Headland appoints five new Partners

Headland has hired investor relations and financial communications expert Matt Denham as a Partner and announced the promotion of four existing Directors to Partner following another strong year of growth for the business.

Matt joins with immediate effect from Teneo where he was a Managing Director advising clients across a range of sectors on their investor relations, financial communications, issues management and ESG strategy. He has significant experience in particular in the aerospace, defence, engineering, infrastructure and construction sectors. During his time at Teneo he advised on Allied Universal’s takeover of G4S and the $18 billion IPO of Volvo Cars.

He joined Teneo in 2017 following more than a decade at specialist investor relations advisory firm, Makinson Cowell, which was subsequently acquired by KPMG. During his time there, Matt was also seconded for six months to serve as interim head of investor relations for British multinational, Signature Aviation.

Alongside Matt’s appointment, Headland has promoted four existing Directors to Partner:

• Jo White, who joined midway through 2021, and is a brand and campaigning specialist. Jo has already had a significant impact creating campaigns for Saga and the Lego Foundation among others.
• Tom Lawless, one of Headland’s longest serving employees who joined in 2014 and leads the agency’s work advising clients on sustainability. He also leads client teams for Terraformation and Natura, and pro-bono work for Made 51, the UN Refugee Agency’s programme that creates routes to market for refugee artisans.
• Del Jones, who leads much of Headland’s work in the financial and professional services industry with a focus on corporate reputation. Another longstanding Headlander, he joined the agency at the start of 2016.
• Dave Chambers, who also joined in 2016 and advises several of Headland’s clean energy clients including Lekela, Iberdrola and ScottishPower, as well as financial services brands including Saga and Clara Pensions.

Chris Salt, Headland CEO said: “Though 2021 was tough for everyone, Headland’s commitment to serving clients’ all-round reputational needs translated into the agency’s strong growth.

“So, it is especially gratifying to be in a position to extend our Partner group by attracting the talents of Matt, and promoting from within the wonderful Jo, Tom, Del and Dave. Their experience, expertise, specialisms and leadership will be a big factor in Headland continuing to make a difference for clients.”

Matt Denham, Partner at Headland, added: “Headland is ideally placed to address the reputation challenges faced by companies today. I am hugely excited to be joining the team and look forward to helping expand its impressive client list and continue its rapid growth.”