LONDON — Strategic and creative advisory firm Blurred has hired ESG and sustainability specialist Mary-Jane Attafuah as a consulting director.

For the past six years Attafuah has been an independent consultant, working with clients including BlackRock and Accenture on ESG issues and advising leadership. She previously worked in-house and in agency roles, including at Burson-Marsteller and Hanover.

In her new role – equivalent to practice director – Attafuah will work across Blurred clients including Turkish multinational Arçelik – which was listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) in 2020 – and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.

Attafuah said: “ESG issues are now high on the boardroom agenda and coupled with wider societal momentum there is real scope for change. Blurred’s unique ESGP positioning taps into this - its depth of strategic and creative expertise is driving real change at the heart of business and it continues to grow as a result. I have admired the work of Blurred from afar and after several years as an independent consultant, I am now thrilled to be joining this award-winning team in advising some of the world’s most influential businesses.”

Nik Govier, Blurred’s CEO and founder added: “People like Mary-Jane don’t come along every day.  Not only has she consulted across the ESG spectrum, but she’s been working directly with the most respected business school in this space. Her passion for sustainable business is profound, and we welcome her as much for her values as we do her skills”.

Attafuah is also an assessor at Cambridge University’s Institute for Sustainable Leadership (CISL). Blurred currently has two team members completing CISL’s Business Sustainability Management course and Anisha Vikram Shah – who joined Blurred from Ketchum as a consulting director in September 2020 – is also a graduate of the course.

Other recent sustainability-focused hires at the agency include Jeremy Cohen, who joined in May as a partner from the National Grid, where he was group head of responsible business. He was also previously MD of MSL’s sister agency, SalterBaxter.