Judges v2

Rachel has started seven multi-award winning professional service businesses, the most notable being PR agency Shine (now The Academy Media Group, of which she is Chair).

Her philosophy of developing, promoting and liberating talent has won her industry recognition including No 1 Sunday Times Best Small Company to Work For.

She is currently also working with the London Business School inspiring MBA students in Entrepreneruship, is a NED of several growth businesses and is an active start up investor.

Ann-Marie has over  20 years’ experience as a business communicator. She’s spent the majority of her career working in large global firms across a number of disciplines including PR, marketing, corporate affairs, media relations, change and internal communications.

A keen mentor and executive coach, she’s passionate about helping others build their confidence so they can reach their full potential.

Ann-Marie holds Chartered PR Practitioner status. She is a founder board member of PRCA REEB and sits on the IABC International Executive Board.

Katie is the co-founder of digital marketing consultancy OneFifty. With a career spanning in house and agency, she helps clients – from Toby Carvery and Mazda, to Sage and Airbnb – use data and behaviours to anticipate what, where, and how organisations should behave, digitally. And then makes that happen.

Jo is co-founder and Chief Client Officer at Hope&Glory, an award-winning creative agency. She previously worked at Seventy Seven PR, where she was a managing partner and before that had stints at Teamspirit and QBO. Jo leads work for clients such as Uber, IKEA, Airbnb, O2, Tourism Australia and Bulb.

Chloe Franses is CEO of award-winning influential purpose agency, Franses. With more than 23 years’ experience working with social impact-led, philanthropic and non-governmental organisations and foundations, Chloe has also worked with some of the world’s best-known and most-respected brands and individuals. She is co-chair of the PRCA Purpose Group.

Lorna Gozzard is Director of Communications and Marketing at the Royal College of Art. She has over 20 years communications experience, starting her career in agency, at Fishburn Hedges and as a Director of Kindred; before moving in-house, to senior roles working on the physical legacy of the London 2012 Games; then at gallery and higher education institution The Courtauld, before joining the RCA.

Emma Hazan is the founder of Sidekick Comms. With over 20 years’ experience in PR, Emma has delivered award-winning work across the tech, lifestyle and travel industries for brands such as GoPro, HomeAway, Travelex and O2

Adrian is the founder and managing director of consumer agency, Fanclub PR, and co-founder of corporate and business-to-business consultancy Humankind Communications. He’s takes a keen interest in inclusion in the PR industry and is an advisor at BME PR Pros.

Magin is CSO and Managing Partner at John Doe Group where he has been leading the London branch of the agency for four years, working for clients including Instagram, Red Bull, Tesco Mobile, Under Armour and Diageo.

Lauren joined Third City as a graduate trainee in 2012, the agency’s first full-time employee and has since worked her way up to board level. Now Associate Director, Lauren has headed up accounts including eharmony, Ancestry and Expedia – delivering a multitude of award-winning campaigns.

Chris is an experienced healthcare communications consultant, with over a decade’s experience working on Global, European and UK communication and marketing programmes, with an expertise in digital innovation and insights having previously held the role digital insights lead for two years prior.

Chris’ move to Managing Director in 2021 followed his work leading the development of Aurora’s creative and evaluation framework, which ensures client strategies are supported by data and insights that not only help develop engaging programmes but can help prove that they make a difference.

Chris has worked across a number of disease areas but has a particular expertise in creating campaigns that made a difference to patients lives, having worked on digital strategy and patient engagement in cystic fibrosis, rare disease, oncology, diabetes and MS and has supported strategy, brand, and patient engagement for a number of pharma and medical device companies in the UK.

His expertise in digital programmes is underlined by his graduation from Google Squared, Google’s digital leadership and marketing course. He was recognized in the Industry as he was a speaker at Digital Shoreditch 2015 discussing the present and future impact of the Internet of Things, and connectivity in health and is currently on the PM Society digital interest group, informing industry direction of digital thought-leadership and innovation.

Chris was a finalist in the 2014 PRCA awards for the Young Communicator of the Year.

Dan is associate director at Liz Male Consulting, a specialist communications and marketing consultancy for the construction and property sector.

He has worked both client-side and in agency, supporting organisations in the UK and internationally. This has included significant work related to corporate positioning and reputation management, community engagement projects, and crisis and issues support.

Anisha Vikram Shah is a Consulting Director at Blurred, a purpose- and values-led strategic and creative advisory firm that is built on the principles of ESGP – Environment, Social, Governance and Purpose – and that recognises the increasingly blurring lines between disciplines, audiences and industries. She advises some of the world’s largest businesses and brands on implementing ESG principles and communicating their purpose.

Anisha has spent 15 years in strategic communications and reputation management, advising companies in the US and UK across a range of communications disciplines to help them navigate complex and changing environments, cater to shifting stakeholder needs and articulate their purpose. Prior to Blurred, Anisha worked in the Corporate Reputation team at Ketchum London, and before that, across the Corporate and Employee Engagement & Change Management teams at Weber Shandwick in New York.

Jane Fordham, Founder, Jane Fordham Consulting and Partner and Head of People & Culture, Hanbury Strategy, She enjoys a fulfilling portfolio career having been an independent people, culture and inclusion consultant since March 2018 following a successful corporate career in communications and creative agencies. Jane has consulted for organisations including No.10 Downing Street, The Civil Aviation Authority, Greater Anglian Trains, ARM, Live Nation & Ticketmaster, Centrica and Scottish Gas Networks (SGN). Since the start of 2021, Jane has also been a Partner and Head of People & Culture at fast-growth public affairs and corporate communications agency, Hanbury Strategy, following 18 months of partnering with them as a consultant. She was recently included in Diversein.com’s list of 125 ‘D&I Leaders to Follow on LinkedIn’ having worked tirelessly to make organisations more human and earned a reputation throughout her career as a change agent.

Jane led the talent and marketing functions for PR and digital agency Golin between 2010 and 2018, overseeing the employer brand and people strategy. During that time the agency tripled in size and profile, developing a reputation as a pioneer of progressive talent programmes specifically in the areas of flexible working, gender and social equality and inclusion. She is also a committee member for Women in PR, driving their highly acclaimed mentoring programme, and sits on a corporate advisory board for Battersea Cats & Dogs Home.

Nicky and George are Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of The PR Network (https://www.thepr.network/ ), the world’s largest virtual PR agency.

As co-founders, both have spent the last 15 years delivering strategic programmes for clients including Dropbox, Snapchat, Vodafone and Workday.   Now a Top150 PRWeek agency with global reach and the second fastest growing PR agency in the UK, The PR Network runs campaigns in over 40 countries annually via its network of senior freelance consultants.

Prior to The PR Network, George ran EMEA campaigns for blue chips including; Apple, Sun Microsystems and Logitech, whilst at Bite Communications and Nicky held director level positions at Citigate, Brands2Life and property specialist Phoenix.

Operating a successful job -share for over 15 years, both Nicky and George are passionate advocates of flexible working and active supporters of working mums wanting to achieve successful careers in PR and are often found on the speaker circuit talking about their experiences.   Both were featured on the first ever Timewise Power List in 2013 for their job-share.

George and Nicky are co-chairs of the PRCA’s Virtual PR Agency Group, ((https://www.prca.org.uk/membership/groups/sectoral/virtual-networks) a group set up this year alongside 11 other companies to drive standards for the virtual PR agency model.

For over 3 years George and Nicky were both committee members of Women in PR (https://womeninpr.org.uk/), a PRCA working group, where they ran the WPR / PRWeek mentoring scheme which helps more women attain leadership positions in the PR industry.

Both sit on the PRCA Council and were appointed PRCA Fellows in 2020.

Natalie started Aduro with a simple desire to deliver creative, content and PR for clients her and the team wanted to work hard for. Aduro is a fully-integrated, award-winning agency with a drive to be creative, tenacious and effective. Natalie nurtures young talent with big dreams, and Aduro has continued to thrive by putting people at the heart of the business.

Will Condliffe is PR Manager at Chester Zoo. He has spent a decade working in the zoo’s internationally renowned press office, delivering highly-acclaimed campaigns (Save Our Zoo), award-winning crisis comms strategies (Monsoon Forest fire), sector-leading social media output and managing production of the Channel 4 TV documentary, The Secret Life of the Zoo.

Simon runs H+K’s largest stand-alone office as UK CEO, with over 300 consultants working across industry sectors, a specialist services portfolio, and creative studio. With 20 years’ experience in advising clients on growth, reputation and risk, he is a specialist in corporate communications, public affairs, financial PR and litigation communications.

Penny Anderson has been the Client Director for the Kantar PR agency division for over 10 years and has a total of 25 years in the industry. She oversees the smooth delivery of all Kantar services including global media & social monitoring, analysis planning and demographic data to Kantar’s PR agency clients.

Jo leads B2B Communications for Google UK, is a Taylor Bennett Foundation Trustee, a PRCA Race & Ethnicity Equity Board Member and was recently included in the PRWeek PowerBook 2021. She is also (less recently) a PRWeek 30 under 30 alumni after handling crises including the 2017 London Bridge attack.

Gillian joined Weber Shandwick in 2014 and leads social impact and global health projects for clients including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Citizen, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB & Malaria, Plan International and GSK. Her focus areas include global campaigning, creative, behaviour change, and resource mobilisation with expertise in infectious diseases, inequality, vaccines, gender, and malnutrition.

Recently, Gillian led the international team for One World: Together at Home, a COVID-19 benefit concert from Global Citizen to raise funds for the WHO, curated by Lady Gaga as well as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB & malaria’s 6^th Replenishment Campaign, hosted by President Macron of France.  With a speciality in managing global teams Gillian has worked in Abuja, Nairobi, Abidjan, Kinshasa, Mexico City, Delhi, Dhaka and Hanoi, among others. In 2016, she was seconded to the Johannesburg office where she worked on projects for Save the Children, the RTS,S malaria vaccine, GSK South Africa and nutrition projects for the United Nations including capacity building in local communities.

Previously, Gillian worked for Carr Communications in Dublin, Congressman Patrick Kennedy in Washington D.C and for the American Medical Association in Chicago. She has a degree in Economics and Political Science and a Master’s in Media and International Conflict.

Matt is Director of News & External Relations at TfL, where he runs the Media Relations, Government Relations, Corporate Comms and Stakeholder Advocacy & Engagement departments.

In nearly a decade at TfL he has led media and PR work including the launch of London’s Night Tube, the 150th anniversary of London Underground, and the launch of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone. He has now playing a central role in TfL’s comms handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and the TfL Press Office was named the best in-house PR team in the country in the recent prestigious PR Week Awards.

For the last decade his team has run a paid internship encouraging BAME people into PR, and the programme has expanded this year to bring new diverse talent into other areas of comms within TfL.

Before TfL, Matt worked for the Mayor of London’s Press Office; two years under Ken Livingstone and two years under Boris Johnson. He has also worked in media relations for the children’s charity Barnardo’s and for the online political think tank Open Democracy.

Anna is instrumental in developing brand-centric integrated communications programmes in challenging sectors that require an eye for detail and a deep understanding of the social-political landscape both in the UK and internationally. Her consultancy often takes a wide and lateral view of the business objectives to ensure a holistic approach builds the right stakeholder relationships.

As a senior communications expert, Anna brings vast experience of providing counsel at the highest level and with a specialty in consumer tech, retail and FMCG – along with all the related industry issues from sustainable sourcing to climate care to workforce and supply chain. Clients that have sought out Anna’s counsel include Starbucks, Lenovo, Morrisons, BP Castrol, and the Office of Fair Trading. Anna splits her time between the Netherlands and London.

Claire’s 25+ year career in PR began in tech where she worked for some of the world’s biggest brands. Claire also spent several years working as deputy editor for Hong Kong’s biggest circulating monthly magazine and went on to establish the region’s first green PR practice. As a director at Skout she puts her limitless enthusiasm into everything she does from business planning and client strategy – to everything in between.