After calling all the publishing houses in London with the hope of getting an internship in the editorial
team, she eventually scored a work placement at Penguin Random House in their publicity department.
Eventually, her two-week work placement turned into a six-week one and led to a permanent position as a
junior assistant.
“I was going on tour around with Nobel Prize-winning authors and economists – essentially the brightest
people in the world. As a 23-year-old, it felt like a huge privilege, an incredible opportunity to learn from
the best and a totally intimidating experience,“ she says.
“Penguin is a brilliant place to train, they are quite commercially minded, which is great because they are in
the business of selling books and you get to learn about the business side of things as well.“
Once her career started stalling, Gadher knew it was time for a change and, like many great business ideas,
Riot Communications was born out of a night of drinking.
“One night I was having a conversation with my friend and former colleague Anwen Hooson, who went to
work at Waterstones – we were drunk. We’d both seen the invoices from the agencies our employers would
hire to do our campaigns – they would get paid loads more than us.
“We were convinced we could do a much better and thought, ‘Why don’t we do it ourselves? How hard can
it be?’ Turns out it’s really hard. But we did it, we quit our jobs, it was in the summer of 2008 just before a
massive financial meltdown.
“At 27 we had that youthful confidence, and perhaps we were a bit naive. But we didn’t have any
responsibilities, no mortgage to pay or family. We felt like we could do anything.”
They launched Riot Communication in January 2009 from Hooson’s bedroom with two laptops, two phones
each and a pile of books. It took them two years to move to hire their first employee and move to a small
office in London Bridge (“Prior to the Shard, when rents were still affordable in the area.”)
Hooson left the business in 2007 to start a performing arts charity for young people. Gadher now leads an
all-female team of eight from an office in Bethnal Green, east London
According to the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA), women make up 63 per cent
of the PR industry, yet of those surveyed, only 13 per cent of women were board directors or partners, while
29 per cent of men held these positions. “The number are ridiculous, it’s a massive problem,” Gadher says.
“Having an all-women team was not a conscious decision, but I do feel very proud because we are just as
good as everyone else. When we were hiring the men who applied were just not as good. Overall, PR and
the arts and culture sector are also more female-dominated, but I am proud to be working with a women-
only team that is kicking ass.”
You are never too old or too far into your career to learn new skills and benefit from the guidance of
someone who has successfully trodden the path
In the next few years, Gadher is hoping the agency will grow into different branches within the culture
sector such as TV, film and music.
This year she also became a mother to a 14-month-old baby girl that she adopted with her partner, so her
next challenge is finding a balance between her family life and her work.
“I am just loving being a mum and having a little person to think of does give you a new perspective on life.