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My Experience Being Reboot’s CEO For A Week
I’m Abrianna Masri, an undergraduate student at the Univerisity of Sussex studying Business and Management Studies, and the successful candidate for Reboot's brand-new ‘CEO for a week’ initiative.
It has always been my dream to become a CEO. Creating a business from scratch has always fascinated me, and the fact you get to choose how your business runs.
I’ve heard countless stories about how many businesses struggle to value their employees properly, and I promised myself that if I ever had the chance, I would do things differently.
This dream led me to study Business and Management at uni, and I hope to pursue this dream after graduating. This is why I applied to become a CEO for a week at Reboot.
Ok, enough about myself. Let me share more about what I got up to as Reboot's CEO for a week and what it taught me about leadership, teamwork, and the importance of employee well-being.
What is Reboot's ‘CEO for a week' scheme’?
Reboot’s ‘CEO for a week' initiative is designed to give university students and recent graduates a rare glimpse into the realities of being a CEO to help them gain an edge when entering the working world.
It’s essentially a crash course in leadership and business management tailored for those serious about stepping into the corporate world in the future—like me!
My week-long experience was packed with opportunities to sit in on client calls, join senior leadership meetings, review budgets and KPIs, and provide feedback on operations, including career development frameworks. I’ll take a deep dive into what I did later on in this post.
The application
One of the things that stood out to me about Reboot’s scheme was the application process. Unlike other companies, Reboot kept it simple, and I filled out a form to answer questions about why I wanted to be a CEO for a week.
What made it even more unique was the option to submit a 30-second video explaining why I’d make a great CEO, which I did. For anyone considering applying in the future, I highly recommend taking advantage of this—it’s your moment to stand out and show why you’re the perfect fit.
A few weeks after submitting my application, I received an email asking me to do an interview. I was offered the position, and the next thing I knew, I was preparing to take on the role of Reboot’s CEO for a week!
Day-by-day breakdown
Day 1 - Welcome to the team and introduction sessions
The week kicked off with a warm welcome from Reboot’s CEO, Shai Aharony. I was introduced to the entire team through the company’s communication channel on Slack, where everyone welcomed me onboard. Following this, I had a meeting with Zoë Blogg, the Operations Director, who outlined my schedule for the week.
My first day was packed with meetings where I shadowed various senior leaders. I joined commercial and marketing review calls, and got involved in the weekly Digital PR catch-up with Zoë and Helena Maniglia, Reboot’s Head of Digital PR.
The day ended with a meeting with Fiona Vivian, the HR Manager, who walked me through Reboot’s HR policies. I really like Reboot’s work culture, and I can sense that employee well-being is one of the top priorities here.
Weekly Digital PR meeting with Helena and Zoë.
Day 2 - Meetings and client calls
Day two was all about deep dives into Reboot’s operations. I started the day with a meeting with Helena and Zoë, where we discussed Reboot’s nomad policy—a fantastic initiative that allows employees to work remotely from another country for up to 30 days, as long as the time difference is within three hours. This was quite interesting because this was also discussed in the second meeting of the day.
The day continued with more meetings, which I found interesting, as I saw firsthand how different departments of the business had to work together. I also had the chance to sit in on a client meeting where we discussed Reboot’s newest service, paid media.
Throughout the day, I continued documenting my experiences for my vlog, which will be featured on Reboot’s LinkedIn, so stay tuned! The day ended with me jotting down notes for this blog and reflecting on everything I learned about leadership and communication.
Day 3 - FOI and career packs
Day three was another meeting-filled day! The first meeting focused on Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. I learned how Reboot leverages these requests from governing bodies, which they then use to create Digital PR campaigns. One recent FOI campaign that stood out to me was about the hottest tube station in London!
The second meeting was a one-to-one between a Rebootian and their manager, where I observed discussions about recent updates or any concerns that needed to be solved.
Next up was a session on career packs. I learned that these packs are designed to help employees develop their careers, offering guidance tailored to their professional goals. As part of my responsibilities for the week, I was tasked with reviewing these packs and providing feedback.
After sitting in on another client call, the day concluded with a meeting about increasing creativity within the Digital PR agency team, which I was told we’d be picking up again the next day.
Catching up with Zoë.
Day 4 - Last day and wrapping up
I’m sad that today is my last day. It’s been a pleasure working with such lovely people.
The day started with me finalising this blog and recording the last bits of my vlog. I was then introduced to Reboot’s Data team, who are responsible for the research that underpins many of the company’s campaigns.
The day continued with an ideation session where we brainstormed new campaign ideas.
Lastly, I had a wrap-up meeting with the Operations Director and the CEOs, Shai and Naomi Aharony, where I provided feedback on my experience. It’s been a great week!
Looking ahead
This week taught me a lot about working in the corporate world, from how everything ties together to make the company work to ensuring that there is enough flexibility for employees to make sure that they have a good well-being.
I joined this internship hoping to gain knowledge about the workplace, especially how to take care of employees, which is exactly what I’ve received.
It’s great to see that a company takes its employees so seriously, from having a 4-day work week to allowing employees to have a full reset, the nomad policy that lets employees work from other countries, to the overall respect that everyone has toward each other.
Reboot has definitely shown me that it’s possible to run a business that really looks after its employees. I’m so grateful for the experience and will definitely be taking this experience and knowledge forward into the future.
If you're interested in applying to be Reboot's next 'CEO for a week', keep your eyes peeled on our socials and job vacancies for more announcements and details.
