Arjun Paliwal has moved back to London to a new role within Facebook and is now working with clients who are among the world’s biggest brands in the fashion and luxury industry.
The new job – as Client Solutions Manager – marks a further step up for Arjun (OE 2006-2013), who returns to the UK after nearly four years in Ireland, with the last 15 months spent in Dublin as a Senior Account Manager.
He relished the opportunity to live there, and considers the chapter important for not only his professional but also personal growth. “Dublin’s where I began to explore and accept my sexuality,” he says. “In coming to terms with my bisexuality I’ve had to (and will continue to) confront challenging feelings, such as shame – but I’ve also built a confidence I never had before. I bring more of myself to my work and my relationships, which is important because I’m more passionate and focused without spending my energy trying to be someone else.”
Amid all the change, however, one thing remains constant – his commitment to sustainability. “I’ve spent the best part of the last 18 months working to support and grow sustainable businesses. Sustainability is a horizontal across every vertical, so every business needs to be thinking about it, and I’m so excited to see our global teams working to amplify Facebook’s contribution to a sustainable world in the work we do with clients and agencies. This is additional to all the work the company has done and continues to do to be more sustainable, which is exciting to see happen and couldn’t be more urgent.
“I’m excited to take on the responsibility of working with some of our largest global fashion and luxury brands that define industry trends to help them be a force for good through their campaigns and communication on Facebook (FB) and Instagram (IG).”
After QE, Arjun read Fine Art at New College, Oxford, exhibiting in several galleries across the city and having a short film selected for a Ruskin Shorts exhibition.
Graduating in 2017, he joined Facebook in September of that year, initially as an e-commerce Account Manager.
“What I love about working at Facebook is our culture, where you can connect with anyone across the company to share ideas, learn and grow.”
His own career to date is an example of what this culture can produce: “Building a programme for sustainable businesses started as a passionate side project. Today, many coffees and brainstorming sessions later, we’ve got a global team working to support these companies in reaching more customers with their innovations, and senior leads are backing the work.
“My Facebook Dublin chapter has come to an end for now but I’m grateful for the journey I had there, particularly the opportunity to spend more time doing what I love while progressing my career. Being in a smaller city so close to the coast and surrounded by national parks motivated me to spend more time outdoors which I cherished. Whether it was a short walk by the sea during the day or a cycle to the cliffs after work, getting outside kept me sane, centred and humbled, so Dublin has taught me to always make time for that and do what I can to protect those experiences.”
“My journey has also made me much more aware of the importance of diversity and how critical it is to solving challenges such as sustainability. We need more authentic perspectives and experiences at the table,” says Arjun, who added that his own experience coming out – bolstered by his growing “understanding of the intersectionality of diversity and sustainability” – had shown him how important it was for more people to be represented and heard in critical conversations in order to see change.
* Europe, the Middle East and Africa.