There are careers that are carefully planned, and then there are careers that reveal themselves one unexpected decision at a time. Henry Jakins belongs firmly to the second category. An engineering graduate who could have followed a conventional professional path, Jakins instead stepped into a London PR agency almost by accident. Two decades later, after working across major companies, influential agencies and international markets, he is building something of his own in the UAE: a new kind of communications and marketing agency designed to make B2B brands not merely visible, but impossible to ignore.
The Unexpected Beginning That Changed Everything
In his early twenties, Jakins discovered the power of communication in a way that no classroom could have taught him.
While providing pro bono PR support to The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children’s Fund, he helped bring national attention to challenges facing military families. The campaign generated a response far beyond expectations, ultimately leading to Jakins being presented to Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his contribution.
The moment mattered for more than the honour.
It showed him that PR could move beyond publicity. The right story, told at the right moment, could influence conversations, mobilise attention and create meaningful change.
That realisation would quietly shape the next 15 years of his career.
His route into the industry had itself been unconventional. Jakins had studied engineering at university, but his father encouraged him to explore the creative industries, describing him as having an “agile mind.” Two internships followed, one with The SPA Way in London and another with Sky’s Direct Marketing team.
Then came the first real gamble.
The SPA Way offered him a full-time role on the condition that he declined the second internship, despite it being with one of the UK’s largest broadcasters. He accepted.
It was a decision that set the direction for everything that followed.
From Agency Life to a Global Marketing Mindset
Jakins quickly discovered that communications suited both his curiosity and temperament. The work was fast-moving, unpredictable and populated by creative thinkers. More importantly, it offered the possibility of making a tangible difference.
Over the following years, his career expanded from PR into marketing and branding. His professional journey ultimately brought him to the UAE, where he has now spent 11 years living and working.
The region reinforced something he already believed: ambition thrives where people remain open to possibility.
For Jakins, the UAE’s appetite for innovation, entrepreneurship and global business provided an environment where thinking bigger was not simply encouraged. It was expected.
Yet the defining moment of his career would arrive through an idea that sounded almost impossible.
The Seven Wonders Gamble
At Travelport, while serving as Head of Special Projects, Marketing, Jakins was tasked with creating a global launch campaign for the company’s new travel technology platform, Travelport+.
Rather than producing another predictable B2B technology campaign, he proposed something radically different: use the technology to attempt to send an adventurer to all Seven Wonders of the World in less than seven days, using only public transport.
The concept was audacious. The execution was even harder.
The journey covered approximately 23,000 miles across 43 individual pieces of public transport. It took more than a year of planning and demanded extraordinary coordination at a time when the travel industry was still recovering from the pandemic.
Then, somehow, the team did it.
The challenge was completed in six days, 16 hours and 14 minutes, setting a new world record.
The results transformed the campaign from an ambitious experiment into a landmark business success story. New business leads increased six-fold in the month following launch. The hero film generated more than 5.7 million social media views, while the wider story produced hundreds of articles and thousands of broadcast airings, reaching an estimated audience of nearly three billion people.
For Jakins, however, the deeper achievement was philosophical.
The campaign proved that B2B marketing did not have to be predictable.
Building The House of Alchemy
That belief now sits at the centre of Jakins’ entrepreneurial chapter.
He recently founded The House of Alchemy, a specialist communications and marketing agency for B2B brands, built around a simple observation: too many companies in the sector look, sound and behave alike.
In an environment saturated with content, familiarity can become invisibility.
Jakins wants to change that.
The agency combines creative thinking with neuroscience, technology including AI, and always-on measurement to help businesses become more memorable and commercially effective.
But there is another dimension to the vision.
Jakins believes businesses can pursue growth while also creating a positive contribution to society and the world around them. For him, business strategy, marketing and social impact should not exist in separate rooms.
That philosophy reflects the leadership lesson his career has repeatedly taught him: change is inevitable, but response is a choice.
The Entrepreneur Mindset Behind the Vision
Jakins does not describe his journey as a perfectly mapped route. Quite the opposite.
His biggest opportunities often appeared before he felt completely prepared for them. His advice is therefore less about eliminating uncertainty and more about developing the courage to move through it.
Take calculated risks. Back yourself. Say yes before you feel completely ready. Stay curious.
Those principles have carried him from an engineering degree to international communications, from PR campaigns to global marketing, and ultimately into entrepreneurship.
Today, Jakins is focused on building The House of Alchemy from the UAE into a specialist partner for ambitious B2B businesses across the region and beyond.
His ambition is not simply to create another agency.
It is to help build brands that people remember, businesses that create genuine commercial value, and organisations capable of leaving something meaningful behind.
For Henry Jakins, that may ultimately become the most important measure of success.
Not how much attention a campaign generated, but what that attention made possible.
Not simply business growth, but influence with purpose.
And not merely a successful career, but a legacy built around making ambitious companies unmissable, admired and capable of creating positive change.
Follow Henry Jakins on LinkedIn to discover his latest work, ideas, entrepreneurial projects, branding insights and the continuing evolution of The House of Alchemy.
Follow and connect with Henry Jakins on LinkedIn to discover his latest work, ideas, entrepreneurial projects, branding insights and the continuing evolution of The House of Alchemy.
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