Ed Smith
Ed has worked in PR for over 15 years and has advised an array of clients, from fast growing startups to global professional services firms. His expertise lies in unpicking everyday business events to help organisations develop a clear and compelling narrative about themselves, and generate positive coverage in the process. He loves all aspects of PR, from advising on complex strategic issues, to handling day-to-day media relations.
James Boyd-Wallis
James helps clients to enhance reputation, inform policy, and strengthen relationships. For the last 16 years, he’s developed strategic communications and public affairs campaigns that reduce risk, support growth, and generate momentum. Clients have included international bank BNP Paribas, small business platform Xero, hotel chain Premier Inn and takeaway delivery firm Just Eat. He currently provides public affairs support for one of the UK’s leading think tanks. He is vice chair of the CIPR’s Public Affairs Group, a chartered PR practitioner and a principal mentor at UCL’s Hatchery start up incubator. He has a diploma in public affairs, a master’s in journalism and occasionally writes about business, politics and policy for City AM, PR Week, and The Telegraph among others.
Jess White
Jess has a decade’s experience of corporate comms, including seven years in-house at a London law firm. There she helped to build its media profile and manage its reputation, whilst often supporting the firm’s clients with their own PR. Having worked on multiple landmark judgments, Jess is experienced in managing PR around high-profile developments as well as preparing communications in a crisis. She enjoys working with clients to understand the issues at the heart of their business and finding ways to secure media coverage for them.
Aidan Muller
Aidan is a strategic communications expert, who majors on digital and social media. With close to 20 years experience, he specialises in corporate and crisis communications, particularly for sectors with political sensitivities. In the ten years he has been a consultant, Aidan has defined the digital offer for eight corporate and political communication agencies. He has advised some of the largest organisations in the world on high-profile issues, including the World Economic Forum, General Electric, Vedanta, the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, White & Case and Santander. Prior to becoming a consultant, Aidan was a journalist for three years, and then worked in government communications, including time in the Prime Minister’s Office at Number 10. He was one of the digital leaders who introduced social media to the UK government.
Simon Marshall
Simon has 20 years’ experience in the professional services sector working in comms, BD, marketing and for around a dozen Managing Partners. He loves ‘digital’ and is constantly updating his knowledge so that the sector takes advantage of its natural head start when it comes to bringing audiences to read great content. He emphatically believes that any professional services firm can compete by using digital the right way.
Penny Jones
Penny is an experienced corporate PR consultant with over 15 years’ experience acting for a variety of professional services firms, notably within the legal and financial sectors. Having worked both in house and agency side, her breadth of experience means that she is able to provide valuable counsel when the stakes are high, whether managing news around a globally significant news story, or a sensitive staff matter. Penny is also a trained psychotherapist.