LONDON—Guto Harri, a former BBC political correspondent who served as director of external affairs for London Mayor Boris Johnson for the past four years, has been named head of communications for News International. The decision comes as the media company seeks to restore its reputation and its political relationships in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.

LONDON—Brands2Life has appointed Guy Corbet as a board director with responsibility for helping develop the company’s corporate and brand reputation capabilities. He joins from Fishburn Hedges, where he has worked for the last 18 years. He has worked on brands such as AA Financial Services, eBay, BT Global Services, Legal & General Insurance and Peroni Nastro Azzurro. He was one of the founders and managing director of FH’s consumer agency, Seventy Seven PR.

LIVERPOOL—Liverpool Football Clun has named Jen Chang as director of corporate relations and communications. Chang joins from SI.com in New York, where he was senior editor for soccer-related content. He formerly covered soccer for ESPN and also worked in investment banking and private equity.

LONDON—Wildfire, a leading social media marketing software company, has appointed Brands2Life to develop its brand positioning, manage its public relations and accelerate its media presence in the UK.
Brands2Life will build an integrated public relations program to position Wildfire as the authority in social media marketing software. Targeting print, broadcast, online and social media, Brands2Life will execute a media relations program, supplemented with standalone campaigns.

MILAN—SERMO, the global network of luxury and lifestyle PR firms founded by Talk PR, has added Negri Firman PR & Communication of Italy, taking the number of member agencies to 12. The firm was set up three years ago by Silvia Negri Firman, formerly VP of international public relations at Calvin Klein and CEO of Karla Otto. It serves clients including GAP, Banana Republic, ASOS, Karl Lagerfeld, Alcantara, Discipline and the Marchon portfolio including Jil Sander, Emilio Pucci & Calvin Klein Eyewear.

LONDON—Birmingham Museums has appointed Four Communications to promote the opening of its new Thinktank Science Garden, the first capital development project to launch under the organization.
The Science Garden forms part of the larger Eastside City Park, the first major new city center park in Birmingham for more than 100 years. The communications campaign will be run by Four Sports Arts & Sponsorship, which provides cultural communications and consultancy services.

COPENGAGEN—Mads Christian Esbensen is leaving his position as managing director at JKL in Copenhagen to take on a new role as an advisor within the firm, focused on public affairs and solidifying the link between Copenhagen and the firm’s Brussels office. Peter Steere is acting managing director during the search for a successor.

LONDON—Information solutions company Kroll Ontrack has appointed Citigate Dewe Rogerson to deliver PR services in the UK to support both its legal technologies and data recovery businesses. A team of seven consultants at Citigate, led by directors Judith Massey, Phil Szomszor and Heledd Phelps-Brown, will help Kroll Ontrack build its UK profile in the legal, business and technology press.

LONDON—Teamspirit Public Relations has been appointed by independent currency exchange provider Currencies.co.uk on a retained contract to manage its press office. Teamspirit will manage media and stakeholder relations for Currencies.co.uk with a view to educating consumers and business users on the benefits of looking beyond their bank when it comes to securing the best rates of currency exchange.

OXFORDSHIRE--Organic baby and toddler food company Organix has selected Bottle to handle the brand’s UK public relations activities. Bottle will promote the full Organix range in consumer media, including Goodies snacks and the new Mighty Meals range, together with providing brand launch support.

LONDON—College Hill’s consumer team has been appointed by Snoozebox, a new concept in temporary and flexible hotel accommodation, to advise on its initial public offering on AIM.