Do what feels right for YOU. 

And if anyone tells you that their way is the 'best way'...

Don't listen to them...

I was listening to a podcast clip with Leila Hormozi, and I wanted to share one line with you:

“If your week isn’t planned by Sunday, you have already lost the week.”

And for me, this makes perfect sense.

Not because Sunday planning magically solves all your problems. But because unplanned weeks get dictated by everyone else’s priorities.

Strategy time is where you decide:

- What actually matters this week
- What doesn’t need doing at all
- What can wait

Execution time is where you do the work.

Mix them together, and both will suffer.

So if things have felt busy but oddly unproductive lately, maybe this is the place to look.

Not “how can I do more?”

But: "When is my thinking time?"

--

♻️ Repost to share this message. 

PS. hi, I’m Lewis! 👋 I share reflections on business, life and travel. Right now, I'm on a mission to design work around life, not the other way around. I'm a fractional COO, builder and believer in doing work that actually matters.

Sam G. Winsbury

We Create Thought Leaders Through Personal Branding | 150+ Personal Brands Built | Founder & CEO Kurogo

-- DM for Speaking Enquiries --

We turn entrepreneurs into credible thought leaders through personal branding so they can scale their businesses, unlock untapped opportunities and outlast their competition.

If you’re anything like our clients, you’re an expert in your field. One of the best.

But you just don’t seem to have the reputation you deserve.

You want to be the go-to authority in your industry and become an opportunity magnet.

That way you could…

- Generate inbound leads consistently
- Win clients and customers with ease
- Attract media features
- Attract top talent
- Speak on stage

The list is endless.

We help our clients do just that through the power of personal branding, by:

1. Giving them clarity on their brand and positioning them as industry leaders.
2. Blowing up their social profiles and landing them high-profile media features.
3. Helping them convert their new-found reputation into meaningful opportunities and ROI

And having built 300+ personal brands, we’ve got quite good at it, achieving results like these in the process:

🚀 Jack generated 2.5M views and 6 figures in revenue in 90 days with us 
🚀 Joe and Olly generated millions of views and saw a record month
🚀 Guy added 5 figures of pipeline value in a matter of months
🚀 Shan Grew 24,000 followers and landed $200,000 in sales
🚀 Olie added £50K of inbound revenue to his pipeline
🚀 Sue generated over 8.3 million views in 4 months
🚀 Jemma increased her views by 51,347%
🚀 James became an Amazon Best Seller 
🚀 Tom generated 5M views in 3 months 
🚀 Anna doubled her followers in 1 year
🚀 Debbie generated 11M Views

Your reputation is your biggest asset. Take control of it! 

If you want to see how we could help you build your personal brand, shoot me a dm saying ‘Personal Brand’

If you're not quite ready yet, I post daily content on here showing you how to do it yourself.

Founder

The exec: 20+ yrs experience, industry expert, loved by team

Their profile: looks like a CV from when they applied in 2015

And that’s not trivial either…

Weak profiles cost you opportunities every week.

Worse, people go to competitors who aren’t as good as you.

(Yep, just because their profiles signal more authority).

Here’s the thing:

Your ‘Job Role @ Company’ tagline tells me nothing
Your stock photo cover image is losing interest
Your 3rd person outdates bio is costing authority
Your profile isn’t just a CV anymore.

It’s your personal business card, pitch deck, website and sales page all in one.

Want to use this later? Save it!

Personal Brand Advisor To Leading Entrepreneurs & Execs | 350+ Brands Built | Speaker | Sky, Entrepreneur, Insider | Founder & CEO Kurogo

I let slip and admitted it to a potential client: 

You won’t track 90% of the work we do for you.

Sure, you’ll see the 10% everyone on LinkedIn is obsessed with:

→ Increased visibility
→ More engagement 
→ Inbound leads 

But your personal brand is 10x more than that. 

→ Nurturing leads from other channels 
→ Generating leads who’ll convert elsewhere
→ Warming prospects in the sales process
→ Build authority to increase perceived value
→ Creating touchpoints for existing leads 
→ Maintaining confidence from current clients
→ Building your employer brand to attract talent
→ Indoctrinating leads into your way of thinking
→ Attracting future partners or investors 
→ Future proofing your career

We all love the inbound leads. 

But reducing a personal brand to just that is stupid.

If you don’t understand that, I’m afraid you don’t understand the modern buyer.

With me? Or disagree?

We're wrapping up our work with a client. 

One of the ones I’m MOST proud of. In 24 months we: 

→ Generated MILLIONS of views 
→ More than TRIPLED their following
→ Earned them a TOP VOICE award 

More importantly: 

We impacted, inspired and influenced thousands of entrepreneurs. 

So often I’ll be told ‘I love the content she’s posting, she’s amazing’

Pretty cool feeling. 

I take 0 credit for this btw. Everything goes to Megan, Liesha, Varun, Jake, Satwik.

Ps. As I was writing this I also realised how mental it is that we’re able to bring 5 people from all sorts of backgrounds and walks of life to create such incredible results for one of the UKs leading entrepreneurs. Love Kurogo - Personal Branding Agency.

Trust is at an all time low. It’s not your fault. 

It’s government, the media and cowboys. 

But it is your problem. Here’s how to rebuild it: 

1. Position yourself as trustworthy

Easiest way to do this: cold hard proof.
Want to be trusted as a leading consultant?
Tell us how many people you’ve helped. 

Not got cold hard proof? 
Work harder to acquire it… 
Just how the game works.

2. Publish content regularly 

LinkedIn is the no.1 place for business owners. 
People trust companies when senior teams post. 
They’re also willing top pay a premium.

(Can’t cover all of this here, but my other posts do)

Ps. Don’t ignore: YouTube & Reddit.

3. Package your expertise

People trust ‘models’ more than raw ‘information’.
Their perceived value is higher.
More memorable = more trusted.

4. Partner with trust people/publications

Some people are already well trusted.
Collaborate with them on content/products.
You’ll gain trust through the Halo Effect.

5. Activate your people 

People are at the heart of all of this, not logos.

82% of customers trust companies more when execs are active on social media.

--

We’ve build 350+ personal brands now.

The most important thing is this:

It’s not about forging a false impression of yourself. 
It’s about creating a more accurate representation. 

If it’s not backed by a great product and solid proof, it’s pointless. 

Image: Edelman’s Trust Barometer (will link in comments)

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The Battle

Lewis Alexander Baxter

Sam G. Winsbury

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The Battle

Lewis Alexander Baxter

Sam G. Winsbury

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Lewis Alexander Baxter's LinkedIn Performance

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