Luther Pendragon is a leading international corporate public relations and public affairs consultancy based in the City of London. As an Associate Director and senior member of the team I provide senior counsel and strategic communications and political advice to Chief Executives and senior Directors of major organisations, with a particular specialism in regulated industries, including financial services, as well as property, housing and infrastructure, devolution and local government policy. My work at Luther has included:• Managing large teams in delivering effective public affairs strategies across a number of wide ranging accounts including corporates, trade bodies, charities and public sector bodies.• Leading Luther's work in helping clients respond to Brexit, establishing their post referendum position among key stakeholders, and influencing the preparations for the negotiations. • Delivering successful stakeholder engagement strategies to deliver tangible results such as contract wins. • Devising, managing and implementing large scale community and stakeholder consultation programmes. • Advising clients in building their internal communications and public affairs functions, including restructuring teams and developing new processes.• Managing a number of press offices dealing with international, national, regional and trade press.I am leading the government relations programme for a major representative organisation in the financial services sector and the City on Brexit and international trade. This has involved working on the agendas of key departments such as HMT, DExEU and DIT, as well as securing legislative changes to the UK’s financial regulatory system. This work recently won an industry award in recognition of the successful results it delivered for the client and the wider industry.

• Ward councillor for Eltham South• Opposition Group Whip• Spokesman for Housing and Regeneration - including taking the lead on opposition group responses to major council regeneration and planning documents including the council's Core Strategy

I started at Connect Communications as a Graduate Trainee, leading the company's political monitoring and research team and going on to become an Account Director and part of the company’s Senior Management Team. Some key highlights include:• Achieved key policy and legislative changes including the Public Bodies Bill to preserve certain regulatory regimes• Prevented regulatory intervention by the Government which would have negatively impacted a major UK company.• Involved in the creation of some of the first City Regions and Local Enterprise Partnerships as well as economic development and devolution policy.• Secured planning permission for some of the UK's biggest house builders, managing community consultation and developing political strategies.• Organised major conferences and parliamentary events.• Managed a 5 person political monitoring and research team. • Developed new service offers, including Connect Training.