Library, Press & Articles
Articles, books and research reports written or contributed by members of the E&A team as well as cuttings from national and trade press.
May 2012
As part of Ellwood & Atfield’s occasional series of working breakfasts, Geraldine Davies, Chairman of Ellwood & Atfield, hosted a seminar on the communication issues surrounding executive remuneration. The debate was led by Simon Lloyd, Human Resources Director at Santander UK and Mark Field, MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, former shadow financial secretary to the Treasury.
March 2012
As part of Ellwood & Atfield’s occasional series of working breakfasts, Geraldine Davies, Chairman of Ellwood & Atfield, hosted a seminar on the issues facing the Chancellor in the 2012 budget . Mark Field, MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, former shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, and an advisor to Ellwood & Atfield, shared his views on the dilemma facing George Osborne.
February 2012
As part of Ellwood & Atfield’s occasional series of working breakfasts, Geraldine Davies, Managing Director of the Search Practice, hosted a seminar to discuss the fall-out from David Cameron’s December veto at the Brussels summit and its consequences for UK relations with the EU and for the future of the Coalition government. Mark Field, MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, former shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, and an advisor to Ellwood & Atfield, gave an informed view, concluding that preservation of the single currency would take precedent over a development of the Single Market.
Euractiv.com November 16 2011
Association Management Company Kellen Europe hosted an Executive Lunch yesterday in Brussels on ‘Key Success Factors for European Trade Associations'. The event brought together over 70 association executives, consultants and corporate representatives to hear the presentation on “Key Success Factors for European Trade Associations”. They also benefited from the opportunity to exchange best practices with panel speakers, which included Judith Hardt, Secretary General at FESE, the Federation of European Stock Exchanges, Brian Ager, Director General of the European Round Table of Industrialists and Dick Toet, Director Public Affairs Europe at Unilever.
Mark Dober, Senior Director at Brussels’ based Executive Search Firm Ellwood & Atfield set the stage for an interesting debate with a summary presentation of the report E&A published this year on ‘Key Success Factors for European Trade Associations’. “Based on the research we have done for the report, we have found the following 4 factors to be crucial for the effectiveness and success of a EU Trade Association; value for membership, effective leadership, proactive public affairs and integrated communications” said Dober.
The presentation was followed by a short speech from each of the panelists in which they gave their views on what they consider to be key factors that make an association effective. Judith Hardt, Secretary General of FESE, the Federation of European Stock Exchanges stated that ‘The most important factor for an association to be successful is reputation. A solid and credible reputation however is difficult to earn and easy to lose. There are 3 main factors in building a good reputation: ethical behaviour, strong technical expertise and knowledge of the industry and the ability to drive change in a constructive way’ she said.
Maria Teresa Scardigli, Vice President of Kellen Europe concluded by pointing out that “Reports such as the ‘Key success factors for EU Trade Associations’ report from Ellwood and Atfield are essential for the association’s business. The Report stimulated debate in the association community and create platforms such as this Executive Lunch to network among peers and to learn from experts in the field, both on a corporate and an association level.” Mrs. Scardigli continued: “We were extremely pleased with the number of association executives represented here today. It proves that there is a need for knowledge sharing in the association community. Kellen Europe is pleased to continue its role as a pioneer in organizing these informative networking events in Brussels and will continue to do so.”
This Executive Lunch was organized by Kellen Europe in cooperation with Ellwood and Atfield, and sponsored by Visit Brussels, the Brussels Convention Bureau.
As part of Ellwood & Atfield’s occasional series of working breakfasts, Geraldine Davies, Managing Director of the Search Practice, hosted a seminar to discuss the forthcoming Autumn Statement. Mark Field, MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, former shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, and an advisor to Ellwood & Atfield, gave an insider’s view on what he thought would or should be in the Autumn Statement. In this he forecast:
- The Chancellor of the Exchequer will deliver his much-awaited Autumn Statement on the afternoon of Tuesday 29 November. This is widely anticipated as more than a set-piece annual parliamentary occasion, but a re-launch of the Coalition Government’s economic strategy.
- The UK economy stands at a crossroads so the reaction to and impact of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement for months ahead will be crucial to both the UK’s economic welfare and the political outlook for the decade to come.
- The government’s public spending austerity programme is now firmly in place; attention now turns to the urgent need to kick-start growth in the economy.
- In the context of the debt and solvency crises in the Eurozone, the likelihood of significant export-led growth looks bleak; as a result the Chancellor is likely to promote an aggressive programme of infrastructure investment, credit easing for small/medium sized enterprises and a vast range of incentives for industry.
PRWeek 14 July 2011
A number of senior ex-News of the World journalists have enquired about PR jobs, but recruitment consultants have warned that the paper's 'toxic' reputation could harm their chances of making the transition.
The demise of the UK's biggest-selling national newspaper last week has led to 200 journalists and executives considering their next steps. Some senior editorial staff are known to have spoken to top PR agencies and recruitment consultancies in recent days.
Edelman European CEO Robert Phillips said that his agency had already been contacted by two News of the World journalists.
Ellwood and Atfield director Gavin Ellwood said that he had been recently contacted by 'three or four' senior journalists from the News of the World. But he warned: 'Given the continued squeeze on the media industry, the recession and the BBC's redundancies, the PR job market is highly competitive for journalists. The recent crisis is only going to make it harder for them to cross the line to the PR and comms profession.'
One senior recruitment consultant who declined to be named told PRWeek: 'The market was already flooded with journalists up until the recent events. The question is how toxic are these journalists in the context of PR jobs? It's a saturated market already. It's unlikely that PR agencies will be falling over themselves for a News of the World journalist.'
But some senior figures were more open to hiring exNews of the World staff.
Max Clifford told PRWeek: 'I wouldn't shy away from employing an ex-News of the World journalist but then I'm different to a lot of PRs and I do my own thing.'
Another PR boss said: 'There are plenty of talented reporters from the newspaper like Dan Wootton who would be able to make a smooth transition to the PR industry.'
Public Affairs News April 2011
Recruitment firm Ellwood & Atfield (E&A) has published a 20-page report entitled ‘Key Success Factors for European Trade Associations’. It asserts that ‘companies are taking control away from national associations, and traditional minute-taking “secretary-generals” are increasingly being replaced by “director-generals” who are strategists, industry experts and EU players’.
PRWeek 01 April 2011
Ellwood and Atfield has identified four success factors for European trade associations in a new report, Key Success Factors for European Associations, based on interviews with 70 industry experts. Brussels is home to around 1,500 European business organisations or trade associations.
CorpComms 15 March 2011
Trustworthiness, integrity and judgment are three of the key characteristics that chief executives and chairmen value in their communications directors, according to a new report by Geraldine Davies, head of search practice at consultancy Ellwood and Atfield.
While functional experience and good practical communication skills are viewed as part of the necessary skill set for any successful communications director, it is also increasingly important for them to demonstrate business and financial literacy. The ability to facilitate collaboration across an organisation and also to provide a 'sounding board' for the chief executive, offering up-to-date feedback on how the business is perceived both internally and externally is increasingly viewed as vital.
As one chief executive puts it: 'The communications director and the human resources director are my two direct reports who make judgment calls that can lead me to change my mind.'
CorpComms 15 March 2011
'Some people in the public sector would find it difficult going into the private sector because it's very target driven and there's probably a greater sense of urgency,' says Geraldine Davies, head of practice at Ellwood & Atfield.
'But the current Government is very radical and seems to be turning every department upside down so I don't think there's one public sector culture anymore.'
CorpComms 15 March 2011
'Some people in the public sector would find it difficult going into the private sector because it's very target driven and there's probably a greater sense of urgency,' says Geraldine Davies, head of practice at Ellwood & Atfield.
'But the current Government is very radical and seems to be turning every department upside down so I don't think there's one public sector culture anymore.'
Gorkanapr 14 January 2011
Ellwood & Atfield's Geraldine Davies shares the findings of her study of what some of Britain's top businessmen expect from their communications directors.
What does the ideal communications director look like? It is a question worth asking to Geraldine Davies as she has held that position at two FTSE 100 companies. She has also just completed a series of interviews with some of the leading businessmen of the country on what chairmen and chief executives expect of their communications directors. So at the end of that process she must have a clearer image of the perfect candidate, but unfortunately it is not as simple as that. “It all depends on the chemistry with the CEO,” is her response.
Her reasoning is based on the revelation that for many of the people she spoke to, they spent almost half their time communicating with stakeholders of one form or another. One wistful chief executive even confided, “I have spent my whole career working to get to this position, but now I have got here I have to spend all my time communicating.” The change, as Geraldine sees it, is that, “In the past you would have found CEOs solely focused on one stakeholder group like investors or the media, but now they cannot ignore any one group. Chairmen and CEOs don’t just shape the strategy but also communications.”
It is understandable, therefore, that as communications has become a more important element of their role, particularly as companies have had to become more accountable and transparent, the relationship between the CEOs and their communications directors has become more critical to the effective functioning of a business leaders’ role.
The interviews highlighted that much importance is placed on ‘trustworthiness, integrity and judgement’. Communications directors are also relied upon to provide a line to the outside world and feedback on how the business is viewed both internally and externally. A number of the subjects referred to them as their ‘eyes and ears’ within an organisation or as a ‘sanity check’ for perceptions. This bond of trust is often further strengthened by the non-threatening nature of their relationship. “The communications director is one of the few direct reports a chief executive will have who couldn’t do, or want to do, his own job”.
If the personal chemistry can be a tricky element to read, the functional experience and good practical communication skills of the communications director’s job description are taken as read. “Twenty years ago the comms director might even be somebody without any comms experience at all, maybe a general executive for whom no other role was available,” observed Geraldine. “Those with comms experience tended to have a media relations hinterland and were often ex-journalists.”
What becomes clear in the interviews is that media relations is no longer as pre-eminent amongst the communications disciplines as it once was. In highly-regulated environments, particular store is placed on government relations. Investor relations and internal relations have also gained ground. A competent communications director needs to be across all these areas. “Media relations is still very important. It hasn’t lessened in importance, rather the other aspects, especially Government and regulatory communications, have caught up with it. It could be argued that argued that media relations is a more tactical discipline, whereas boards are expecting comms directors to have a more strategic vision.”
However, it is on the subject of a communications director’s input to strategy where Geraldine found a divergence of views. Some interviewees suggested that there was a role for communications to feed into the business strategy, but there was also vehement opposition to the idea. “[He] advises me on how we express things rather than what we do. [His] role is more about form than substance,” was a typical view from this faction.
On this matter, Geraldine’s sympathies lie with the view expressed by Dame Deidre Hutton, Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority who said, “Communications should not be the tail that wags the dog, but it should certainly be part of the dog.”
If anything the communications director’s role is growing. Chief executives and chairmen are very conscious of the rise of social media, and of the proliferation and fragmentation of the media in general. The majority of the interviewees recognised the importance of being more proactive in their media monitoring and brand management than in the past, and some see it as an opportunity. As GlaxoSmithKline’s Chairman, Sir Christopher Gent commented, “Media relations is neither more or less important as a result of the changes – just more difficult.” Presumably he will lean on his communications director for guidance.
The leading specialist communications recruitment consultancy Ellwood & Atfield continues to expand and is pleased to announce that Mark Field MP for Cities of London and Westminster is joining as an Advisor to the company.
Mark brings significant recruitment experience to Ellwood & Atfield. In the mid 1990s he set up a successful City based recruitment business building the company up to have a staff of twelve by 2001. He was then elected to Parliament in 2001 and divested himself of the company to his business partner.
Mark will be a key member of the team and will have partial responsibility for growing the company's markets. His experience, coupled with his political position, perfectly complements Ellwood & Atfield and reinforces the company's position as the leading recruitment firm within communications and public affairs. Mark joins a team made up of recruitment experts and former practitioners in communications and public affairs.
Abid Hamid Managing Director says: "Mark is a great addition to the team. His experience, both political and business, will facilitate our growth plans for 2011"
Mark Field says: "I am delighted to join Ellwood & Atfield and look forward to bringing my experience to bear with a unique, communications recruitment company. My joining is at an exciting time in Ellwood & Atfield's development in both London and Brussels"
London Evening Standard 15 November 2010
Gavin Ellwood is quoted in an article by Victoria Stewart in the Life & Style section For the complete article click here.
Communications Director Q4 2010
Ben Atfield writes for the quarterly magazine Communications Director. As the communications discipline develops, there is a growing consensus regarding the skills and competencies its leaders require. But the challenge is to personalise the right mix of qualities. For the complete article click here.
PRmoment.tv
E&A report Communications: A View from the Board cited by Paul Mylrea, Head of Press, BBC and incoming President of the CIPR. To view the webcast click here.
CorpComms Magazine September 2010
The age of austerity is going to affect everyone in Britain. June's emergency budget underlined how hard life is going to be over the next few years, as the coalition government tries to recoup costs partly by cutting jobs in the public sector. Gavin Ellwood, co-founder of Ellwood & Atfield, says that even before the cuts were announced, his issues-led recruitment company had seen increased activity as culling appeared inevitable. While he says there have been many success stories of communications professionals moving between private and public sector, there are fundamental differences which can make moving over hard. For the complete article click here.
Telegraph.co.uk September 2010
Ellwood and Atfield, a recruitment consultancy in Brussels and London, said that an individual of Lord Mandelson's calibre and reputation would not have any... For the complete article click here.
Public Affairs News.com September 2010
BRUSSELS: Mark Dober, one of the best-known agency lobbyists in Brussels, is leaving APCO Worldwide after more than 15 years to work as a headhunter... For the complete article click here.
The Extra One Per Cent: How Small Changes Make Exceptional People September 2010
Gavin Ellwood contributes to Rob Yeung's new best seller book... click here.
Where next for the UK Labour Market? September 2010
E&A hosts round table discussion (part of a series for the BCC debating the big issues facing UK businesses).
The attendees of the breakfast (see report below) were asked to consider three questions related to the UK Labour market. The points made on these topics are outlined in the report. Before the discussion moved on to the set questions, contributions to "set the scene" raised the following points:
- Over the last two years there has been a change in the relationship between employers and employees, with the employee being in a weaker bargaining position as a result of economic conditions, and less willing (or able) to move jobs. However, there are signs that this trend is beginning to be reversed.
- The flexibility of pay and firms hoarding labour have been features of the recession, and have prevented unemployment rising further. Two points to consider for the future are that: A domestic skills shortage has been disguised by immigration; and, public sector lay-offs may well widen existing regional disparities.
GorkanaPR Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Ellwood & Atfield, the Executive Search consultancy has recruited Harry Friend to work with Geraldine Davies to build its senior search practice.
Harry will be focusing on senior level Corporate Affairs appointments within the UK and internationally. He joins from VMA Search where he was Head of Practice. Geraldine joined the company earlier this year from The Willis Partnership.
“We are delighted that Harry has joined us," said Geraldine. "He brings a wealth of experience in head hunting internationally to add to our senior practice.”
Harry joined this week and can be reached on +44 (0)20 7340 6480 or harry@ellwoodandatfield.com.
CorpComms Magazine March 2010
'From a bit of a laughing stock, Prescott has become a proper blogger and Twitterer,' says Ben Atfield, co-founder of public affairs search consultancy Ellwood and Atfield. 'He's confident enough to be himself, he speaks straight, matter-of-factly.' For the complete article click here.
Communicate February 2010
Geraldine Davies has joined Ellwood & Atfield, the issues-led communication specialists, to lead its senior corporate communications practice.
Geraldine brings with her a wealth of senior communications experience, having spent 16 years in senior communication roles, including director of corporate communications for Lloyds TSB Group and then director of corporate relations at Prudential Plc where she was a member of the group executive committee.
In 2005 she joined the executive search profession as a partner at Whitehead Mann and then The Willis Partnership, specialising in board level appointments and senior communication assignments. At the beginning of 2010 she joined Ellwood & Atfield to lead our senior corporate communications practice.
Director Gavin Ellwood commented ‘Geraldine has a unique and rich combination of talents from being a Communications Director herself, plus understanding of the needs of a search process. We are delighted that she has joined us and look forward to working with her to build our business in 2010.'
Geraldine added: ‘Ellwood and Atfield have an excellent reputation and I am excited at the opportunity of working with a team of people with deep market knowledge of the communication industry.'
The appointment is one of a series that E&A are making in 2010.
Public Affairs News 02 February 2010
BRUSSELS: The well-known former Conservative MEP who has run the European Centre for Public Affairs (ECPA) since its establishment in the mid-1980s is to step down from his executive director role in June next year.
Recruitment firm Ellwood & Atfield (E&A) is working pro bono to help find Spencer’s successor. E&A director Ben Atfield is leading the search. The aim is to announce the new executive director before ECPA’s annual conference on 2 March.
CorpComms Magazine January 2010
Caroline Poynton finds confidence returning to the jobs market as recruitment consultants predict that 2010 will bring more opportunities. For the complete article click here.
Public Affairs News January 2010
Recruitment company Ellwood & Atfield (E&A) has itself made a significant recruitment: Lionel Zetter has joined the company as a senior consultant with a brief to be a ‘roaming ambassasor' and ‘open doors' for the company.
Zetter, the author of books on political campaigning, lobbying and the Conservative Party, is also a director of ComRes and the Enterprise Forum, as well as a V-P of PublicAffairsAsia.Ellwood & Atfield's Ben Atfield said: "Lionel is a legend in the public affairs industry. He is a phenomenal networker, with unrivalled industry and political contacts. He will add a whole new dimension to E&A." E&A is based in Smith Square in Westminster.
PRWeek 10 August 2009
Starbucks has hired a former BBC man to fill a newly-created head of communications role. Blue Rubicon senior consultant Tim McCoy has been appointed for the top comms role by the coffee giant following a major trawl by headhunters. The new job follows the appointment of London-based VP public affairs international Cathy Heseltine, to whom McCoy will report. McCoy has been at Blue Rubicon since last year, before which he was a News 24 strand editor at the BBC. The recruitment process was overseen by Ellwood and Atfield.
Public Affairs News July 2009
The King's Fund is on the hunt for a new director of communications as it prepares for the departure of Michelle Dixon after more than eight years in the role.
The respected healthcare think-tank has recruitment firm Ellwood & Atfield with helping it find a candidate to fill the role, which comes with a salary of ‘circa £100,000 plus benefits' and oversees a 20-strong team. For the complete article click here.
PRWeek 03 July 2009
Recruitment specialist Ellwood and Atfield has signed up the ‘David Frost of the Tory blogosphere'. Jonathan Sheppard joined last week as consulting adviser after working at VMA in charge of public affairs recruitment. Director Ben Atfield said Sheppard's arrival would extend the recruiter's capacity to ‘advise in-house clients on how to ensure their teams keep abreast of future political developments'. Compared to Frost by Tim Montgomerie, editor of the Conservative Home website, Sheppard was public affairs manager at Royal Mail and Alliance Boots. He founded and runs the Tory Radio podcast and ran for Parliament in the 2005 general election. He will continue to run his own comms consultancy, Crossbench Consulting.
Communicate 23 February 2009
What should be done about the lobbying industry? In this, the first installment of 35 Debates, we ask whether there's a case to be made for urgent reform. Two eager protagonists have agreed to exchange a few friendly emails in the hope of winning over the other. Taking part... David Miller from the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency who is also a founder member of Spinwatch and Ben Atfield, a partner in Ellwood and Atfield the search and selection specialist for communications with a political and regulatory context. For the complete article click here.
Public Affairs News 07 April 2009
The British Medical Association (BMA) has filled the senior-level PA role of head of hospital juniors (representation and political activities). Kate Wynne started on 23 March, joining from Reed in Partnership where she was head of local government development. At the BMA she will be lobbying on behalf of the country's young doctors on issues such as the European Working Time Directive. Wynne was at Reed for almost three years. Before that she worked for Camden & Islington Mental Health and Social Care Trust, the National Clinical Assessment Authority, Kings Fund, Hill & Knowlton and Westminster Strategy. Wynne reports to Sally Watson, director of the BMA's department of representational and political activities. Recruitment for the role was handled by Ellwood & Atfield.
Public Affairs News 07 April 2009
The CIPR Government Affairs Group (GAG) confirmed various changes to its committee at its AGM on 17 March. Four people have joined the committee and three have left. Here is the new line-up:
Senior Executive Committee Members
Chairman: Keith Johnston (director of policy and communications, STEP Worldwide)
Vice-chair: Jonathan French (assistant director of media relations, Association of British Insurers)
Vice-chair: Elizabeth Brogan (senior policy officer, National Landlords Association)
Secretary: Laura Webb (head of professional affairs, Faculty of Public Health)
Membership secretary: George Crozier (senior political adviser, Liberal Democrats)
Treasurer: Deborah Powton (director, Sam Weller Associates)
Executive Committee members
NEW: Simon Astley (director of parliamentary relations, BAE Systems)
Iain Anderson (director, chief corporate counsel, Cicero Consulting)
NEW: Gavin Ellwood (director, Ellwood & Atfield)
Robert Khan (PA manager, CareQuality Commission)
NEW: Jacob Rigg (head of policy, STEP Worldwide)
NEW: Lionel Zetter (PA consultant)
Total Politics August 2008
While some claim Gordon Brown needs a holiday, Gavin Ellwood thinks politicians should be careful about switching off. For the complete article click here.
2008
Gavin Ellwood contributes to Lionel Zetter’s book... click here.
2007
Gavin Ellwood contributes to Stuart Thomson and Steve John’s book... click here.
Ellwood & Atfield UK, 34 Smith Square, Westminster, London SW1P 3HL | T: +44 (0)20 7340 6480 | Email: enquiry@ellwoodandatfield.com
Ellwood & Atfield Europe, Boulevard St Michel 47, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium | T: +32 (0)2 402 0070 | Email: enquiry@ellwoodandatfield.com