Who we are
Our people are our only real asset. Their understanding of politics, regulation and communication is what enables us to help our clients meet their objectives. Amongst our team, you will find some of the biggest names in the public policy arena-and happily without the egos to match!
Our team is intentionally diverse: we are truly cross-party, with a range of professional backgrounds in the broad public policy arena.
Chris Lowe, Partner
Chris has been a senior player in public affairs for 20 years. He set up Precise Public Affairs with Robbie MacDuff in 2002 after being Head of Public Affairs at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Prior to that, he set up and headed Scottish & Newcastle's public affairs department, operating in London, Brussels and Edinburgh. His public affairs career started with IBM, where he also won the Dragon Award - a national award for community programmes.
Chris is a visiting lecturer on public affairs at the Universities of Oxford and Westminster, and is a Director of his local Credit Union in Lambeth.
Specialisms: alcohol, waste and resource management, housing, financial services, gambling, health.
James Nason, Partner
With fifteen years experience in the public affairs industry, James is responsible for advising clients in sectors ranging from financial services to energy. He has also advised on some of the largest UK M&A deals in recent years: Morrisons Supermarkets/Safeway; Ferrovial/BAA and Iberdrola/Scottish Power. James joined College Hill after being Deputy Managing Director of Citigate's public affairs practice. He has extensive communications and campaigning experience in the UK political arena and beyond.
Prior to entering the public affairs industry he worked for the Conservative Research Department.
Specialisms: financial services, energy, health, water, transport, mergers & acquisitions, Africa.
Kelly Edwards, Partner
Kelly joined Green Issues in 2004 and has been the company's Operations Director since 2005. She is a former General Election candidate, having stood for the Labour Party in Hertsmere in 2005 where she received 11,500 votes. She also contested the London local elections in 2002. Before joining Green Issues Kelly spent six years as a Senior Parliamentary Assistant and Press Officer to several Ministers and MPs at the House of Commons where she also undertook consultancy work on behalf of charity and renewable energy clients.
At Green Issues Kelly runs consultation, communications and political engagement on behalf of one of the country’s largest supermarkets as well as projects in the regeneration and renewable energy sectors. She is a former Local Education Authority School Governor and is also responsible for Green Issues' education projects.
Specialisms: local authority political strategy and communications, community consultation, communications in relation to planning for the retail, renewable energy and education (higher and further education) sectors.
Lucy C. Cronin, Partner
Lucy has been active in public affairs for fourteen years. A partner of Policy Action, Lucy has a proven track record in implementing successful lobbying campaigns at both EU and national level and manages a wide-range of pan-European trade associations across all Policy Action practice areas. A Trinity College Dublin graduate (BA in Modern European Studies), Lucy holds a Masters in International Politics from Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Prior to engaging in the public affairs industry she worked at the Secretariat of the Council of the EU, in the trade and competition practices of the Coudert Brothers Brussels office and for HOTREC, the European Federation of Hotels, Cafés and Restaurants.
Specialisms: EU and member state policymaking, gambling, IT & entertainment, health, urban planning and financial services.
Language capabilities: English, Irish, French, German, Dutch.
Richard Sutcliffe-Smith, Managing Partner
Richard founded Communiqué in 1984 after 10 years of working for some of the UK's leading advertising and PR agencies.
He has provided local government and community engagement counsel to many of the UK's leading house-builders and property development companies, together with utility companies, trade bodies, leading brand supermarkets and agencies such as Transport for London and the Homes and Communities Agency.
He has also drawn on his 'sharp end' media relations and marketing experience to create a PR Guide for over 200 worldwide offices of an international industrial detergents company and managed publicity and promotion for a chain of over 300 public houses in and around London for a major UK brewer.
Specialisms: stakeholder engagement; property development & regeneration; house building; planning; local government authorities.
Robbie MacDuff, Partner
For 20 years he has advised a range of clients on UK (including devolved administrations) legislative, regulatory and public policy issues. He set up Precise Public Affairs with Chris Lowe in 2002 after running Edinburgh-based Strategy in Scotland (part of Grayling Group) where he was Managing Director and a Director of London-based Westminster Strategy. Prior to that he was a Director of IGA. Before joining the public affairs industry, Robbie worked for seven years as the researcher for a former MP for Bootle and Labour's Front Bench Spokesperson for Environmental Protection.
Robbie is currently the Chair of the Association of Professional Political Consultants (APPC) and in 2007 was elected "UK Consultant of the year" by over 3,000 professionals from across the public affairs industry.
Specialisms: housing; transport; skills & training; creative industries; EU-Russia relations; waste and resource management.
Simon Miller, Managing Partner
Simon joined Green Issues Communications as Managing Director in 2007, having previously been UK Managing Director of APCO for three years. From 2000 to 2004 he was a Director in the Public Affairs and Corporate Policy Team at Hill and Knowlton, where he began his consultancy career in 1990. He was Head of Public Affairs at Railtrack (later Network Rail) from 1996 to 2000 and started his public affairs career in the charity sector as National Youth Officer at the English-Speaking Union.
Simon is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, the Institute of Directors and a Corporate Fellow of the Industry and Parliament Trust.
Specialisms: media relations; integrated communications; crisis management, stakeholder relations; property & development.
Warwick Smith, Managing Partner
For 18 years Warwick has advised a range of clients on domestic and international legislative, regulatory and public policy issues. Prior to joining College Hill, he was Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Citigate Public Affairs. Before joining the public affairs industry, Warwick was in government service for 16 years as a policy adviser, ministerial aide, and international negotiator.
Warwick is a past Chairman of the Association of Professional Political Consultants in the UK and is a past member of the Policy Committee of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Specialisms: competition policy; mergers & acquisitions; pharmaceuticals; transport; gambling; financial services; international institutions.
Wes Himes, Managing Partner
With over fifteen years experience in public affairs, Wes is managing partner of Policy Action which he founded in 1998. He is responsible for advising clients in different sectors ranging from health to financial services and supervises lobbying activities carried out in Brussels by Policy Action as well as spearheading numerous campaigns at national level across the EU Member States. Wes has also worked as the Brussels Representative for the European Policy Forum and as an aide to a member of the European Parliament. He holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Katholieke Universiteit van Leuven, one of Europe's top business schools.
Prior to entering the public affairs industry he worked as Director for the State Development for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
Specialisms: EU and member states policymaking, financial services, health, IT & entertainment and gambling.
Adam Hosmer, Legal Adviser
Adam joined Policy Action in 2009. Since then he has been working primarily on remote gambling issues. A qualified lawyer in New York, Adam received a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor's degrees in Economics and Public Policy Studies from Duke University (North Carolina).
Adam is on secondment from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (New York) where he was an associate in the firm's competition department.
Specialisms: remote gambling law, competition law.
Andrew Johnson, Account Manager
Andrew joined Green Issues in October 2006, having previous spent a number of years working as a political assistant to the Conservative Group on Surrey County Council. Prior to that, Andrew was a researcher to Conservative MP, Angela Browning.
Andrew is also a councillor on the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and served as the Mayor for the 2008-09 municipal year – the youngest civic mayor in the United Kingdom at the time.
Andrew holds a degree in Politics and International Relations and an MA in Diplomacy and International Relations from Lancaster University.
Specialisms: stakeholder engagement and housing policy.
Ania Swirski, Account Manager
Ania has worked in public affairs for four years. Prior to joining College Hill in January 2007, Ania spent fifteen months at Global Government Relations (GGR), the government relations group of DLA Piper, a global legal services organisation.
Here she assisted a number of major clients including BAA and Tesco, in providing policy analysis. Previously, Ania had been a researcher at University College London's Constitution Unit.
Specialisms: education, health, pharmaceuticals, Poland, transport.
Language capabilities: Polish
Anne Schneider, Head of Practice
Anne joined Policy Action in 2005. Since then she has been working on EU policy issues relating to the financial services sector. Anne advises, carries out in-depth research and implements lobbying campaigns for various clients in the financial services industry including cross-border financial groups as well as the European network of the World Council of Credit Unions. Anne holds a degree in Italian Language and Culture from the University for Foreigners of Perugia (Italy) and a degree in Political Science from the University of Munich (Germany) specializing in European studies and European law as well as Russian politics.
Prior to engaging in public affairs, Anne worked in Public Relations and Communications in various European countries.
Specialisms: EU policymaking, financial services, retail financial services and microfinance.
Language capabilities: English, German, Italian, French, Russian.
Chris Magee, Account Manager
Chris started his career in the NLGN think-tank and the charity sector, before spending four years working for an Chris Mole MP as a senior Parliamentary aide. He then moved to the private sector, taking on controversial PR and regeneration projects for Indigo Public Affairs and Quatro Public Relations.
In December 2008, he set up his own company, Hampton Reed, providing a diverse client base with policy and stakeholder engagement services at the local and national level. Chris joined Communiqué in December 2009.
Specialisms: property development & regeneration; energy, waste, local government, health policy, tech policy and stakeholder relations.
Debbie Fowler, Executive Assistant
Debbie joined Communiqué in February 2008 and line-manages the Office Support function in addition to being PA to Richard Sutcliffe-Smith.
Debbie has a wealth of communications experience gained from working in management consultancy, design and for three of the top 10 advertising groups (most recently Ogilvy & Mather) in a marketing research capacity.
Ed Grieve, Account Executive
Ed began his career in the constituency office of Andrew Mitchell MP. He started as an intern at Green Issues in 2005, before becoming a full time consultant in 2006. Ed's work at Green Issues has included managing a challenging project for Amersham & Wycombe College helping them to gain planning permission for a controversial project in the Green Belt. He is also a key member of the company's development team.
Specialisms: consultation 'outreach'.
Emma Webster, Senior Account Manager
Emma joined Green Issues in February 2008. Since then she has worked on projects for organisations including: Tesco, Ministry of Defence and Waste Recycling Group.
Emma is an elected member on West Berkshire Council and was previously the portfolio holder for Highways and Transport.
Emma graduated with an Honours Degree in Law from the University of Southampton.
Specialisms: defence, renewable energy, waste, transport and retail.
Gabriel Abulafia, Director
A long-standing Labour activist, Gabriel began his career working in Parliament as assistant to David Blunkett, Alan Milburn and Stephen Byers. From the 1997 General Election until April 2000 he was parliamentary assistant to Karen Buck MP, chair of the London Group of Labour MPs. He then joined Citigate Public Affairs, a Westminster lobbying company, where he worked for a wide range of clients covering financial services, health, engineering, foodservice and transport.
He joined Green Issues Communications in 2003 and set up the company's London office through which he has built up the company’s involvement in major regeneration and development projects.
Specialisms: strategic regeneration projects and media relations.
Language capabilities: Spanish.
Harry Hudson, Senior Account Manager
Harry joined Green Issues Communications in April 2001, having spent 10 years with the radioactive waste agency Nirex at Harwell in Oxfordshire. At Nirex he worked on political and public relations up to and beyond the failed public inquiry, including a House of Lords' Select Committee Enquiry and a major Public Consensus Conference. He has wide experience and knowledge of handling sensitive and controversial issues across the waste, incineration, quarrying, retail and housing sectors.
He began work in publishing as Editorial Assistant on Whitaker's Almanack, following which he was Assistant Editor of The Law Society's Gazette. He then joined South Western Electricity where he edited the staff newspaper as well as working on media and community relations and crisis management.
He graduated from Exeter University with a BA in English and American Studies.
Specialisms: stakeholder engagement in waste, energy and housing sectors.
Helen Childs, Account Director & Head of Research
Helen started her career working in the House of Commons for two Labour MPs, David Blunkett and Alan Johnson, for four years as their Parliamentary Assistant. Whilst working in the House, Helen helped Alan Johnson in his fight for compensation for the distant water trawlermen who lost their jobs as a result of the Cod Wars, helping them to secure over £40million. Helen joined Precise Public Affairs in its infancy in 2002.
Helen studied Criminology and Social Policy at Hull University, where she taught literacy and numeracy to Young Offenders in Hull prison and was a volunteer advisor at the Citizen's Advice Bureau.
Specialisms: healthcare, public sector and environment.
James Garland, Director
James has twelve years experience in the communications sector, having worked for several full service advertising and PR agencies before setting up his own agency to advise clients on media strategy.
James joined Green Issues in 2005 and has given advice to clients on their communications, consultation and public affairs strategies across a range of sectors including house-building, aviation, retail, energy and strategic land. James also has responsibility for business development.
Specialisms: stakeholder engagement, media relations, community consultation, planning.
Jeremy Rollison, Senior Account Manager
Jeremy joined Policy Action in 2006. Since then he has been working on EU policy issues surrounding the distribution of online content and Internet services, e-Commerce, and online consumer policy. Jeremy serves as the Brussels-based Director of the European Digital Media Association (EDiMA). A graduate from the University of Richmond (US) with a Bachelor's, cum laude, in International Studies, he holds a Masters in Contemporary European Studies from the University of Bath (UK) and l'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (IEP-Sciences-Po, France).
Prior to engaging in public affairs, Jeremy has gained experience in the telecommunications, new media, and online marketing industries.
Specialisms: EU policymaking, IT & entertainment, e-Commerce, online content distribution, Internet services and consumer policy.
Language capabilities: English, French, Dutch
Joanne Scobie, Account Manager, Brussels
Joanne joined Policy Action in 2009. Since then she has been working on EU policy issues relating to the ICT, entertainment and leisure sectors. Joanne holds a 1st Class Honours MA in International Relations and Contemporary European Studies from the University of Dundee (Scotland) and studied at the University of Wroclaw (Poland). Prior to engaging in public affairs, Joanne has worked for the British Council in Santiago de Chile and gained considerable work experience around the world.
Specialisms: EU Policymaking, ICT and entertainment, leisure, consumer policy.
Language capabilities: English, Spanish, French, Polish
Katharina Derschewsky, Account Executive
Katharina joined College Public Policy whilst completing her Masters degree in Public Affairs and Lobbying at Brunel. She has a strong international background having studied in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK as well as interning with a think tank in Argentina promoting democratic development across South America. Most recently, she worked in German MEP Hans-Peter Mayer’s European Parliament Office in Brussels & Strasbourg providing research support on a number of different policy issues such as financial services, food & agriculture and health.
Specialisms: food policy and new media.
Language capabilities: English, German (native), Spanish
Marco Di Benedetto, Head of Practice, Brussels
Marco joined Policy Action in 2006. Since then he has been working on EU policy issues related to the entertainment, gaming, leisure, tourism and hospitality sectors. He serves as EU Policy Adviser for a number of European trade associations on behalf of which he organises lobbying and communication campaigns. Marco consults various national associations in the entertainment and gambling sector on EU policy developments. A graduate in Economics of International Business from London South Bank University Business School, Marco holds a joint Masters Degree in Contemporary European Studies (Politics, Policy and Society) with a minor in Transatlantic Relations from the University of Bath (UK), University of Washington Seattle (US), and the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain) as well as Professional Certificates in Marketing and New Business Development from the University of California, San Diego (US).
Prior to engaging in public affairs, Marco worked at the Delegation of the European Commission in Washington DC and specialised in EU-US trade relations and as International Press Officer for a major European culture event.
Specialisms: EU and member state policymaking, EU Internal Market, IT and entertainment, gambling policy, leisure, tourism and hospitality as well as consumer policy.
Language capabilities: English, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Portuguese
Manuel Espàrrago, Senior Account Manager
Manuel joined Policy Action in 2008. Since then he has been working on EU policy issues relating to the remote gambling and ICT industries. Manuel serves as the Brussels representative of the Remote Gambling Association and advises the association on any related EU policy developments in the field of cross-border remote gambling services. A graduate in Law from the University of La Coruña (Spain), Manuel holds a Masters in European Studies from the French-speaking University of Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium). Prior to joining PolicyAction, he worked for the European hunting federation, where, as deputy secretary-general, he was in charge of legal and public affairs issues.
Prior to engaging in public affairs, Manuel spent two years at the representation of the Spanish region of Galicia in Brussels and a training period at the European Commission's DG Internal Market.
Specialisms: remote gambling, ICT, EU law, EU legislative procedures.
Language capabilities: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian
Maria Cohn, Account Manager
Maria joined Policy Action in 2009. Since then she has been working on the financial services sector. She has carried out research and in-depth analysis related to financial services for a wide range of clients. A graduate in Labour Relations and Human Resources Management from Universidad de La Rioja (Spain), she holds a second degree in Tourism from the Universidad de Las Palmas (Spain). Maria is completing her Masters degree in International Relations with a minor in European Public Policy and International Political Economy from the University of Kent (UK).
Prior to engaging in public affairs, Maria worked a Foreign Trade Assistant at the Economic and Commercial Office of the Spanish Embassy in Sweden and gained experience in the field of international tenders while working for a Spanish consortium developing projects in Africa.
Specialisms: EU policymaking, financial services, retail financial services and microfinance.
Language capabilities: English, Spanish, German, French
Monica Aldea, Office Manager
Monica joined Policy Action in 2008. Monica is responsible for managing Policy Action's Brussels office. Before joining PolicyAction, she worked as Assistant to the Secretary General of the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI) and as PR tourism delegate for Maxitours (Brussels). During her career she has gained experience in planning, coordinating and executing PR activities, including graphic design of publications, organising special events and promotion campaigns. A graduate in foreign languages from the University of Arts of Galati (Romania), Monica holds a Master of Arts in Tourism Management.
Language capabilities: English, Romanian, French
Patricia Lamas Sànchez, Account Manager
Patricia joined the Policy Action in 2008. Since then she has been working on EU health policies. She serves as the Brussels-based policy advisor for a number of European trade associations, pharmaceutical and medical devices companies, as well as an established European Health Forum on behalf of which she runs lobbying and communication campaigns. Prior to joining PolicyAction, she gained considerable experience working with a number of European associations, companies and non-profit organisations. A graduate in journalism from the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, Patricia also holds a degree in International Relations from the Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Prior to engaging in public affairs, Patricia has gained invaluable experience in communication and journalism in Spain, UK and Belgium.
Specialisms: EU policymaking, health policy, consumer policy and EU communications tools.
Language capabilities: English, Spanish, French
Robert Russell-Pavier, Account Manager
Robert joined Precise Public Affairs in January 2007. Since then, he has worked on a range of companies, such as Scottish & Newcastle and CEMEX, as well as organisations like the publically-funded National Consumer Council and the pan-European think-tank, the EU-Russia Centre.
Robert is an experienced political researcher, having previously worked for Labour MPs, Paul Clark and Gareth Thomas, for three and a half years. Whilst working for Gareth Thomas, Robert organised his constituency's 2006 Local Election campaign as well as playing a significant role in the MP's successful re-election campaign for the 2005 General Election. Robert also interned for the United Nations Association, where he helped to organise the Association's 2005 Lobby of Parliament.
Specialisms: data security; digital media; alcohol; training and skills; waste and recycling.
Simon Powell, Account Manager
Simon joined Communiqué in 2004. With a previous background in sales and event management, he focuses on community & stakeholder engagement.
With a methodical approach to the organising and running of multi-stage consultations, Simon develops consultation programmes to ensure co-operation and understanding for all participants, both as on-the-day events and as ongoing conversations through a variety of channels, including new media. He has also organised and coordinated highly complex document distributions associated with the submission of planning applications for the first new town of the 21st Century.
Simon has a degree in Business & Marketing from Bournemouth University
Specialisms: stakeholder engagement; house building; planning; local government authorities.
Sophia Wilson, Account Manager
Sophia joined Precise Public Affairs in April 2006, whilst completing her Masters in British Politics at the University of Leeds. During her internship, she also worked in Parliament as a researcher for Fabian Hamilton MP. Prior to this, Sophia obtained a Politics degree from Edinburgh University. While she was completing her first Masters in Political Communication, Sophia became a researcher for a European political communication think-tank based at the University.
Sophia is currently Chair of the APPC Young Consultants’ Committee.
Specialisms: housing; tourism; water industry; EU-Russia relations.