Maja Pawinska Sims 21 Apr 2021 // 8:32AM GMT
LONDON — BB Partners, the new communications advisory firm set up by former Portland and Freuds execs Hannah Barlow and Gosia Brzezinska last November, has hired CNN news anchor Hannah Vaughan Jones as a senior partner.
Emmy-nominated Vaughan Jones has anchored live news shows for CNN International for the past five years, reporting on global and UK political events, breaking news and interviewing world leaders. Before that, she was at Sky News for nearly nine years, latterly as world news anchor.
Vaughan Jones has a particular interest in international development and global health, and is a vocal advocate of access to fertility treatment and global sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
She told PRovoke Media: “It’s really exciting for me to turn a passion into practice – news journalism is so reactive and BB are working with people who are shaping the world and the future. Broadcasting is my life and as a freelancer I haven’t closed the door on that, but this is a natural progression to working on campaigns, issues and stories I care about.”
And Vaughan Jones added: “I’m so drawn to working with Gosia and Hannah because I love the women-led side of this, it’s a very inclusive environment and they are wonderfully ambitious with zero shame.”
BB Partners now has a team of nine. Co-founder Barlow said: “We’re only going to transform the communications industry if we surround ourselves with A players. I’m pleased to say we’ve done just that with Hannah. Hannah brings a thunderclap of experience and clout when it comes to advising clients on how to communicate through the media.”
At the same time, BB Partners has made another senior hire: Laure Aboulin joins as a consultant from APCO Worldwide, where she worked on sustainability and healthcare clients. Before that, Aboulin worked in the government affairs, public policy and patient advocacy team at GlaxoSmithKline.
The core team is supported by a senior advisory council including: Heidi Allen, director of advocacy at the RSPCA; Moky Makura, CEO of Africa No Filter; Janet Mbugua, journalist and founder of the Inua Dada Foundation; and David Goldberg, CEO of Founders Pledge.
BB Partners has also launched an internship scheme paid according to the London Living Wage. Co-founder Brzezinska said: “Creating jobs and meaningful work for our consultants is just as important to us as delivering for our clients. We are thrilled to have doubled in size within the first six months of our launch. We are building a team of changemakers with the experience and talent to propel our clients’ causes forward.”