career:
2003 - gorkana, CEO (July)
1999 - Morgan Stanley, Vice President within Corporate Communications Division, responsible for the media relations' activities for the Institutional Securities business across EMEA (December)
1997 - J.P. Morgan, Associate in media relations team (March)
1996 - Ludgate Communications, Account Manager
1992 - 7th Gurkha Rifles (later became Royal Gurkha Rifles), Captain

education:
University of St Andrews, MA (Hons) in Modern History and Russian Literature

y.o.b:
1968

What did you want to be when you were a child?
A pirate

What was the best advice you received from your parents?
Be kind - it never pays to be cruel

Who is/was your best James Bond?
Pierce Brosnan

If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be with and why?
Mahatma Gandhi - he embarrassed the British out of India through nonviolence

What's your perfect weekend?
Glorious sunshine, weekend papers, glasses of wine, bit of Grandstand and laughter with the children in the pool

What language would you like to be fluent in and why?
French, so that I can live there for four months of the year

What profession do you regret not pursuing?
Becoming a doctor

What do you demand in your colleagues?
Accountability and hard work

If you could change one thing about PR what would it be?
Its overall perception or brand

Finally - On each line are two choices - pick one....

career:
2003 - gorkana, founding Director (July)
1999 - Brunswick Group, Account Director (April)
1997 - House of Commons, Researcher
 
education:
Oxford Brookes University, BA (Hons) History and Politics

y.o.b:
1974

What did you want to be when you were a child?
Soldier

What was the best advice you received from your parents?
Work hard

Who is/was your best James Bond?
Sir Roger Moore

If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be with and why?
Lt John Chard VC - to hear the story of Rorke's Drift first hand

What's your perfect weekend?
Boating

What language would you like to be fluent in?
Spanish

What profession do you regret not pursuing?
No regrets

What do you demand in your colleagues?
Efficiency

If you could change one thing about PR what would it be?
Nothing, it's maturing as an industry quite nicely

Finally - On each line are two choices - pick one....

career:
2006 - gorkana europe, Director (July)
2001 - JPMorgan Asset Management, Associate, Press Relations Manager Continental Europe (June)
2000 - JPMorgan, Associate, Corporate Communications, Press Officer (June)
1997 - JPMorgan Futures & Options Group, Senior Client Services Representative (May)
1996 - Fidelity Investments International, Customer Account Executive (German Retail) (February)
1995 - Publieurope International Ltd, Marketing Assistant - Internship (October)

education:
University of London, Institute of Education, MA (Hons) in Media Studies
University of London, Queen Mary and Westfield College, BA (Hons) European Studies (French and German)

additional information:
Italian - mother tongue
English - fluent spoken and written
French - fluent spoken and written
German - fluent spoken and written

y.o.b:
1971

What did you want to be when you were a child?
Hairdresser

What was the best advice you received from your parents?
Treat other people like you would like to be treated

Who is/was your best James Bond?
Sir Sean Connery

If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be with and why?
Brad Pitt

What's your perfect weekend?
Spending the hot sunny day at the beach with the hubby & kids, followed by an evening with close friends over great food and wine

What language would you like to be fluent in and why?
Portuguese - so I could communicate better with my sister-in-law's family

(Editor's note: Barbara already speaks French, German and Italian fluently)

What profession do you regret not pursuing?
Becoming a professional make-up artist

What do you demand in your colleagues?
Honesty, team spirit and giving their best

If you could change one thing about PR what would it be?
That its value could be easily quantified

Finally - On each line are two choices - pick one....

career:
2006 - gorkanapr, Director (July)
2005 - KPMG, Head of PR for Global Financial Advisory Services
2002 - KPMG, part of the Corporate Communications team responsible for M&A and Private Equity
2000 - Golin/Harris Ludgate, Director, Public Affairs 
1993 - Ludgate Communications, Graduate recruit

education:
University of Buckingham, BSc Economics

y.o.b:
1968

What did you want to be when you were a child?
Farmer - it's a tractor thing

What was the best advice you received from your parents?
Treat others as you would expect to be treated yourself

Who is/was your best James Bond?
Sir Sean Connery

If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be with and why?
Discussing "What if" with historical figures would be interesting, but probably somebody with a great story - somebody like Mallory, did he get to the top?

What's your perfect weekend?
Nothing too prescriptive, but if it included sun-drenched, surf-lashed beaches, food, wine and family parties you wouldn't be too far off the money. Failing that, Venice in the autumn

What language would you like to be fluent in and why?
French - I always wish I spoke it better than I do

What profession do you regret not pursuing?
Doctor

What do you demand in your colleagues?
A sense of perspective

If you could change one thing about PR what would it be?
The phrase PR comes with too much baggage. I am always suspicious of re-brandings but the term "communications" better reflects the discipline

Finally - On each line are two choices - pick one....

career:
2007 - gorkana US, Director (January)
2006 - Bank of America (London), Head of Communications for Europe, Middle East & Africa and Asia (November)
2002 - Bank of America (New York), Senior Vice President within Bank of America's Global Corporate and Investment Banking division, responsible for management of internal communications and media relations (June)
1999 - Morgen-Walke Associates (New York), Vice President / Associate Director (June)
1998 - Edelman PR Worldwide (New York), Senior Account Supervisor (October)
1997 - Moody's Investor Service (New York), Communications Associate (July)
1995 - Dow Jones Markets (New York), Senior Financial Reporter (March)
1994 - InDepth Data Inc (Dow Jones Markets) (Oklahoma), Financial Reporter (February)
1987 - Rauscher, Pierce, Refsnes Securities Inc, Buy-In Desk (June)

education:
University of Oklahoma, Philosophy (AOI: Logic, Philosophy of Mathematics)

y.o.b:
1966

What did you want to be when you were a child?
Older

What was the best advice you received from your parents?
Keeping your options open

Who is/was your best James Bond?
Daniel Craig

If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be with and why?
George Lakoff, to discuss relationship between language and politics

What's your perfect weekend?
Home with my beautiful wife and kids, cooking great food and watching college football (American) on TV

What language would you like to be fluent in and why?
Spanish, to begin the growth of gorkana into Latin America

What profession do you regret not pursuing?
University Professor of Philosophy

What do you demand in your colleagues?
Keeping their commitments

If you could change one thing about PR what would it be?
PR should report directly to CEO, not Marketing

Finally - On each line are two choices - pick one....