Stephen Atkinson, a partner at Hawthorn, leads the financial services practice, specialising in advising clients on financial and corporate communications.
He focuses on guiding individuals, in house teams, Boards/CEOs and leaders on reputation, deal flow, fund raisings, narrative building, corporate relations, stakeholder management and crisis management activities. He works with a broad range of clients including retail banks, fintech companies, private equity, private debt, asset management and corporate advisory companies. As is the norm at Hawthorn, Stephen also consciously works with a variety on non-financial companies and not-for-profit organisations to ensure our clients benefit from the broadest possible range of experience.
Prior to joining Hawthorn, Stephen worked at Standard Chartered Bank where he held a variety of leadership and communications roles including Group Head, Investor Relations and Communications and then served as the Group’s Corporate Affairs Director for five years with responsibilities for all communications activities of the Bank including media, investor relations, internal communications, public affairs, sustainability, reputational risk management and brand management. Stephen also served as the Regional Head of Private Banking for the AMEA region and as the Group’s Chief of Staff.
James Davey is a Director at Hawthorn, focused on strategic communications for companies in the financial services sector. He advises alternative investment firms and high-growth businesses on fundraisings, M&A transactions, debt financings and a range of other issues.
With extensive experience working across private equity, growth & venture capital, private debt, high-yield credit, real estate and real estate debt, James combines an in-depth understanding of the market dynamics and communications landscape specific to each asset class with a wider perspective on the common threads affecting investors, managers and companies across the ecosystem.
James joined Hawthorn in 2015, having studied History at the University of Cambridge and spent a summer at the Humboldt University of Berlin. Since then he has worked with global, pan-European and UK-focused alternative investment managers, with fast-growing companies in the fintech and wider TMT sectors and with service providers such as corporate finance advisors, boutique investment banks and financial technology consultants. He also has experience of political advisory mandates with clients across sectors including healthcare, construction and geopolitics.
Outside of work, he enjoys playing football, watching most sports, reading history, film and chess.
Henry is a corporate and financial communications specialist with over 10 years’ experience advising listed and private businesses, from start-ups to FTSE 100. His areas of expertise include natural resources, business services, and emerging markets.
He has advised clients on a range of communications challenges, including IPOs, crisis situations, and cross-border M&A, including handling several politically sensitive transactions.
Henry joined Hawthorn having served in the global communications consultancy Bell Pottinger and began his career at Pelham Public Relations.
