Our team bring their experience, insight and political network to provide senior counsel and expert advice.
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Board DIRECTOR
Board DIRECTOR
Board Director
Board Director
JENNY RIDDELL-CARPENTER
BOARD DIRECTOR
DIRECTOR
SENIOR CONSULTANT
Associate Director
SENIOR ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
Leslie Wertheimer
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
Samir dwesar
SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER
Oliver hazell
SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER
Thomas Woolhouse
SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER
Sabrina Huck
ACCOUNT MANAGER
yerin seo
Senior Account executive
chloe bester
Monitoring assistant
lucinda watt
HEAD OF group marketing
charli edwards
Head of Design & CReative
marcio juarez
head of technology
Mark darlington
Head of VIDEO
Alex Challoner
Managing Director
A political strategist with more than twenty years’ experience in public affairs and communications advocacy, Alex provides clients with senior counsel to ensure policy supports their corporate aims, be that policy change or raising their profile on key issues.
As a former adviser to the Conservative Party during the 1997 General Election Campaign, Conservative Campaign Director of the London Mayoral Campaign in 2000 and current Board Member of the Tory Reform Group, Alex has a comprehensive knowledge of the key figures and the trends and power-bases within the Party.
He has advised clients such the Met Office, John Lewis Partnership, Canal & River Trust, Crest Nicholson, Aster Group and Arvato.
Gareth Morgan
Board Director
Gareth has over a decade’s experience in advising leading brands on relations with policy-makers in Westminster and Whitehall. Prior to working in public affairs he was a think tank researcher and as such he is the agency lead on developing thought leadership content for clients to underpin profile raising and network building.
As a Labour activist he has advised on Labour London Mayoral selection, Parliamentary and London Assembly campaigns and stood as a local election candidate.
He has broad sectoral experience having advised a range of brands including Starbucks, Google, Infosys, East Midlands Airport, the Business Travel Association, London School of Economics and Keolis UK.
James Bird
Board Director
James has over a decade’s experience in delivering award-winning public affairs and advocacy campaigns for clients across multiple sectors.
A former councillor and two-time parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party, James has been involved in the last five general election campaigns. From thought leadership and profile raising to stakeholder engagement, media training and crisis communications, he is well versed across the communications spectrum.
This is supported by an enviable network of media contacts, secured through reporting as a freelance broadcast journalist for the BBC. He has advised clients such as Stonewater Housing Association, Midlands Connect, GEMS Education, Northamptonshire Local Enterprise Partnership, West Midlands Combined Authority, Bovis Homes.
Stephen Pomeroy
Board Director
Stephen is the founder and CEO of BECG. As a member of the Cavendish board he provides strategic leadership counsel to the team and clients. As an innovator in communications, Stephen is focused on driving the value of new technology and platforms for government relations.
A high-level strategist with more than 25 years’ communications experience in political, business, stakeholder, digital and media communications, Stephen has advised FTSE companies, CEOs and company boards and delivered award-winning campaigns that have supported clients to achieve their commercial objectives.
A devoted supporter of corporate social responsibility, Stephen has advised organisations on cause-related marketing and advocacy. He was previously a trustee of the UK and International charities Fixers and the Global White Lion Trust, and currently provides strategic support for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Endangered Species. Stephen is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of the Institute of Directors.
Carl Daruvalla
Board Director of Finance and operations
As Director of Finance and Operations, Carl sits on the Cavendish Board and is a CIMA and MBA qualified finance professional. He has numerous years’ experience of successfully driving financial performance, streamlining and implementing continuous improvement within finance functions across both SME and global corporate environments.
Prior to his career in finance, Carl spent several years in the agency sector where he progressed to Strategy Director and was responsible for delivering strategic marketing consultancy to a portfolio of international brands.
Jenny Riddell-Carpenter
Board Director - Head of Corporate Communications
Jenny has more than a decade’s experience in corporate relations, both in-house and in an agency setting. She previously led public affairs programmes for the housing association L&Q, helping to position the London based organisation with No.10 and the Treasury.
She has led campaigns for high profile brands, including Sainsburys, the Co-operative Group, Luton Airport and Biggin Hill Airport, as well as a range of third sector clients. In 2019, her work with client Communities that Work saw recognition with three national awards, highlighting the role housing associations play in helping deliver employment support.
Samantha Clough
Director
With more than 15 years’ agency experience across a diverse group of clients and sectors, Sam delivers digital, social and campaign strategies fit for today’s challenging communications landscape.
Sam has a strong understanding of the principles of business growth and expertise in creating professional corporate content, focused on delivering impactful, integrated solutions. She has gained a wealth of experience working across many clients and sectors, including Associated British Ports (ABP), GenesisCare, Novartis, J&J and Ordnance Survey.
Amy MCNEIL
Head of HR and Operations
As Head of HR & Operations, Amy is responsible for the daily operation of the Company, and for designing and driving the transformative people agenda across the group.
With combined operational, commercial and HR experience across the finance, broadcast, technology and not for profit industries, she brings a commercial and people focused approach to enabling organisational growth and development.
Matthew Crisp
Associate Director - REGIONs
Matthew is a communications and engagement specialist with in-house and agency experience across the public, private and third sector. He has devised and managed the delivery of strategies and campaigns for a number of public bodies, effectively engaging with a wide range of audiences to achieve results across the UK.
His agency experience includes leading the delivery of public affairs and corporate communications support for West Midlands Combined Authority, South Tyneside Council Highways England and Midlands connect.
Prior to his current role, Matthew was Communications Manager at Transport for the North with experience spanning the organisation’s communications and stakeholder engagement activity from inception through to its establishment as England’s first statutory Sub-national Transport Body.
David Button
Senior Account Director
David has considerable experience of designing and delivering public affairs and engagement programmes across the housing, transport, healthcare, local government and infrastructure sectors.
David has an excellent track record of helping clients to build their influence with the Government and Parliament, being an expert in the parliamentary and legislative process.
His work has helped clients to achieve changes to legislation including securing government funding for infrastructure projects, exemptions to UK and European legislation and regulations, and reversing harmful policy decisions that would have a detrimental effect on their commercial interests.
David Fanthorpe
Senior Consultant
David has had a distinguished career in public affairs, having worked at director level in leading public affairs and PR consultancies. He has been an Associate with Cavendish since 2006 and provides senior counsel to clients on the workings of Government.
Leslie Wertheimer
Account Director
Leslie brings nearly a decade of international experience working in corporate communications and public affairs. She has a proven track record of delivering strategies that establish brands and guide public opinion across a wide range of sectors.
Leslie previously led communications for the expansion programme at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago – the world’s busiest airport – as well as the largest technology transition in U.S. lottery industry history. She has also held key communications roles in government and on political campaigns at the state and federal level in the U.S.
Samir DWESar
Senior Account Manager
Samir has extensive experience of business and politics having worked in corporate affairs at KPMG, where he advised on political and public policy developments across a range of issues, including social mobility, apprenticeships and the Industrial Strategy. He also managed the firm’s party conference activity.
He has a broad Westminster network and campaign experience, having worked in Parliament for the former Brexit Secretary and now Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Steve Barclay MP, as well as through his involvement in local politics and the EU referendum campaign.
Oliver Hazell
Senior Account Manager
Oliver has more than three years’ experience in public affairs and complements this industry experience with local, regional and national campaigning for both the Conservative Party and ‘Remain’ during the EU referendum.
He is a former Campaign Manager and local Association Chairman for the Conservative Party in North West London and was the Deputy Field Director for London for Britain Stronger In Europe. Oliver remains involved with the Conservative Party at a local and regional level.
Thomas Woolhouse
Senior Account Manager
Thomas is an experienced public affairs professional and has worked across a broad range of sectors including financial services, pharmacy, aviation and the creative industries.
He is a Conservative activist, campaigned for Leave in the EU referendum and has a background in Parliament working for Conservative MPs.
Sabrina Huck
Account Manager
Sabrina has more than 5 years’ experience advising clients on policy development, legislation and reputation management utilising her knowledge of UK and European politics.
As a leading Left-wing campaigner and commentator she brings invaluable insight into the ethical expectations of brands and experience of the development of politics and campaigning on digital platforms.
yerin seo
SENIOR Account Executive
Yerin brings experience delivering national public affairs, strategic communications and crisis communications in the property, social housing, infrastructure and environment sectors. She plays a key role in shaping campaigns, delivering communications strategies and leading political stakeholder engagement.
Chloe bester
Monitoring Assistant
Chloe is studying Politics and International Relations at the University of Bath and is currently our undergraduate placement student for 2020/21. She previously worked for W Communications, a PR agency, within the Enterprise Team. At university, Chloe was involved with the youth leadership summit One Young World Bath and continues to contribute political comments to the university’s magazine. Chloe supports the Cavendish team with all our monitoring requirements, as well as research and event management.
Lucinda Watt
Head of Group Marketing
As Head of Group Marketing, Lucinda is responsible for the Cavendish Advocacy brand, our strategic partnerships, sponsorships, and marketing activity.
Lucinda previously worked for the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers and the British Council for Offices, and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Charli Edwards
Head of Design & Creative
With over 15 years’ experience in both ‘in house’ and ‘agency’ environments, Charli is a passionate creative leader with a proven track record of delivering successful campaigns from conception to completion while leading, expanding and mentoring teams of creatives. Here at Cavendish as Head of Design, she utilises her previous experience working within various industries (including automotive, financial, television and sport) to shape strategy and deliver exciting, innovative solutions.
She is also a published creative having been both featured in and written for various design magazines including Advanced Photoshop and Photoshop Creative. Charli has spent time working in the US while managing an international network of agencies and creatives for a global Sports corporation.
Marcio Juarez
Head of Technology
Responsible for overseeing all technology and digital developments at Cavendish, Marcio combines a great mix of commercial and technical experience to utilise the most effective technology platforms and solutions for all client projects, to ensure their success. He is focused on providing memorable user experiences, always keeping the end user front of mind through the design and development phases.
Mark Darlington
Head of Video
As Head of Video, Mark leads video services here at Cavendish.
He oversees the video team and is hands on with all aspects of production.
Mark uses his previous worldwide experience, having worked in blue chip companies such as IBM and Kingfisher, to bring a fresh strategic approach for our clients’ needs.
He feels communication is an integral part of any project, and video is at the forefront of the digital revolution.
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