- Delivering integrated campaigns: Developing and implementing a global thought leadership strategy to build the company’s external profile and drive client engagement. Over two years, establishing a programme of regular white papers and articles on key themes (e.g. trust, personal data, digital well-being) that enhanced our reputation and led to new client wins. Responsible for ideation through to execution across PR, events, internal communications and social media, requiring attention to detail and communications excellence across different formats and media channels. - Leading corporate communications: Working with senior leaders to draft key communications (press releases, leader briefings/Q&As, employee announcements) on a range of sensitive issues, including financial performance, senior leadership changes and business operation initiatives. This demands high levels of discretion and stakeholder management. - Developing the corporate narrative: Responsible for the development of Dentsu’s corporate narrative, working collaboratively with senior leaders and external agencies to craft the ‘what, why, how’ of the company rooted in the benefits that we deliver to key stakeholder groups. This required the ability to work within a politically sensitive environment and facilitate discussion through workshops across multiple geographies. - Managing crises: Leading corporate responses to complex reputational challenges. For example, leading the company response to COVID-19 to ensure a coordinated and consistent set of messages for our key audience groups. This required a high level of flexibility as well as key focus on the right processes and accountability structures. - Providing strategic counsel: Advising the CEO, Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer on a range of wider issues facing the business, including diversity initiatives to increase the proportion of female leaders and engagement with the start-up community.

Leading cross-functional teams (marketing, media, research, government relations, legal, practice leads) to deliver integrated marketing campaigns. Writing, editing and developing multiple outputs (e.g. reports, articles, press releases and social media content). Managing budgets of $100k-$1m+ against tight deadlines and stakeholder pressures.Selected highlights: • Delivering major publications for key business forums: Leading teams to conduct primary and secondary research into key business trends and writing high-impact reports for external publication. For example, delivering a report on the impact of digital technologies on specific industry sectors launched at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting at Davos in 2014. This report received significant media attention and led directly to 50+ client engagements around the world. • Identifying and developing new lines of business: Leading a programme of work from ideation through to delivery, focusing on how changing stakeholder attitudes to the use of personal data represent both a threat and opportunity to our business/clients. This culminated in published articles, events with key experts and policymakers and the establishment of an entirely new practice area within the Strategy Consulting division. • Developing digitally-enabled communications strategies: Leading an initiative to embrace new go-to market channels and formats, ensuring campaigns delivered a range of media outputs (e.g. social media, videos, infographics etc). Responsible for identifying and developing relationships with media outlets (e.g. The Guardian, Harvard Business Review) in order to provide new channels for market positioning.

Areas of focus: public finance, statistics, micro-economics, the art of communication, innovation and reform in government, policy challenges in developing countries, strategic management, leadership, democratic theory and ethics.

Managing teams to deliver projects on the impact of global trends on corporate strategy and policy. Writing speeches, briefings and media articles for Accenture’s senior leadership (CEO, Chairman, Chief Strategy Officer). Managing a network of think tanks and NGOs to deliver events on policy issues impacting business. Selected highlights: • Leading a landmark study for the UN Global Compact: Managing an 18-month, $1+ million initiative to analyse CEO attitudes towards environmental, social and governance issues. This involved face-to-face interviews with 50+ of the world’s leading CEOs; the largest online CEO survey of its kind conducted to date; engagement with academic advisors; and significant media coordination. Report was presented to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the UN Leaders’ Summit in New York. • Leading development of an EU policy manifesto: Writing the policy manifesto for the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU, highlighting the key challenges facing Europe’s economy and the role of business in helping realise policy objectives. Responsible for project delivery and managing the demands of 20+ member companies. This manifesto was the only one by a trade association to be referenced explicitly by the European Commission’s 2020 growth commission. • Engaging EU officials on the competitiveness agenda: Developing a programme of strategic communications and events to address key barriers to growth for professional services companies (e.g. skills, innovation, visa restrictions). This led to the development of new relationships with members of the European Commission, think tanks in Brussels (e.g. the Lisbon Council) and conferences (European Business Summit).

Fast stream civil servant promoted to Assistant-Director (grade 7) in the Ministry of Defence and HM Treasury. Advising Ministers and senior officials on a range of policy briefs; developing speeches and lines to take for Ministers to use with media; leading change management initiatives. Selected highlights: • Advising on the FCO spending review settlement: Working with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Foreign Secretary to deliver a successful outcome to the spending review 2004, amounting to £6 billion over three years. Also responsible for the British Council and BBC World Service. • Handling sensitive policy briefs: Advising the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on sensitive briefs such as potential reparations for the people of Diego Garcia and additional spending on embassy security post-9/11. • Leading on military operations policy advice: Briefing the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Defence on the operational activities of the UK Special Forces during military operations in Iraq. Leading on crisis communications to ensure media coverage did not compromise national security. • Preparing for open government legislation: Part of a 3-person team charged with preparing the entire MoD (head office and agencies) for the Freedom of Information Act, involving detailed analysis of the legislation, its implications for existing departmental policies and procedures, and a strategy for implementation. • Conducting internal consultancy projects: Analyst on a McKinsey & Company team charged with identifying a 20 percent reduction in costs of the Defence Logistics Organisation, worth over £2 billion, requiring a high level of analytical and problem-solving ability.