Chris, a Partner within College Public Policy Partner, has been a senior player in public affairs for 20 years. His public affairs career started with IBM; he has advised Pfizer’s European Trade Group, was PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Head of Public Affairs and set up and led Scottish & Newcastle’s public affairs department. Chris is a visiting lecturer on public affairs at the Universities of Oxford and Westminster.
Chris is a Managing Partner at College Hill, heading up its Corporate practice. Her specialist expertise is in issues and risk management (corporate governance) and media relations. She has advised boardrooms, and CEOs on a wide variety of strategic business milestones and challenges. Chris has also designed and run diverse coaching and training services.
David Simonson joined College Hill as a Managing Partner in August 2012 following its acquisition of Merlin. He has over 20 years experience and extensive expertise in Mergers, Acquisitions, Initial Public Offerings and broader strategic counsel. A graduate of the University of Durham and a Master of Science of the University of London, he has worked with leading international consultancies including Valin Pollen and Gavin Anderson & Co. advising UK and International corporations including Airbus, EADS, Mittal Steel, Kazakhmys, Petropavlovsk and the Russian Stock Exchange MICEX. He has advised on the UK and Russian electricity privatisations and has been a strategic adviser to Airbus for over 15 years. He is primarily responsible for strategic consulting in the Industrial, Aerospace, Defence, Mining and Energy sectors. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a member of the Aviation Club.
Derrick leads All about the Idea. He has more than 30 years’ experience of brand communication, as a client in the 70s when he helped build the BMW brand, and then as a creative consultant co-founding a leading international brand-focused communications company
Desiree works for The College and has more than 15 years’ experience leading and creating global integrated communications, engaging audiences and stakeholders and delivering ROI and a competitive edge for clients. A regular contributor to Design Week and PR Week, Desiree is a member of BAFTA and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Donna is a Managing Partner of College Group. She is a senior PR and Marketing specialist with more than 20 years’ experience in both consultancy and in-house roles. She was previously Managing Director for Lowe Bell Good Relations and Ogilvy PR Worldwide; and gained in-house experience as VP Global Communications for National Media Corp and as Head of Communications for Microsoft Consulting Partner, 1E.
A senior consultant based in Melbourne, Douglas has 15 years’ experience in life sciences communications providing corporate, financial, healthcare and marketing communications support for quoted and private company clients. He was General Manager of the Munich office where he serviced clients from Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and prior to that was based in London and New York. He has a PhD in Neuropsychopharmacology from the University of Cambridge and did a post-doctoral fellowship at Edinburgh University.
A 14-year career spanning research, communications, and business management which means Christelle combines strong communications skills gained in the Life Sciences, Pharmaceuticals and Cleantech sectors, with hands-on entrepreneurial management skills and a deeply rooted science understanding. She manages significant client projects, and supports the Life Sciences team in operational management and marketing. M.Sc. in Immunology, Genetics and Molecular Biology, and PhD in Ophthalmic Immunology from Imperial College. Born in France, she has lived in the UK for more than 14 years and is fluent in both French and English.
Eileen is Projects Director for College Hill Life Sciences’ Manchester office. A co-founder of our Munich office, she has extensive experience in managing and directing design projects as part of our clients’ corporate, financial and marketing communications. With a PhD in Molecular Biology, Eileen has 15 years of scientific research experience and has served as a Scientific Consultant to Pfizer.
Frederic is a Partner in College Hill’s South Africa office with some nine years experience in the media relations and financial communications fields. Previously with Arcay Communications, the then affiliate company of GCI and APCO worldwide in South Africa, Frederic has particular knowledge and experience of the ICT, infrastructure and mining sectors.
Geoff is a Senior Consultant. He was Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications and Global Community Partnerships for GlaxoSmithKline. He led the global corporate communications function for 23 years, advising successive chairmen and chief executives on the company's reputation in a period of rapid growth and encompassing two major mergers. In addition to his role at College Hill, Geoff is a member of the Council of the University of Leeds, a Board Trustee of Opera North and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
Guy is a Partner at The College. He is responsible for creative marketing initiatives and a range of projects for UK and international clients. He has specific responsibility for running the growing portfolio of digital projects. Guy started his first creative services business in 1982 and has wide experience of the communication needs of public companies.