Cai Wilshaw is an Associate Director in public affairs at Hawthorn Advisors. Prior to this role, he was the Account Director for HOUND Global’s PR efforts for the Betfair Exchange’s UK and US Election markets.
He has been involved in Labour Party politics in Westminster and in Wales for over a decade, and regularly appears on the BBC and GB News as a Labour political commentator.
He has spent much of his career with The Economist, where his most recent role was as a Senior Programming Editor, and Head of Event Content for the Innovation Quotient programme. In the role he worked with senior politicians and C-level executives at some of the world’s largest companies and startups, including with Ray Dalio, Lloyd Blankfein, Arianna Huffington, Indra Nooyi and David Rubenstein. Before this, he was a Producer with the Financial Times’ TNW, and the Head of External Affairs at PinkNews.
For the past decade, Charles has helped clients across the sustainability, financial services and energy sectors develop impactful corporate reputation and thought leadership campaigns to effectively reach their most valuable audiences.
He joins Hawthorn Advisors from H/Advisors Maitland, where he co-led the agency’s sustainability and ESG practice. In collaboration with Maitland’s corporate and financial teams he advised asset management firms, investment trusts and energy providers on their communications and stakeholder engagement strategies.
He has an M.A. in International Communications and Development and holds a number of investor and sustainability and ESG reporting qualifications. He previously worked in Edelman’s public affairs team.
Emily is joining Hawthorn Associates as an Associate Director, Sustainability and Purpose. Emily specialises in supporting clients with environmental, social and purpose-led communications strategy, for clients including Zurich Insurance, Nespresso and The Donkey Sanctuary.
Outside of work, Emily can be found watching athletics, playing board games and chasing after her terrier cross Willow.
Fiona McAra is an Associate Director at Hawthorn, specialising in corporate communications, alongside reputational management.
Prior to Hawthorn, Fiona worked at a financial and professional services agency, leading the eToro account, where she was also seconded twice. Having gleaned this in house experience, she brings stakeholder management expertise, alongside a deep understanding of ‘Corpsumer’ financial communications. She was also instrumental in developing and reinvigorating her agency’s client services offering, having gleaned valuable insights from her time working in-house.
Throughout her career she has experience working with clients operating in a range of sectors, such as energy, healthcare, tech, financial and professional services.
She holds a Classics degree from the University of Nottingham.
Fiona is a keen golfer, and when she’s not on the course, she can be found walking her dog, or cheering on Chelsea Women.
Suezelle D’Costa is an Associate Director at Hawthorn, advising founders, business leaders, and boards on how best to use communications to build credibility and protect their reputation. She specialises in providing strategic counsel in times of issues and crises, helping both individuals and businesses navigate challenging situations.
Suezelle currently advises a financial technology and data conglomerate, a media group, and an organization delivering on the vision of making the UK a global leader in financial innovation.
Suezelle is also a former journalist who, alongside her extensive network built through her career in communications, has worked with the media in India, the UK, parts of EMEA, as well as the US and Canada. She brings to the team her knowledge of the Indian market, having worked in Mumbai and Delhi for close to a decade.
Suezelle earned a bachelor’s in mass media, with a major in journalism, from the University of Mumbai, India.
When not at work, she is probably exploring a section of the Capital Ring Walk, a scenic walking route encircling London, cooking a feast for two, binge-watching a TV show set in some part of Europe, or turning the pages of a captivating historical fiction. Suezelle is also a student mentor and school governor at Salvatorian College.
Sarah Clarbour is a communications specialist advising corporates across various sectors on their communications strategies, reputation management, stakeholder engagement, and media profile. Sarah advises Hawthorn’s clients, across a number of specialisms from technology to environmental and social impact, both in the UK and internationally.
Before joining Hawthorn, Sarah spent five years in Edelman’s London Technology team. In this role, she managed a portfolio of global and emerging accounts, working with a wide array of consumer and enterprise technology clients. Her responsibilities included shaping consumer stories, overseeing strategic executive communications, and enhancing investor awareness. Sarah played a key role in developing media strategies and cultivating thought leadership among senior stakeholders. She also designed integrated campaigns aligned with business and communications goals.
Sarah studied Economics and Social Studies at The University of Manchester, with a focus on International Development and Social Anthropology. After graduating, she worked as a Community Liaison Officer for an NGO in Malawi.
Outside of work, Sarah enjoys cooking and travelling. When given the opportunity she is a keen scuba diver.
Johanna is a strategic communications specialist advising individuals and organisations at all stages of their growth, from startups to FTSE100 companies, on their strategic positioning and corporate communications.
She works closely with in house teams, senior leadership and CEOs on their reputation management, stakeholder engagement, crisis communications, narrative development, and thought leadership.
She has advised clients across a broad range of sectors including retail banking, financial services, media and agriculture and has experience of working with major international organisations including in the US, Latin America and Africa.
Johanna is a Mental Health First Aider and a member of the Employee Engagement and D,E&I committee.
Johanna joined Hawthorn from Durham University, where she read English Literature. She previously also worked with German CDU politician Ursula Groden-Kranich during her Bundestag election campaign in 2013 and at her parliamentary office in Berlin in 2014.
In her spare time, Johanna is a keen traveller, festival goer, netballer, cyclist and foodie.
Campbell Findlay is an Associate Director who works on a number of Hawthorn accounts advising on areas of strategic communications, reputation management and digital development.
Prior to joining Hawthorn, Campbell ran the national press office for Directors of Public Health during the pandemic and gained deep insight into the machinations of government over this time.
Throughout his career he has gained significant experience in the third sector and ESG as well as having worked as a freelance web developer and designer.
Campbell is a bagpiper, whisky connoisseur and lover of contemporary dance. He has made cocktails for the royal family and danced for the President of France.
Emily brings deep expertise in designing and executing multi-channel, integrated campaigns that deliver measurable results and enjoys working with teams of strategic, innovative thinkers. Knowing how powerful integrated strategies and techniques can transform a business to reach their communication goals, recently Emily has led on a global AI Accelerator, spearheading its integrated strategy at each phase of the campaign. She has led multi-channel campaigns for high-profile clients encompassing brand development, digital strategy and web projects.
