Vicky Bristow

Vicky Bristow

Associate

Vicky has over 15 years’ experience in PR and communications, having worked at leading UK PR agencies and in-house at large organisations, including Direct Line Group and the University of Hertfordshire.

She develops PR and communications strategies that connect businesses and organisations with their target audiences and stakeholders, using audience insights, her nose for news and creative storytelling to grow clients’ positive reputation. She specialises in consumer financial services, consumer health and research communications.

Cathy White

Cathy White

Associate Director

Cathy specialises in communications for tech startups and the wider ecosystem that supports them. Cathy has worked with a roster of clients including early-stage startups – Bright Little Labs, Jobbio, KiteEdge, Klevio, ParkBee, Tailwise, TaxScouts and Yodel – and investors – BGTA, Five Seasons Ventures, and SILK Ventures.

Cathy held key roles as Head of Communications for Tech City UK (now Tech Nation) and early-stage VC Seedcamp. She was recognised as a PR Week ‘Rising Star’ in 2014 whilst working at Albion Drive. Over her career, she has worked with everyone from Silicon Milkroundabout to Seedrs, Monese to Transferwise, and has worked closely with investors including Index Ventures, Draper Esprit and Wayra. 

Outside of her work she is a Director of GeekGirl Meetup UK, an organisation to champion female role models within STEM and give talented women a platform to share their expertise with others. As part of that, she is the podcaster behind GeekGirlMeets and regularly speaks out on diversity issues. She has also mentored startups across Europe, meeting with teams from Incubator Starter in Poland, Eleven from Bulgaria, CyLon, Google Launchpad and Escape the City.

Richard Davies

Richard Davies

Associate Director of People

Richard Davies is Associate Director of People and Culture, and has a background which combines both public and private sector enterprises. He has worked to shape and deliver the people agenda in such well known organisations as Transport for London, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland GroupWith a career in People spanning more than 25 years Richard has created talent and performance management programmes which have had global reach.

As a strategic Senior HR specialist Richard is passionate about the development of people, he has designed and developed programmes across industries as diverse as Pharmaceuticals, MediaBanking and Financial Services, which focus on enabling people to be successful by being their best most authentic selves in the workplace.

Charlotte Mcleod

Charlotte McLeod

CEO

Charlotte is an accomplished senior communications and training professional with extensive UK and international experience spanning the Consumer, Business, Public and Third sectors. Her work includes leading behaviour change campaigns, nationwide commemorative celebrations and strategic communications for government departments and full-service PR agencies.

She has has spent nearly 20 years’ working in strategic communications consultancy for a range of clients such as VISA, GE and The Alan Turing Institute and holding progressive leadership roles within the UK Government.

She previously worked at the Ministry of Defence and the Cabinet Office, where she led cross-Whitehall behaviour change campaigns. These included influencing young people to develop their skills, small businesses to bid for government contracts and the ‘big five’ banks to change their policy to fit military life. Charlotte is committed to the power of communications to enable.

For the past decade Charlotte has also provided crisis media and communications training to UK ambassadors and their communications in post on behalf of FCDO around the world.

She loves to share travel stories and will happily tell you about her trips around the world, including a trek to Everest Basecamp.

Stuart Baird

Stuart Baird

Associate Director

Stuart is an award-winning communicator who has worked within the industry for 24 years, including in the Strategic Communications Unit at No 10 Downing Street, and specialises in digital and social media and engagement. Based in the Midlands, Stuart has delivered strategies and campaigns from Think! to Change4Life and Apprenticeships nationally, and run national and international media events for the Royal Family and government ministers, including the Prime Minister. He has also worked within the NHS as Head of Communications, Marketing and Engagement, delivering internal, external, digital, fundraising and stakeholder strategies.

In his current capacity he has worked with a range of clients from UK Trade & Investment, working with businesses to promote export, to the Home Office, partnering with local government and the police on community safety, to the Department of Communities and Local Government, focussing on development and house building.

He was named Independent Practitioner of the Year 2016 for the Midlands by the CIPR and won a Gold CIPR Pride Awards public engagement and youth engagement campaign, as well as being highly commended by PR Week for crisis management.

Helen Desmond

Helen Desmond

Director of Client Services

Helen is a senior communicator, who delivers strategy development and stakeholder engagement, including media relations, campaign direction and content. Clients can also benefit from Helen’s experience of change management and capability building within central and local government, as well as the private sector.

Helen’s work with the Open Data Institute (and more widely, the ‘open data’ agenda) and The Open University while at Allegory has built on an earlier part of her career in technology PR. Her specialist areas include strategic counsel, hyper-local media, partner relations and capability building.

Emma Thwaites

Emma Thwaites

Founder and Executive Chair

Emma is Allegory’s Founder and Executive Chair.

She is a strategic communications practitioner with more than 25 years’ experience and has worked at the highest level of government and corporate organisations. She is a hands-on agency leader who recently led the delivery of projects for high-profile organisations including the Open Data Institute, The Open University, and the Web Foundation.

Emma spent ten years at the heart of UK Government where she headed up the Cabinet Office’s strategic communications team.

Emma’s approach is characterised by intellectual rigour and exceptional standards of quality and value that she demands equally of her team. Her networks include industry innovators, media, and policy makers.