OUR PEOPLE

Sara lives and breathes business strategy.

Coming from a media industry background, Sara ran large-scale divisions of Trinity Mirror’s regional offering and was CommercialManaging Director UK for the group.

Sara brings a wealth of commercial acumen and experience to assist clients in identifying market opportunities and unlocking growth potential and develops robust strategies to combat business challenges.

James has been working in agency land for 10 years now, working with global banks, new-to-market sports brands and one of the UK’s biggest burger joints.

Having led, built and managed new business teams across the North West, he is responsible for strategy and client relationships in the agency. 

When not in the office he can be found at the rugby club, dreaming of ski slopes, walking the dog or practising his (amateur) photography skills. 

Viv has been a creative director for over 25 years, working across a wide range of global brands both in the UK and abroad. And picking up awards for his work in both the UK and New York.

Viv leads our branding briefs and is passionate about creating rational and emotional connections between people and brands.

Outside of the agency world, Viv can be found up a windy mountain-top in North Wales, mucking out on his small holding. If you listen closely, he can often be heard telling the animals that the ads were better back in the day.

With over 25 years of experience, Karen runs customer and audience insights on behalf of brands – guiding them through findings and delivering informed strategies. 

Karen has led several wide-scale public consultations including Greater Manchester Healthier Together and Everton Football Club’s The People’s Project for their new stadium. 

She is the driving force behind our key behaviour change campaigns. Including ‘Getting Under the Skin’ and helping the NHS reach ethnic communities, and ‘Simple Things’ which focused on Public Health Directors increasing handwashing and sanitisation. 

Chris is an award-winning PR operator who has over 25 years of experience working in the media, which he developed in London and the North West.  

Chris moved into public relations in 2005, having spent the earlier part of his career as a features writer in print journalism. He represents major brands in the built environment, professional services and biotech and leads PR for the agency. 

Jane is an award-winning journalist with more than 15 years of experience in the PR industry.   

Hugely creative, Jane is the person to turn to if you’re looking for big ideas which are guaranteed to get your brand noticed. She is held in the highest regard by all her clients and journalistic peers, who describe her as “just having that special something to make things happen!”  

Away from the office, you can be guaranteed to spot Jane either paddle-boarding around our coastlines or throwing ridiculously heavy weights around in a gym! 

Duncan is an experienced consumer research expert, specialising in FMCG (Fast-moving consumer goods) with a particular emphasis on groceries (including; food, drink and household items).  

For over 25 years, Duncan has worked with some of the UK’s largest agencies. Including TNS Sofres where he started his career as a graduate, rising to Associate Director and then to SGA International (Simon Godfrey Associates). More recently Duncan has worked with Adelphi International Research and Mott MacDonald’s as a project director. 

In his spare time, Duncan enjoys cooking for those lucky enough to make one of his famous dinner parties! 

Laura has extensive PR experience after over 10 years of working for agencies in both Liverpool and London. 

She has worked with a wide range of clients for world-class events and award-winning campaigns for high-profile consumer brands. Such as The London 2012 Olympics and the 2014 Ryder Cup and household names Marks & Spencer and Heinz. As well as leading businesses such as First Utility, Bruntwood and the national law firm, Shoosmiths.  

Across B2B and B2C sectors, Laura is expertly placed to deliver strategically-led campaigns – with an impressive phonebook filled with regional, national and international journalists to assist.  

Chris has worked in digital marketing and communications and online technology for over 20 years.  

He has delivered creative and innovative campaigns for many clients across a wide variety of sectors and platforms, from Premier League football teams to global law firms.

Chris is always looking to understand and embrace new technology to help businesses and organisations deliver genuine ROI on their digital campaigns. 

Pete has been providing communications consultancy to brands in the built environment, professional services, transport and public sectors for over 18 years.  

His experience spans devising a range of UK PR strategies for multiple types of campaigns. From foreign-owned corporates and thought-leadership campaigns to handling internal and external communications to support M&A activity.  

Plus, he’s a dab hand at helping businesses protect their reputations through a wide range of tricky situations.  

Kelly has over eight years of experience in creating content strategies and copy for a range of industries.  

Her clients include household names in home DIY and popular fashion brands alongside food & bev giants. Right through to large players in the fin-tech and construction spaces, she understands how to get your messages in front of the right audience.  

In her free time, you’ll find her cooking up a storm in the kitchen, drinking rosé regardless of the season and listening to Elvis. 

Connor is a graphic designer with a passion for typography and traditional print work.  

He has a knack for pushing creative boundaries and finding new ways to bring ideas to life. His experience at Influential has allowed him to develop and visualise concepts and branding, and social media collateral for a diverse range of clients. Who include NHS England, Invest Liverpool City Region, and CHAMPS.  

Connor has a strong ability to adapt his skills to different clients and industries, while still maintaining his unique creative approach.

A former journalist, Steph has worked in PR and comms for around 10 years, managing both consumer and B2B campaigns. 

Her experience includes working across a range of sectors, such as retail and leisure; health; hospitality; property; and the legal sector. Where she creates and implements strategies to achieve the best possible results for her clients.  

At Influential, Steph works predominantly with consumer and public sector clients. She most recently led PR activity for the public health campaign Simple Things, a behaviour change initiative to help reduce the spread of illnesses. 

Tom has worked in public relations since 2010, delivering PR campaigns for a broad range of clients across the public and private sectors.  

His clients have included the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Swinton Insurance, the Construction Industry Trading Board, architects BDP and the Pew Research Centre. 

Sarah has over ten years of experience in PR, marketing and social media management.  

She’s worked with a spectrum of B2B and B2C brands across various sectors, including retail, professional services, fashion, hospitality and cybersecurity. All of which involved planning, developing and implementing bespoke PR strategies.  

At Influential, she works predominantly on B2B accounts, including Morgan Sindall and Grant Thornton. 

When she’s not busy with work, she’s usually planning her next holiday in the sun or weekend away!  

Chris is the former Business Editor of the Manchester Evening News and Managing Editor of TheBusinessDesk.com.

Following his 20 years in regional business journalism he has been with Influential for more than seven years. Bringing his skills and invaluable media knowledge and contacts to bear on behalf of clients in the private equity, corporate finance, real estate and regeneration sectors in particular.  

He has significant specialist experience in helping entrepreneurs and fast-growing businesses raise their profile as they look to attract investment or new ownership. He also assists clients with brand and reputation management as part of the agency’s crisis PR service.

George is responsible for the creation and execution of both Quant and Qual research-based projects.

He began his career at InSites Consulting working as a Research Consultant, where he has worked with clients across the travel, hospitality and FMCG sectors.

George has a passion for digital marketing, understanding consumer behaviour and is always curious about how insights gained can be integrated and used in wider marketing strategy.

Ed joined Influential in 2021, after gaining experience in delivering national PR campaigns across a broad range of B2B and consumer clients.

Ed brings his positive outlook, passionate approach and excellent project management skills to clients across real estate, private equity, corporate finance, construction, regeneration and manufacturing sectors.

His clients include Morgan Sindall Construction, Grant Thornton, NOMA, Palatine and The Vita Group.

With a background in brand identity and motion design, Aleksandar is a graphic designer with diverse range of experience in both traditional and digital media.

This enables him to create work which captures the essence of a brand and connects with audiences.

His motion design skills allow him to create dynamic and engaging animations that bring brand stories to life. His work has been recognised with a Pencil award from D&AD.

Farhana provides media relations, content creation and project management support across a mixture of Influential’s B2C and B2B client campaigns.

She began her career as part of the communications team at Tate Liverpool, where she developed a keen interest in arts, culture and heritage marketing.

Farhana’s responsibilities include creating opportunities for securing high-quality coverage, building strong media relationships, and ensuring that clients are kept up to date on all activity.

Mark is an experienced finance professional with 20 years of experience in Finance and Management Accounting.

Having joined Influential in 2011 he has played an important role in our growth and achieved a vision of helping to double the size of the company over this period.

In his position, Mark is responsible for all aspects of the accounting function, financial planning and business decision support, full monthly and year-end accounts production, audit and compliance. Mark is an established member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, holding a CIMA Dip MA.

Lewis works across both B2B and B2C accounts at Influential with a particular focus on property, construction and visitor attractions.

He joined the agency after catching the communications bug through the Government’s Kickstart scheme, which saw him rapidly gain experience across media relations and client services.

His responsibilities include producing content, liaising with the media and reporting on the success of the agency’s communications campaigns.