Behind the Badass Bitches In Brand podcast, with Stacey Saunders

The Brand Identity: Stacey Saunders describes her career trajectory as non-linear, though the word undersells the journey. She started as a receptionist at 18, moved through account management, produced breakfast radio in Melbourne, and has spent over a decade at Houston Group, where she’s General Manager. That experience – specifically, the frustration of watching International Women’s Day get reduced to annual cupcakes and PowerPoint slides – led her to create Badass Bitches In Brand, a podcast built on the premise that honest conversations beat polished performances.

The brand itself was developed with Houston’s team to deliberately avoid the pink palettes and soft serifs typical of the category. In our conversation, Saunders discusses why the industry needs to laugh at itself more, what it means to be a generalist in a world that prizes specialism, and how backing yourself through discomfort is the way. TBI Hi Stacey! How’re you doing? SS I’m good–feeling excited to start the year fresh! 2025 felt like a whirlwind for a lot of people, myself included. A little bit of biting off more than I could chew, a few little spirals, but here we are.

Ready to go! TBI Your career path is pretty non-linear – from receptionist to account management to radio host to now General Manager at Houston Group. Why do you think you found your place there after trying a few different things? SS My career trajectory looks non-linear on paper, but there’s been a consistent thread of incredible characters along the way who believed in me and encouraged me to be myself.

That’s been foundational in pursuing the art of communication (aka talking too much) and fostered my genuine love of curious, creative people. This thread has run through every role I’ve had – from front-of-house, account management, production, radio, traffic and EA and operations, through to agency leadership. All of that sideways experience has connected to lead me exactly to where I am today. I didn’t come through a traditional university pathway, so I often felt the only way to counter that was to dive in: trying things, failing and figuring it out as I went. That became my way of building skills, confidence and trust in myself.

I’ve also always had a bit of restlessness and an instinct for problem-solving. If something stops feeling right or I stop learning, I need to lean into a new challenge. There’s probably a deeper conversation there required (with a therapist lol) – but it’s also what’s kept me moving forward. Houston Group is where all of that experience came together. Many of the roles I’ve held over the last 12 years were a result of Houston being a newly formed agency, and being able to grow with the team.

That’s something our founder, Stuart O’Brien instilled early on – that people are supported and celebrated for their strengths, regardless of the path that got them there. This comes full circle to the fortuitous pattern I’ve experienced of having supportive people in my corner: it allows you to put yourself out there, experiment, and that failing (and getting back up) is all part of it. Women don’t want to be celebrated once a year. Women don’t want to be celebrated once a year. TBI The Badass Bitches In Brand podcast grew out of frustration with predictable International Women’s Day events.

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The podcast offers a fresh perspective on brand authenticity and community, particularly for women in branding, making it significant and relevant to brand strategy professionals.