Gorkana/corporate-and-financial

Seafish appoints Rob Bruce

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:41:00 +0100

Seafish, the body founded in 1981 to support all sectors of the seafood industry, has appointed Rob Bruce to the role of corporate relations director.

Joining on the 1st of July Rob's role will be to protect, promote and educate people about the fishing industry and its contribution to the health and wellbeing of society, economically and nutritionally.

He will be responsible for government relations, stakeholder engagement, industry liaison and consumer campaigns.

Reporting to CEO Paul Williams, Rob will lead a team of 12 people for which he is currently recruiting. Currently head of global PR for Whyte & Mackay, Rob is responsible for media relations, global strategy and campaign planning, as well as sponsorship activation, public affairs and issues management primarily focusing on the premium and luxury sector.

He was previously head of external affairs for Inbev UK looking after PR for Stella Artois and Tennent’s Lager for 8 years, and was an account director for Weber Shandwick for 6 years previous to that.

“Im really excited about joining Seafish," explained Rob. "The team are already doing a great job and I hope to build on that success. There are some big challenges facing the industry, but with that comes the opportunity to make a real tangible difference. I cant really say anymore than that at this stage because I haven’t started the job. Come back to me in 6 months time. Hopefully I will still be there!”

PZ Cussons hires College Hill

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:16:00 +0100

PZ Cussons, a leading consumer products group and FTSE 250 company, has appointed College Hill to handle its international corporate and financial communications.

The College Hill core account team will be led by Tim Linacre supported by Toby Bates, Catherine Wickman and Zinka Bozovic.

With a market cap of £1.58bn, PZ Cussons develops leading brands in selected mature and emerging markets including the UK, Europe, Nigeria and Indonesia. Global brands include Original Source, Carex, Imperial Leather, Sanctuary, Charles Worthington and St Tropez.

“We are delighted to have been selected to work with PZ Cussons," said Paul Downes, chief executive of College Hill’s Capital Markets business. "This is an excellent win for College Hill and one that fits with our objective to become one of the few international business communication consultancies providing the world’s leading organisations with the insight, creative thinking and execution across a range of complementary practice skills that really helps to build their business and brands.”

“We look forward to building a strong partnership with College Hill and based our decision to appoint them on the quality of the consulting team and by the wider support and resources that are clearly available throughout the firm," added Brandon Leigh, finance director of PZ Cussons. "Their abilities to support us in our key international markets was also a compelling factor. We are committed to investing in our long term communication strategy and believe that College Hill will be able make a significant contribution toward the achievement of our growth objectives.”

MRM hires Emma Evans

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:15:00 +0100

Emma Evans (nee Wylie) has rejoined financial PR agency MRM as an associate director.

Emma first joined MRM in 2007 following successful spells at life insurers AEGON UK and Standard Life, as well as Lansons Communications.

Emma joined Friends Life in 2009 where she worked until 2013. Working in the corporate team, she managed the communications around the business's acquisitions and also managed its consumer media campaigns. As part of this latter remit, Emma hired MRM to provide proactive PR support.

Emma was voted Pensions PR of the year at the 2010 Headlinemoney awards.

"I have known the team at MRM for a long time and enjoyed working with them both as colleagues and as a client," explained Emma. "It's great to be back as part of the team again and I am very much looking forward to helping develop and grow the business further."

"Emma is an operator of the very highest quality and it is with great pleasure and delight that we welcome her back to the business," added Andrew Appleyard. "Her knowledge of the market and the media combined with her attitude and experience make for a powerful combination and we are thrilled to have back in the team."

Emma can be reached at mailto:emma.evans@mrm-london.com.

Ben Abotts joins Westbourne Communications

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:11:00 +0100

Westbourne Communications has appointed Ben Abbotts as a partner, specialising in the company’s new business development.

He has fifteen years of lobbying and communications experience spanning senior roles at global communications firms. Previously he worked at Weber Shandwick, Edelman and Financial Dynamics.

He will be responsible for Westbourne's work in new business development and has experience in advising a range of financial services clients, international government work, private and public sector work as well as campaigns and reputation management.

Ben is a former Liberal Democrat European and Westminster parliamentary candidate and worked at Liberal Democrat headquarters in London during the last General Election. He is additionally a member of their Communications Advisory Board chaired by Lord Clement Jones.

“This is a great addition to the financial expertise of the business bringing someone with an outstanding reputation in the industry both on the agency and client side as well as a leading figure in the political circles," explained James Bethell, partner at Westbourne Communications. "This continues to consolidate Westbourne’s position as the leading issues management provider in the UK market.”

“I’m delighted to be joining Westbourne Communications," added Ben. "I was particularly excited in this role for its potential to play a role across corporate affairs, issues management, media affairs and political affairs. Changing opinions is the most exciting part of what each of us do every day and Westbourne is growing quickly as a result".

Ben can be reached at (ben.abbotts@westbournecoms.com)[mailto:ben.abbotts@westbournecoms.com]

Lee Brooke takes on new EMEA comms role at PayPal

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:37:00 +0100

Lee Brooke has joined PayPal as the payment company’s first EMEA senior director of communications.

Lee joins from Nokia where he had been director, communications since 2010 responsible for the firm’s smartphones. Prior to this he held senior tech roles at a number of agencies including Hill + Knowlton and Harvard Communications.

In his new role, Lee is based in Luxembourg and he is reporting to Christina Smedley, global vice-president of communications for PayPal. He will also be part of regional president Rupert Keeley’s leadership team.

The appointment follows a period of strong growth for PayPal. In the European market, it has a strong presence in markets such as the UK and Germany and there is a significant opportunity to grow the brand within Eastern Europe.