Public Affairs Board announces first Executive Committee since PRCA merger

The Public Affairs Board has announced its Executive Committee for 2019/20 to help fulfill its role of ensuring transparency, enforcing high standards, and promoting a wider understanding of public affairs and the contribution it makes to public life.

This is the first Committee since APPC members voted to merge the organisation with the PRCA in November 2018. This led to the creation of the Public Affairs Board as a unified body for the public affairs market.

The 19-person panel is led by continuing co-chairs George McGregor, managing partner at Interel and Emma Petela, director at GK Strategy [both pictured]. The Committee also includes representatives from Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland alongside a representative from the NextGen Public Affairs Group, the immediate past leadership, and members from across the PRCA Public Affairs Board.

The full Executive Committee for 2019/20 is:

• George McGregor CMPRCA, Interel (Co-chair)
• Emma Petela CMPRCA, GK Strategy (Co-chair)
• John Morrison MPRCA, Morrison Media (Scotland)
• Cathy Owens MPRCA, Deryn (Wales)
• Gráinne Walsh MPRCA, Stratagem NI (Northern Ireland)
• Tiffany Burrows MPRCA, Newington (NextGen Public Affairs)
• Paul Bristow FPRCA, PB Consulting (Past Chair)
• Lionel Zetter FPRCA, Zetter’s Political Services (Past Chair)
• Laura Blake MPRCA, Connect
• Flora Coleman MPRCA, Transferwise
• Gavin Devine MPRCA, Park Street Partners
• Elin de Zoete MPRCA, PLMR
• Scott Dodsworth MPRCA, H+K Strategies
• Tom Frackowiak MPRCA, Cicero Group
• Mark Glover FPRCA, Newington Communications
• Liam Herbert MPRCA, Individual Member
• Chris Martin MPRCA, Ketchum
• Gill Morris FPRCA, DevoConnect
• Michael Stott MPRCA, Lansons

McGregor and Petela said: ‘We are lucky enough to have a pool of talented, experienced individuals willing to contribute their time, effort, and ideas to improving our industry. We would like to welcome members of the Executive Committee – old and new – and look forward to working with them all on ethics, transparency, representation, and shaping the very future of our industry.

‘To reiterate our priorities as co-chairs, our aims are to build a more powerful voice for public affairs; to champion and uphold ethical public affairs; and to promote diversity in the public affairs industry.

‘We would like to thank all the members involved: representing PRCA Public Affairs Board members is a privilege and we aim to meet – and exceed – their expectations of us.’

All members take up their positions immediately and remain in place until the time of the next scheduled Public Affairs Board Executive Committee election in June 2020. The co-chairs were re-elected unopposed. The first meeting of the new Executive Committee was last night (Monday, 17 June 2019).