Our consultants have worked in politics, business, charities and the public sector. They have a mixture of media and political experience. Some have backgrounds in consultancy; others have joined from in house communications roles or from different walks of life. Each of our clients has a dedicated account team with an appropriate balance of skills and experience.
Simon is co-founder of Linstock Communications and leads its financial and professional services practice. He also works on a number of Linstock’s education clients. Simon advises investment service Interactive Investor, the Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA), and Durham University. He has also completed projects for the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) and Reed Elsevier.
Prior to Linstock, Simon was a director at Gavin Anderson & Company where he led the UK corporate communications practice. He helped devise and implement campaigns for The Hartford Financial Services Group, Morley Fund Management and American Express.
Previously, Simon worked at an issues management consultancy where he ran programmes that demonstrated the benefits of public/private collaboration. He helped the NHS and Telewest launch the UK’s first interactive health service accessible via television. He also completed a risk communications project for the Food Standards Agency in partnership with Business Schools at Leeds and Manchester University.
Simon is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (MCIPR) and holds a BA in Politics from the University of Nottingham.
Jon is a founding director of Linstock Communications and has more than twelve years experience in corporate communications and public affairs. His sectors of expertise include economic development, regeneration and financial services. He directs public relations, public affairs and full service marketing campaigns.
Jon was previously director of communications for England’s Regional Development Agencies (RDAs). He helped the nine RDAs handle communication issues surrounding job creation, enterprise, skills and workforce development, physical regeneration, sustainability and tourism. He has a strong track record in helping trade bodies and partnerships agree and work towards common communications goals and has devised campaigns that work at local, regional and national levels.
Jon steers Linstock’s work for clients including the East of England Development Agency, Regional Cities East and the Greater Norwich Development Partnership. Other major organisations he has represented include Norwich Union, John Lewis, Rathbones Unit Trust Management and the Urban Task Force.
An Associate Member of the Institution of Economic Development, Jon holds the CAM Higher Diploma and a Geography degree from Cambridge University, where he specialised in urban development and economics.
Keith is a corporate and financial communications consultant with over a decade of experience advising companies across a broad range of communication requirements. He is a financial services specialist and currently gives counsel to clients including Interactive Investor and the Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA). Keith is a Director at Linstock Communications.
Keith has a PR agency background and prior to joining Linstock worked for Powerscourt and Gavin Anderson & Company respectively. Here he advised clients such as the Bank of Ireland, The Hartford, National Australia Bank, and eSpeed / BGC. He has developed a specialism in helping foreign financial services companies build a strong media presence in the UK market through profile raising and thought leadership programmes.
Keith also has extensive experience advising clients on investor relations issues and communicating with financial audiences. He has advised private and listed UK companies on IPOs, acquisitions and restructurings.
Tony has more than six years experience in media relations and public affairs. At Linstock, Tony is responsible for managing many of its financial services clients. Linstock’s financial clients include the Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA), the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI), Interactive Investor, and Moneywise.
Tony has helped position fund supermarket Interactive Investor as the champion of retail investors with extensive coverage in the national personal finance media. Tony has assisted AIFA to champion the views of its members through engagement with Government and the regulator. Tony has also helped The Hartford to launch The Facing Retirement Forum, a new initiative to tackle the needs of the older generation. The Forum was launched at King’s College London with ex-Pensions Minister David Willetts MP.
At Linstock Tony also works in the regeneration sector and has gained recognition across Government for Regional Cities East and helped to promote the work of the East of England Development Agency.
Prior to Linstock, Tony has worked as senior researcher to David Ruffley MP, the Shadow Minister for Welfare Reform, Shadow Home Secretary David Davis MP and also the Shadow Transport Minister Greg Knight MP. Tony has a degree in British Politics and Legislative Studies from the University of Hull.
Ashnoor is a consultant at Linstock Communications and has a wealth of experience and understanding of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) and hard to reach communities in the UK. She is currently leading the campaign to encourage those from BME audiences to respond to the 2011 Census, being run by the Office of National Statistics. She also works for Linstock’s other COI clients.
Ashnoor has worked within the ethnic media industry for just over ten years. Her first role was as PR and Events executive for the UK’s largest Asian satellite channel, Zee TV back in 1997.
After completing three years at ZEE, Ashnoor went freelance and worked on the PR and marketing for a number of projects including The International Indian Film Awards (UK Indian Oscars) as well as concerts, book launches and networking events.
In 2002, she joined Media Moguls and became a key member of the team handling all event management, marketing and PR for major clients including the FCO Forced Marriage campaign, Learndirect, Defra, UK Transplant Organ Donation campaign, Lloyds TSB India Banking Service and The Merchants of Bollywood amongst a host of others.
She has a strong understanding and relationship with all key media within the ethnic marketplace and her grasp of audience needs and habits allows her to tailor media campaigns across all generations.
Ashnoor has a BSc in Business Studies with Social Policy.
Mark works with many of our economic development clients, as well as leading on the development of our specialist education service. He manages work for clients including Durham University, The Northern Way, and the Greater Norwich Development Partnership.
Mark has a wide range of media management and political communications experience. As policy and communications officer at the New Local Government Network (NLGN) think tank, Mark helped set the agenda for local government reform, working on projects looking at City Regions policy, the Gershon efficiency agenda, and the development of a 'community leadership' role for local authorities. Following his time at NLGN Mark ran communications for the think tank Demos, gaining national and international media coverage for reports on community cohesion, security policy, skills and training, and public service reform. Mark has also helped develop a communications strategy for the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.
Earlier in his career, Mark worked in the Parliamentary office of Rt. Hon. Yvette Cooper MP, and as principal researcher for the biography 'Tony Blair: In his own words'.
Mark has a BA (Hons) in Politics from Kingston University and an MSc in Social Policy from the London School of Economics.
Lucia keeps our office running smoothly, by liaising with clients and partners, managing diaries and organising events. Lucia also works for a number of Linstock’s clients that are targeting diverse ethnic groups. Before coming to work at Linstock, she worked in the property sector in both the UK and Slovakia. Lucia has a Masters Degree in Economics from the University of Bratislava.
John has extensive experience of policy making, political processes and media relations. At Linstock, he works on campaigns for the Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA), Durham University, and Treloar School and College.
Prior to Linstock, John worked in the Liberal Democrat’s Policy and Research Unit (PRU) as a political adviser. He worked across a number of portfolio areas, placing headline stories in the national media. His stories covered issues such as hospital acquired infections, for The Sunday Times, and the carbon footprint of Government, for The Independent. John has contributed articles on education and environment policy issues to trade, regional and national press. During his time in the PRU, John worked on the Liberal Democrats successful anti-homophobic bullying campaign. He also drafted a policy motion on the natural environment which has become a cornerstone of Liberal Democrat policy.
John has a BA in Politics from Exeter University.
As well as providing media relations and public affairs advice, Jay is an expert in social media, online marketing and website design. He is currently devising a strategy to promote the Census online to hard to reach minority groups. He also developed and runs his own personal website.
Jay was previously an intern at Lansons Communications, preparing weekly briefing notes on financial services updates for clients, as well as political bulletins. Prior to this Jay worked as a parliamentary researcher for Andy Slaughter MP, drafting speeches, parliamentary questions and helping to raise constituency issues in parliament.
Jay has a BSc Econ in International Politics and Intelligence Studies from Aberystwyth University.
Tariq Khwaja is an associate consultant with Linstock, with 18 years’ experience of advising public and private sector clients.
Today, Tariq works for economic development agencies, local authorities and government departments as well as commercial companies. His expertise lies in communications strategy, media relations, crisis communications and consultation exercises. He is also one of the few consultants in the country with expertise in Gypsy and Traveller issues.
Tariq turns complex briefs into astute, no-nonsense strategies – and complex information into simple messages.
Tariq is a Member of the CIPR with an MA from Oxford. He was previously MD of top 15 UK consultancy August One Communications and has headed communications for Microsoft.
Professor John Maule is a Linstock Associate. John is Professor for Human Decision Making at Leeds University Business School where he runs the Centre for Decision Research.
John has an international reputation for research in behavioural economics, risk communications, and the effects of emotion on decision making. John divides his time between teaching MBA students and providing consultancy and research services to public and private organisations.
John has worked with the likes of Defra, FSA, DWP, Unilever and Yorkshire Bank looking at their organisational decision making processes and ways of improving them. He advises on communications campaigns, runs training courses and provides coaching to senior executives. John is also a regular media commentator in the regional and national media.
John is an Associate fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Chartered Psychologist. He was previously President of the European Association of Decision Making (EADM).
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