Leadership

An accomplished and collaborative leader in design with over eight years experience shaping brand and visual strategy across the motorsport industry. Currently working as a Head of Design in an agency, I lead a talented, high-performing team delivering bold and innovative design solutions within Formula 1 and for global motorsport clients.

Known for combining strategic thinking with a pragmatic approach, I bring clarity, empathy, and creativity to every project. As an active member of the senior leadership team, I contribute to both business growth and company culture, supporting team development and shaping an environment where creativity and collaboration thrive.

Key Achievements

  • Personally led and secured a major Formula 1 client who now works exclusively with the agency’s design team.

  • Contributing to new business pitches with a win rate exceeding industry benchmarks.

  • Developing and implementing improved creative processes, ensuring greater efficiency and quality control across all deliverables.

  • Playing a pivotal role in shaping the agency’s design direction and supporting its growth within the global motorsport sector.

  • Overseeing multiple high-profile projects whilst managing a balanced workload across new business and retained accounts.

Skills

  • Creative direction and leadership

  • Strategic thinking and problem solving

  • Pitch development and new business support

  • Motorsport and Formula 1 brand expertise

  • Team Management & Mentoring

  • Concept development and design execution

  • Time and workflow management

  • Culture and employee engagement

  • Adobe Creative Cloud

Strategic Leadership
and Vision

  • Collaborate closely with account managers and the wider senior leadership team to align creative direction with client objectives.

  • Actively participate in business planning discussions, shaping departmental deliverables, supporting talent mapping and acting as a key stakeholder for internal projects.

Creative Direction
and Delivery

  • Oversee creative output across commercial, marketing and creative workstreams ensuring brand consistency.

  • Interpret fast-turnaround briefs from clients and translate them into clear creative direction.

  • Ensure all design outputs are strategically aligned, visually cohesive and deliver measurable impact.

Team Leadership
and Development

  • Lead, mentor and develop the design team, fostering a collaborative and high performance culture.

  • Establishing clear creative processes, performance objectives and quality standards.

  • Overseeing resource planning, recruitment and professional development to ensure the team’s skills and capability, align with business needs.

Business and
operational leadership

  • Collaborate with fellow Senior Management Team members on financial planning and agency growth initiatives.

  • Lead the design department budget planning.

  • Actively contribute to agency culture and employee engagement as a member of the Culture Committee.

In the news

Females in Motorsport

“This January, The Race Media Awards crowned Pace Six Four as their International Agency of the Year. We sat down with one of the women instrumental in the agency’s renowned work across Formula 1, ABB FIA Formula E, and GT series: Head of Design Rachel Smith…” 

Pace Six Four

“When Rachel Smith joined Pace Six Four in 2020, she was just the fourth member of the team. On 16th March 2024, she celebrated her four-year work anniversary as a central figure in what has become a significantly larger organisation…”