Communications consultancy Citypress has further strengthened its political communications offering with the appointment of Tom Anelay as head of public affairs.
Anelay previously held senior roles at international communications agency Grayling, including as head of the UK arm of its Brexit Unit and as a senior adviser in its crisis team. Most recently he was a director at strategic consultancy firm Trafalgar Strategy.
He began his career working in Parliament for Deputy Speaker Dame Eleanor Laing MP where he cut his teeth on several campaigns including persuading MPs to elect Dame Eleanor as Deputy Speaker in both 2013 and 2015. He also worked on two General Elections, the Scottish Independence Referendum and the EU Referendum.
Anelay has advised some of the world’s largest brands on statutory inquiries, ESG, litigation, regulatory affairs and government relations as well as leading several award-winning corporate and brand campaigns.
A PR Week 30 under 30 alumnus, he has particular experience across financial services, property, food and drink and industrials. He has developed and implemented public affairs strategies for clients including Lloyds Banking Group, Habito, Persimmon, The Crown Estate, Arcadis, Hilton, Molson Coors, British Sugar, Bumble, Fujitsu and Honda.
In expanding Citypress’ public affairs services Anelay will be working closely with senior director Rory Fletcher, who is responsible for the agency’s work across corporate specialisms including crisis and issues, public affairs and internal communications and was formerly head of political counsel at Cohn & Wolfe, and group managing director Dominic Pendry, who has more than 20 years of political experience, with previous roles including managing director of the corporate and public affairs team at FleishmanHillard.
Pendry said: “As the General Election approaches it will be more important than ever for organisations to be able to navigate through another significant period of political change. For businesses, this isn’t just about knowing what is happening in the Westminster bubble but also being able to understand the impacts in the nations and regions across the UK. This is an exciting time to expand our public affairs services and we know Tom will be another great addition to our award-winning team.”
Anelay added: “Citypress has a powerful offering as an employee-owned agency with a footprint across the UK that provides a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities for its clients. Regardless of the outcome of the General Election, the need for businesses to build new stakeholder relationships across the UK will be greater than at any point in a generation. I’m excited to help the agency build on its already stellar reputation and grow its public affairs offering.”
Citypress is the UK’s largest employee-owned consultancy and has been named as PRWeek’s best large agency to work for. The agency works with clients including Lloyds Banking Group, Aldi, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Siemens, British Land, Abrdn and British Gas.
