In-house corporate affairs news, September 2022

In July 2022, Nicola McGowan, VP of Global Communications and Sustainability at manufacturing company Marelli, was announced as the new Chief Communications Officer at Prosus Group, the global internet and technology investor. Previously, Nicola was a Managing Director at Finsbury Glover Hering and a Senior Media Affairs Manager at Standard Life.

In the same month, Adam Davidson became the new Group Corporate Affairs Director at Holland and Barrett. Adam was previously the Director of Global Policy and Communications at Babylon and has worked for Uber and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

In August, Greene King announced an exciting internal promotion as Jo Kreckler became the Director of Corporate Affairs and External Communications, following her previous role leading External Communications. Jo joined Greene King in 2006 as PR Manager.

September saw the appointment of Ellie Norman as Chief Communications Officer at Manchester United. Prior to this move, Ellie joined Formula 1 in 2017 as the Global Director of Marketing and Communications. Currently a Non-Executive Director of the Marketing Society, she has a wealth of experience as a communications specialist including her roles at Virgin Media and Honda Motor Europe.

In other sporting news, Joanna Manning-Cooper became the Director of Marketing, Communications, and Public Affairs for the Football Association. Joanna joined the FA from Sky, where she was Group Director of Corporate Affairs, she has also worked with the Rugby Football Union, the 2012 London Olympics, and the Financial Times.

Clare Moore-Bridger had been appointed as Head of Corporate Affairs at the International Airlines Group following her role as Head of Communications and Advocacy at BP. Clare started her career at the CBI before working at Fishburn-Hedges and eBay. Clare will be reporting into Carolina Martinoli, the Chief People, Corporate Affairs, and Sustainability Officer.

Additionally, Alistair Smith made the move to the global law firm, Linklaters, from EY to become their new Global Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs. Alistair spent eleven years at Barclays before his four-year stint at the professional services partnership.

The close of September saw the internal move of Rhian Kelly to Chief Sustainability Officer at National Grid, from her previous role as Corporate Affairs Director. Rhian spent ten years at the CBI before joining National Grid in 2017 as Head of UK Public Affairs and Policy.

Birchwood Knight congratulates everyone on their career moves.  We help CEOs to hire their corporate affairs leaders, and we help corporate affairs directors to hire their direct reports.

If you have moved into a new Corporate Affairs role then you may be interested to read our report “If Only I’d Known That Then”, and listen to our podcast “What does it take to be a great corporate affairs leader?’ (28 minute listen).

If you are considering a career move or hiring for your team, we’d love to hear from you. Click here to get in touch.

This is a ‘snapshot’ of career moves in the time frame and not intended to be a comprehensive list.