People
The Houston team is a multi-disciplinary group of experts. Curiosity, intellectual rigour, tactical nous and strategic integrity are all part of the Houston delivery model. As advisors, our role is to build and maintain our knowledge of our clients’ businesses and markets and provide reassurance and challenge orthodoxy, where appropriate.
Alexander Clelland
Director*
Alexander is a financial services and technology expert, with additional experience across a broad range of sectors. He has run multi-disciplinary international teams in-house for global financial services brands and as a consultant has advised a global client base. Earlier in his career he worked as a financial services journalist.
I’m fascinated by the way messaging now plays out across the media like waves crashing against one another, creating peaks and troughs and combinations that need to be observed and carefully navigated.
Ben Robinson
Account Executive
Ben is a sports, technology and leisure specialist. He specialises in research, analysis, media planning and media relations.
The way that people are persuaded by influencers and the double-edged sword of social media intrigue me. Not so long ago, we could assume that most of what we read was the truth. Finding and interpreting information – and separating fact from fiction – is now a much more complex exercise. Playing a part in communicating a brand’s purpose to its audiences is immensely satisfying.
Dawn Victoria Hathaway
Director of People
Dawn is an experienced human resources professional with a strong track record of building happy, motivated high-performance teams. She leads our training, appraisal, culture, reward and recruitment programmes.
A positive and collaborative company culture is such an important contributor to organisational success. Everybody at Houston works as a team. Enabling Houston to be a place where people feel fulfilled, challenged, inspired, appreciated and rewarded is something I feel very passionate about.
Demi Lewis
Office Manager & Executive Assistant
Demi is responsible for the efficient running of the Houston operation and infrastructure, managing our important partnerships with key suppliers. She is the Houston team’s go-to person to make things happen.
I love the pace and variety of life at Houston. It’s a fantastic place to work. Working with a committed team and making sure that everything runs smoothly is a really rewarding experience. I’m really interested in news and popular culture and it’s inspiring to see Houston experts contributing to a better understanding of our clients’ businesses.
Fiona Call
Account Executive
Fiona is a B2B and consumer technology and leisure specialist. She is a media relations expert, with a deep and broad array of relationships with national and sector-specific journalists and bloggers. She is also an active blogger and micro-influencer.
I love the buzz of responsibility that comes with securing meaningful coverage for our clients. Houston plays a key part in defining and changing the conversation around how a client’s brand or their sector is perceived. That can work through a macro intervention or through the smallest nuance in a phrase or a concept.
Hamish Thompson
Director and Head of Creative Services*
Hamish founded Houston in 2007 and is responsible for creative direction across Houston’s client portfolio. He has advised 100+ businesses on corporate and consumer brand positioning, has won multiple industry awards for creativity, is a frequent industry commentator and member of the PR Week Power Book.
I love my job. Shaping reputation is endlessly fascinating. I can’t think of a discipline that combines adventure and meticulous process in the way that PR does. It can defy the laws of physics in a sentence or a tweet.
Kate Hoare
Managing Director*
Kate is a capital markets and corporate PR expert and leads the Houston business. She has more than 10 years’ experience advising listed and private businesses on communications strategy. She heads up our rapidly-expanding capital markets practice.
Capital markets communications have evolved rapidly over the last ten years. Businesses have become increasingly transparent in the wake of new regulations and communication is more important, nuanced and wide-ranging than ever before. The corporate narrative is now a vital part of the CEO’s brief.
Laura Stewart
Account Director
Laura is a corporate PR specialist, with substantial experience of running integrated campaigns and handling issues management and crisis communications. She has particular expertise in consumer industries and has worked for many leading household names.
I love working on cause-led campaigns that are about making a positive difference in society. Sustainability is of particular interest and I am excited by the growing focus of businesses on this. I also enjoy helping companies to identify, design and communicate their purpose to their target audiences and to the wider world.
Polly Fairbank
Account Manager
Polly is a leisure, retail and media specialist. She manages key relationships with clients, liaising and coordinating at all levels and making sure that programmes are delivered on time, on plan and on message.
I’m passionate about championing the stories of individuals and the fascinating and varied contributions they make to our clients’ businesses. I have a constant eye on the shifting equation for creating a social media storm. I love feeling part of our clients’ businesses and making a genuine difference to their success.
*Denotes Board Member
Non-executive directors
Alice Kain
Non-executive Director*
Alice has more than 20 years of experience in investor relations and communications. She was Head of IR and Communications for FTSE 250-listed private equity investor, SVG Capital, for more than 17 years. While at SVG Capital she worked on numerous capital market transactions, including equity and debt raises, M&A, strategic reviews and specialist situations.
Zoe Howorth
Chairwoman*
Zoe is a classically trained FMCG marketer, beginning her career at Proctor & Gamble and was most recently Marketing Director at the Coca-Cola Company.
She sits on boards of several entrepreneurial businesses and is a member of WACL, which seeks to inspire and support the next generation of female leaders.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The Board of Houston Public Relations Limited is led by Non Executive Chairwoman Zoe Howorth, formerly Marketing Director at the Coca-Cola Company. Zoe is supported by Non-executive Director Alice Kain. Our Executive Leadership team is represented by three directors, led by Managing Director Kate Hoare.
Our Board and Executive Leadership recognise that Houston is, first and foremost, a people business, and we are committed to developing a strong culture embodying the Houston Values. We strive to create a great working environment and provide our people the respect, freedom and support they need to excel for our clients.
Houston Values run throughout our business and are shared by all of us.
Over twelve years, we’ve worked hard to build enduring relationships with leaders of some truly terrific businesses, supporting their growth, helping them communicate their message and overcome their challenges.
We look to the horizon with excitement, knowing the best years are to come for both our people and our clients.
HOUSTON VALUES
We are committed to long-term and transparent relationships with all our stakeholders, ethical business practices and the health and well-being of our people. These three values and commitments will enable us to drive continued growth and deliver world-class business performance.