The Haggie Partners team
Haggie Partners comprises individuals with diverse and successful backgrounds ranging from in-house and agency communications to journalism, broking, academia, design, project management, accountancy, and recruitment. We are at once youthful and extensively experienced. We are creative and incisive. With broad experience across multiple sectors, no communications firm is better connected to the financial services sector than Haggie Partners. We also solicit regular, sage advice from our very experienced advisory board.
Ben Abbotts
Account director
Richard Adams
Director
Damian Beeley
Partner
Johanna Bernhard
Account manager
Hannah Clift
PR assistant
Olivia Fatkin-Kane
Account executive
David Haggie
Partner
Elise Harvey
Senior account executive
Cordelia Hawkings
PR assistant
Shipra Khanna
Account manager
Caroline Klein
Director
Michael Mattinson
Partner
Emma McCarthy
PA and group administrator
Rowena Nelson
Operations director
Peter Rigby
Partner
Mazin Shammas
Head of Social Media
Hannah Stewart
Account manager
Olivia Thomson
Senior account executive
Richard Adams
Richard has 14 years’ experience in journalism and public relations in the insurance and reinsurance market. His editorial background as an award-winning journalist and editor helps clients foster a mutually beneficial working relationship with the media as a key tool in managing their reputations. Before joining Haggie Partners Richard worked for Incisive Media and most recently at an insurance PR consultancy.
Ben Abbotts
Ben has more than 20 years’ experience in PR consultancy specialising in financial services, corporate communications and public affairs/ issues management. He has previously headed media relations working for general insurer Canada Life. Before joining Haggie Partners he worked for a City based professional & financial services consultancy. He has previously stood for Parliament.
Damian Beeley
Damian has 20 years’ experience in PR consultancy, with a focus on financial services. Before PR, Damian’s career began with a four-year spell as a Lloyd’s insurance broker followed by three years in Asia as a financial journalist. He has extensive experience in financial PR, corporate positioning and issues management, helping small and large companies and their senior management to stay on or off the financial pages. Damian is also a trustee of Walking With The Wounded.
Johanna Bernhard
Johanna joined Haggie Partners following a five year stretch studying and working in the United States. With a degree in Journalism and Spanish, Johanna worked as a journalist in the Pacific Northwest covering an array of social justice and human rights issues, as well as education, health care and agriculture. Following her return to the UK and before joining Haggie Partners, she transitioned into PR and communications working for a creative communications firm in London.
Hannah Clift
Having graduated from Queen Mary University with a BA in English Literature in 2018, Hannah went to teach in Southern China. She developed a keen interest in communications and working with international businesses, particularly creating content and building professional relationships. Hannah joins Haggie with an eagerness to pursue a career in financial and corporate PR.
Olivia Fatkin-Kane
Olivia graduated in 2019 with a BA in English Literature from Queen Mary’s University London, her final research dissertation centred on the impact of the global financial crisis on contemporary British literature. While at university, she interned at Landmark Public Affairs in Brussels, where she first gained experience working within PR. After a month-long internship she joined Haggie Partners as a PR assistant having developed an interest in the financial services PR sector.
David Haggie
A chartered accountant and former plc finance director, David founded Haggie Partners in 1986. During his many years in communications David has been involved with companies in virtually every quoted sector from property, technology and engineering through to financial services. He has been at the forefront of insurance sector communications since the early 1990s when corporate capital came into the Lloyd’s market.
Elise Harvey
Elise joined Haggie Partners as PR Assistant in 2018 after graduating from Canterbury Christ Church University with a First-Class Honours Degree in English Language and Communication. She has completed several internships in PR as well as gaining experience in freelance journalism, social media coordination and events management alongside her studies. Elise loves to write both in and outside of work and enjoys blogging in her free time.
Cordelia Hawkings
Cordelia graduated from the University of Sussex in 2020, with a BA honors degree in History. As part of her course at Sussex, she spent a year in America, studying at the University of Arkansas where her course featured a number of communication modules. Her PR experience has developed through a variety of different internships, including working at a social media analysis company. Cordelia discovered her keen interest in the financial service sector when participating in work experience at Morgan Stanley in 2016.
Shipra Khanna
Shipra joined Haggie Partners in 2019. She brings with her three years of diverse integrated communications experience, having worked at the Omnicom Public Relations Group in Singapore, at leading PR agencies, Fleishman Hillard and Porter Novelli. Within her roles, she created and implemented innovative campaigns for clients across corporate, technology, consumer and government sectors. She graduated from the University of Nottingham with First Class Honours in International Media and Communications with Mandarin Chinese. She is trilingual, fluent in: English, Hindi and Mandarin. These skills and her work experience within financial services at KPMG in the UK and BNP Paribas in India, has inculcated her global mind-set and understanding, paired with a local insight of the different markets.
Caroline Klein
Caroline has worked in communications, public relations and marketing in the financial services sector for nearly 20 years. Before joining Haggie Partners in 2019, she held roles at Canopius, Miller, PPL and Japanese investment bank Daiwa Securities. She has wide ranging experience across external and internal communications, with a particular recent focus on change and M&A, and currently looks after a broad range of clients, including underwriters, brokers and technology providers. Caroline holds an MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Cambridge and lived and worked in Japan for a number of years. She also speaks French and German.
Dr. Adrian Leonard
Adrian’s career straddles PR, journalism, and academia. Most of his 25+ years writing have been focussed on insurance. He has advised companies from Amlin to Zurich Re. He was News Editor of Insurance Day and Press Officer at the International Underwriting Association. Meanwhile he is Associate Director of the Centre for Financial History, University of Cambridge, and is probably the world’s leading historian of marine insurance.
Emily Lisanti
Emily, originally from Boston, attended the University of Maryland, College Park and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in public relations. Before joining the Haggie team, Emily completed an internship at a small pr agency in Washington D.C. and has had numerous other internship experiences that have helped her build up an impressive skill set in the public relations and communications field.
Michael Mattinson
Michael heads the design side of our business and has over 30 years experience of managing design projects for financial institutions, understanding the unique requirements of City establishments, particular insurers and reinsurers. His work includes corporate identity and company launches, financial and corporate marketing literature, annual reports and corporate websites.
Emma McCarthy
As a highly experienced senior personal assistant with several years’ experience already under her belt, Emma’s organisational and communication skills ensures efficient first-line support to the Partners and the team. Prior to Haggie Emma spent seven years at Nordea Bank where she supported the General Manager and the Investment Management team. Previous companies also include Barclays Bank. Emma is a keen runner and has run for many charities.
Rowena Nelson
Rowena is responsible for Haggie’s internal operations including finance, administration and the human resource function. Having joined Haggie in 2005 and with over 20 years experience across various sectors including marketing, IT consultancy, property and retail, she has long since accumulated the necessary skills and expertise to ensure that Haggie’s day-to-day processes run smoothly.
Peter Rigby
As a broker with Aon for 14 years, Peter has first-hand knowledge of the insurance and reinsurance markets in London, New York and Singapore and the issues the sector faces. Since moving into the communications sector in 1999 he has advised companies on all aspects of financial PR and corporate communications with expertise in corporate activity including M&A and stock market flotations.
Mazin Shammas
Mazin has a BSc (Hons) Business Administration degree from the University of the West of England (UWE BRISTOL). Prior to joining Haggie in 2018, Mazin began his professional career in PR and Events within the entertainment industry. During that time, and in conjunction with the rapid rise of social media, a music band he created with his twin brother as a hobby, started to gain a huge following online through social media networks and was subsequently offered a record deal. Whilst a recording artist working between the US, UK and Europe, Mazin developed extensive social media skills and expertise across all platforms, from years of hands-on and practical experience. He is highly skilled, creative and at the forefront of advances in social media innovations.
Hannah Stewart
Hannah joined Haggie Partners as a PR assistant in 2018 after having gained communication and engagement experience in the Heritage sector. She further developed her editorial and research skills during an internship in Publishing. Hannah gained a History degree from the University of Southampton and a Masters Degree in Cultural Heritage Studies from UCL.
Olivia Thomson
Olivia (‘Liv’) joined Haggie Partners in September 2018. She has since worked with a range of clients within the global (re)insurance marketplace, handling writing and editing projects, maintaining relationships with media and managing social media accounts. She specialises in media and public relations and graduated from University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in equine studies. Previously she held multiple marketing and communications roles for technology and publishing companies owned by the publishing company, DC Thomson, and spent some time as a recruiter, working mainly with technology and financial services companies in San Francisco, California.
Gavin Warren
Gavin graduated from Kent Art College in 2002 and specialises in the design and implementation of both digital and graphic products. Whilst at Haggie, he has led the creation of client websites, apps and social media strategies, including content creation and monitoring. His graphic expertise include the creation of development of brands and all corporate literature ranging from annual reports to company brochures and promotional event materials. Gavin is also responsible for all digital design projects.
Becky Young
Becky re-joined Haggie Partners in 2018 as Director where she focuses on client management and business development. She joined from Marsh’s Insurer Consulting Team (ICG) where she managed the Marsh UK relationship with designated strategic insurers. Prior to this she was at Haggie Partners for four years working across a range of clients managing external and internal communications strategies for clients, assisting with investor relations and arranging events. She has also gained experience at Newgate Threadneedle arranging roadshows with private wealth managers for AIM listed clients. Becky has a history degree from the University of York and is on the board of trustees for the London Handel Festival advising on social media.