Aylicia Cranshaw

Bio

Aylicia is the Finance Director of Halt, and one of the driving forces behind the business since it launched alongside Chris in October 2020.

While her title might say Finance Director, her influence extends far beyond the numbers. Aylicia oversees much of the commercial infrastructure that keeps Halt running, spanning finance, HR, operations, compliance, procurement and facilities. Put simply, she is very much the glue behind the scenes.

Although Aylicia co-founded Halt from day one, she initially balanced her involvement in the growing agency alongside her finance career within the data industry, before making the move into Halt full-time in September 2021.

Since then, she has been instrumental in building the foundations that allowed Halt to scale rapidly, helping grow the team to more than 15 people at its peak while overseeing everything from recruitment and internal operations to multiple office and studio moves.

While Aylicia isn’t involved in the day-to-day delivery of Halt’s client services, her impact can be felt across virtually every part of the agency. She has helped introduce the processes, commercial discipline and operational structure needed to turn an ambitious start-up into an established agency.

She’s also the person most likely to make sure there’s something worth celebrating, having organised countless Halt socials, team events and celebrations over the years.

Experience

Aylicia brings more than two decades of experience across operations, accountancy and finance, having built her career within the print, media and data industries before joining Halt full-time.

Throughout her career she has developed extensive commercial experience that goes well beyond traditional accounting, working closely with businesses to manage finances, operations, people, suppliers and the practical demands that come with running and scaling an organisation.

When Halt launched in October 2020, Aylicia continued in her finance role with a leading data business while helping establish Halt alongside Chris behind the scenes. As the agency grew rapidly, she made the decision to leave her previous career and join Halt full-time in September 2021.

That experience has proved invaluable as Halt has evolved, with Aylicia bringing the financial discipline, commercial awareness and operational structure required to support a fast-growing agency while helping ensure the business has remained firmly grounded as it has grown.

Outside work

Away from Halt, Aylicia loves nothing more than spending time with her family, particularly her grandchild, and is rarely too far away from her puppy, Millie.

She’s an avid reader, enjoys catching up on her favourite TV shows and has developed something of a talent for Vinted trading, with buying, selling and finding the next bargain becoming a hobby in its own right.

Home improvements are another regular feature, meaning there’s usually a room being redecorated, a new idea being discussed or another project finding its way onto the list.

When she’s not at home, Aylicia loves escaping to the family’s home in Spain, where life tends to involve considerably more sunshine, good food and time with family.

And, after years of organising Halt parties, Christmas celebrations and team socials, it’s probably fair to say she enjoys a good celebration almost as much as she enjoys organising one.