Judges

An experienced communications strategist who was named as one of the most influential and respected leaders in the PR Week Power Book 2025,  Jane works across a wide spectrum of industries ranging from retail to hospitality, with client experience spanning the likes of Oxfam, Greene King, John Lewis, Mothercare, Westfield, National Trust and Volvo.

Having joined WPR as a graduate, Jane has been managing director since 2007 and acquired the agency in 2015, preserving our status as an independently owned consultancy. A former CIPR Young Communicator of the Year, PRCA Dare Awards’ Professional of the Year 2022, and Midlands Marketing Leader 2024, Jane’s skill at shaping insight-led campaigns which drive real results for brands has led to WPR – PRWeek’s best agency outside London 2024 – becoming one of the most award-winning agencies in the UK.

As CEO at Proactive International PR, a specialist in B2B technology PR, Jayne is committed to ensuring the consultancy operates at the forefront of PR and digital marketing. In her 12 years at Proactive PR, Jayne has supported a range of clients and led the delivery of international PR strategies for several of the consultancy’s key global accounts in her previous role as Director of PR and Client Relations. Prior to joining Proactive PR, Jayne trained and worked as a journalist.

Ross has more than 20 years of experience in media, PR, communications, and marketing. After a degree in journalism from the University of the Arts London, he first worked on the publishing industry’s weekly magazine The Bookseller before joining Holyrood magazine in Edinburgh. Following a spell at a creative SEO agency devising online campaigns for big name retailers and travel companies, he joined Edinburgh Napier University to lead on their flagship publications. In over a decade at the university, he has gone on to manage corporate communications, international marketing and is now Head of Communications. In this role, he has responsibility for press and PR, communications to 2,000 staff and 20,000 students, social media, and numerous events and experiences. He has also spearheaded award-winning campaigns such as #NapierNames, which celebrated graduates across the city when in-person graduations were not possible, and unique PR activations such as The Napier Graduate pub.

Grace is Head of Business Development at Hark, an award-winning education and youth consultancy that helps the world’s biggest brands drive social impact with young people.

Her career has spanned various roles in the not for profit and social impact spheres both in the UK and globally, initially cutting her teeth in PR at two of the most well-known international development charities.  Now at Hark she works with organisations (including government, commercial brands and charities) to help build campaigns which change young people’s lives.

Joe is a communications leader with extensive experience in the Local Government and Transport sectors. Since January 2023 he’s been Head of Communications, Marketing and Engagement at Wakefield Council in West Yorkshire. He’s also held senior roles at Network Rail, including as Head of Communications for the East Coast Route.

Rebecca Cradick is a seasoned global communications leader, award-winning corporate storyteller and host of the Armis Bad Actors Podcast. With over 25 years of experience, she has a proven track record in shaping and executing high-impact communications strategies that drive brand awareness, executive visibility and stakeholder engagement.

Currently serving as Head of Global Communications at global cybersecurity business Armis, Rebecca leads media and analyst relations, executive communications for the Co-founders and President and investor engagement, consistently delivering year-on-year growth in awareness, engagement and business impact.

Katie is an integrated communications specialist, with experience across Corporate Affairs, Reputation, Crisis & Issues, Consumer PR, Stakeholder Engagement and Community Relations. She has two decades of experience working in sectors including Retail, Property & Infrastructure, Transport, Food & Drink, Energy and Hospitality. Katie is the Chair for PRCA in Yorkshire & Lincs and sits on the board of Women in PR.

Natalie Chart.PR is the founding director of Purple Tree Communications. A trained journalist, she began her career as a local reporter before spending 11 years in-house at a national infrastructure company. She is the North-West CIPR committee Vice-Chair, a foundation school governor and a Shannon Trust volunteer.

Sam is Co-CEO of independent PR and social media agency, Tangerine Communications. In a career spanning 25 years, Sam has advised brands and business leaders in UK and international markets on corporate and B2B communications strategies that drive business growth, navigate change and achieve Superbrand status. In partnership with co-CEO, Mary Harding, Sam has driven the growth and development of Tangerine for the past 12 years and lead the agency to become one of the largest and most innovative independent agencies in the UK. Working with established global brands and disruptive market leaders like Specsavers, Iceland Foods, Essity, Topcon and PPG, Tangerine has become a category-changemaker in the world of PR and social media, and was recently named Campaign’s Global Independent Agency of the year. As an employee-owned business currently employing 100+ people, culture and EVP is at the heart of the agency’s commitment to creating a great place to work that nurtures talent and creates the future rockstars of the industry.

Heading up the team at Cavendish Ireland, Dawn has more than 15 years’ corporate communications experience at large independent firms, global agencies and small owner-managed PR boutiques. She works with clients in the property, telecoms, professional services and FMCG sectors; delivering sound media strategy and award-winning integrated communications and engagement campaigns. She is skilled at running multi-discipline teams, providing strategic direction, creative solutions and driving impactful results for clients.

Tanya is the founder and driving force behind Wildwood – her vision came to life in 1994 to offer clients significant advantages in the B2B sector. 30 years later, she continues to work closely with clients and the agency team, as well as co-leading the AVIXA Women’s Council in the UK. Tanya started her PR career working for The Rowland Company, part of the Saatchi group of agencies, and then moved into B2B focussed agency life, establishing Wildwood PR more than three decades ago.  Over the years, Tanya has led Wildwood through the digital transformation of communications into offering PR plus many other services, hence the ‘new’ name Wildwood PLUS.

Anouska is a strategic growth specialist with over a decade of experience in the PR industry, driving successful partnerships across diverse sectors from B2B tech to FMCG.  Championing client-centric thinking and purpose-led communications, Anouska is passionate about creativity, innovation, and ensuring that PR campaigns deliver real business impact.

As Head of Communications Specialist Services for Police Scotland Linda has responsibility for a team that includes Communications Strategy and Insight, Social Media, Channel Development and Graphic Design. She is responsible for setting and leading the corporate communications strategy, and communications policies as well as embedding a professional, engaging strategy and operating framework. Linda is the lead for marketing with overall responsibility for Police Scotland’s campaigns. She is also the lead for continuous improvement and continuous professional development of the Corporate Communications staff and function.

Linda joined Strathclyde Police in 2009 as a Marketing Officer and has been promoted into Lead, Manager and Head roles within Corporate Communications for both Strathclyde Police and Police Scotland.

Anushka works in Ford’s communications team as a producer for the global newsroom, managing creative campaigns, storytelling and asset production for Ford Pro, the commercial vehicles business segment making iconic vehicles such as the Ford Ranger and Transit. Previously, she led European communications for advanced technology and software,  launching the UK’s first ever hands-free driver assistance technology ‘BlueCruise’. Prior to joining Ford, she worked in corporate and financial communications at agencies including Teneo and Houston providing strategic advice to clients across the automotive, industrial and financial sectors.

Precious brings over a decade of PR and communication experience managing B2B and B2C clients across various sectors. An MBA graduate from the University of Edinburgh Business School, she has led communication strategies for high-profile multimillion-dollar projects, including mergers, acquisitions, and nationwide rebrands.

While at Blackhouse Media (BHM), she played a pivotal role in increasing MTN Nigeria’s market capitalisation and growing client revenue and market share. Her rebranding efforts at Sterling Bank Plc yielded significant cost savings and enhanced brand awareness, while her tenure at HTN Towers saw successful investor communications and business growth.

Acknowledged as one of Nigeria’s top 50 PR professionals, she also co-chairs the NextGen Committee at PRCA Scotland, mentoring early-career PR professionals. Her expertise spans communication strategy, crisis communication, change management, and stakeholder engagement, positioning her as a leading figure in global public relations.

Katrine leads the team at 3×1, an award-winning integrated communications and content agency. In her 24 year career she has worked with a diverse range of clients including Coca-Cola, the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. She is passionate about embedding strategic thinking and effective evaluation into comms campaigns.

Michael is head of communications for Havas Media Network UK where he leads all communications for one the UK’s largest media agencies. He’s previously worked at Publicis Groupe UK and PR agencies servicing the advertising industry. Prior to that, he worked in human rights advocacy, lobbying the UN and European institutions for minorities and indigenous peoples. He founded and co-chairs Havas UK’s first ever disability and neurodiversity network, Havas Adapt, and has raised thousands of pounds for a kids’ disability charity through a series of endurance sport events.

Kathryn has over 15 years of experience working for some of London’s largest PR agencies and has been at the centre of communications for some of the UK and London’s most interesting property brands, including Barratt Redrow, Berkeley Homes, Nest Seekers, Sotheby’s International Realty and English Heritage.

As Director at Spey, Emma led the company to B Corp accreditation and drives growth, innovation, and culture.

With over 15 years of experience in PR across the UK and the Middle East, Lizzie Singleton is a dynamic and results-driven communications leader. As Creative Director at 72Point, she spearheads innovative, newsworthy campaigns that captivate audiences and generate widespread media coverage in top-tier publications.

Lizzie’s career spans in-house and agency roles, giving her a deep understanding of brand storytelling, media strategy, and reputation management. Prior to 72Point, she held senior positions at Action Global Communications, ZPR (a FINN Partners company), and Debenhams, where she successfully built and executed high-impact PR campaigns.

A natural problem solver with a passion for creativity and collaboration, Lizzie is dedicated to delivering stories that not only land headlines but also create meaningful engagement. She thrives on pushing creative boundaries, leading high-performing teams, and ensuring brands stand out in an ever-evolving media landscape.

Jen is a hands-on business owner, leading strategy and creative across all channels. She founded her agency, Democracy, in 2008 and has won multiple awards for supercharging challenger brands across consumer, business and charity sectors. She values campaigns that can demonstrate measurable creativity and a passion for driving meaningful change. 

Thom has over two decades of experience across the communications mix, working in a number of roles in technology, broadcast media, in creative agencies and in his current role in the world of whisky. He began his career at a startup during the early days of the mobile web, before moving to work in broadcast media at STV. From there he moved into creative agency for a decade, heading up the digital teams at Weber Shandwick and SPEY. He moved back in-house in 2022, and is currently the head of brand for Fettercairn Distillery.

A UCL graduate in Astrophysics and Philosophy with a master’s degree, Sanjiv began his career in fashion, beauty and lifestyle PR, working with brands like Teva, Moon Boot and Tretorn.

Since joining Milk & Honey, he has narrowed his focus to technology and was appointed Head of AI for its technology division, NU. The division concentrates internal agency expertise and external specialist know-how to support hybrid human/AI technology adoption — with objectives to optimise agency offerings and progress client objectives, while always ensuring the responsible use of transformational AI.

A PR professional with a background in journalism, Lisa Egan-Woodhouse is a Director at Viva, an award-winning agency where she leads the public sector team and manages overall operations.

With two decades of experience spanning journalism, copywriting, and strategic communications, Lisa oversees strategic comms plans for her team’s clients, ensuring that they align with KPIs