Highgate welcomes in New Year with two new senior hires
LONDON, Jan. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Highgate, the fast-growing global CEO and sovereign advisory firm, has kick-started 2022 with two new senior level appointments.
APCO UK's Deputy Managing Director Polly Kennedy joins Highgate as Chief Operating Officer while Weber Shandwick's Corporate Affairs Director Patrick Harrison has been appointed as Senior Vice-President. Prior to his seven years at Weber Shandwick, Patrick was HRH The Prince of Wales's Press Secretary for over a decade.
Drawn from two of the communications industry's largest and most respected agencies, both appointments reflect Highgate's strategy of investing significantly in senior talent. To date, 70% of the company's consultants hold senior roles, providing direct advice to high-profile clients. Founded in January 2020 by Thomas Eymond-Laritaz and headquartered in Mayfair, London, Highgate doubled its revenues in 2021 and is now 18 consultants. Operating at the intersection of communications, business strategy, intelligence, and politics, the firm advises CEOs, political leaders and prominent individuals on high-stakes issues.
Polly Kennedy has a decade of leadership experience in global communications consultancies and over 20 years providing strategic communications counsel to clients. At APCO, she was responsible for the P&L, office operations and talent management and development of the UK operation. Polly began her career at Grayling in London before spending seven years based in Singapore and acting as deputy for Grayling's Asia Pacific operations. She specialises in corporate reputation and issues and crisis management across a wide range of sectors.
Polly Kennedy said today: "I'm really excited to join this talented team and contribute to Highgate's future growth and success. I look forward to continuing the great work that has already been done to build the agency, deliver exceptional results for clients and offer outstanding career opportunities for our consultants."
Patrick Harrison has over 25 years' senior level experience in reputation management, providing counsel to a wide variety of individuals including CEOs and senior executives of multinational companies, high net-worth individuals and their private offices, entrepreneurs, leading politicians, Government Ministers, and royalty. Regularly named as a leading reputation adviser in the Spears Top 500, he provides trusted advice on a wide range of issues including individual reputation management, complex litigation, corporate and financial communications, internal restructuring and philanthropic activity. As Press Secretary to HRH The Prince of Wales, he played a key role in defending and enhancing the reputation of The Prince and his immediate family, including his wife The Duchess of Cornwall and both his sons William and Harry. As well as being responsible for the global broadcasting and reporting of both the 2005 and 2011 royal weddings to audiences around the world, he also provided communication leadership for 24 official royal tours to 37 countries over a period of 14 years.
Patrick Harrison said today: "I am thrilled to be joining such a high calibre team of professional advisors who in just two years have already established Highgate as a leading consultancy for high-profile individuals. Having worked both in-house and at an agency, and across both public and private sectors, I very much look forward to applying my experience and skills to the type of challenging assignments that Highgate specialises in."
Welcoming Highgate's new joiners, Founder & CEO Thomas Eymond-Laritaz said today: "I am delighted to bring on board two such experienced consultants as Polly and Patrick. Recruiting the very best talent has been my main priority since I founded the company two years ago. Our clients typically face intricate challenges that take them outside their comfort zone. They require senior advisers they respect and trust."
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