LONDON — MHP chief financial officer Jared Robinson has moved to Ketchum in the same role. He previously spent more than a decade at Edelman, serving as the agency’s chief financial officer in the Middle East. MHP has promoted director of finance Raneisha Tarnai to the role of chief financial officer.

LONDON — Cannes Lions has announced the shortlisting jury for the PR Lions awards category this year, with judges including: James Wright, global chair of the Havas PR global network and CEO of Havas Red; Julia Petryk, co-founder of the PR Army in Ukraine, Nitin Mantri (pictured), APAC executive MD at WE Communications and group CEO of Avian WE; Polka Yu, deputy APAC president at BCW, Shafaq Tariq, director of PR, social media and influencer marketing at MKV Digital in the UAE; Terry Chiang, MD of Golin Taiwan; and Tokunboh George-Taylor, founder and CEO of Skot Communications in Nigeria. The awarding jury list is here.

LONDON — Insurance company Direct Line Group has hired Roger Lowry as director of corporate affairs to strengthen the group’s external and internal communications. Lowry was most recently director of communications and marketing at QBE Insurance and has also held senior positions at Royal Bank of Scotland and Ofcom.

FLORENCE, ITALY — Gucci has appointed a marketing and communications leader as its new deputy CEO. Stefano Cantino, formerly SVP communication and events at Louis Vuitton, also spent more than 20 years at Prada, as group marketing, communication and business development director.

LONDON — PR, digital, and creative agency The PHA Group has appointed Helen Salvin to the newly-created position of head of sustainability. Salvin joined the agency five years ago and in her most recent role as associate director in the corporate division, she worked with corporates, SMEs, decarbonisation leaders and challenger brands across sectors including professional services, renewable energy, FMCG, clean transport and agriculture.

CORK, IRELAND — Irish communications agency Springboard Communications has made two appointments to its new advisory board. Pat Lucey, co-founder and former CEO of international technology, project management and business consultancy Aspira, and Rory Dennis, co-founder and former North America general manager of digital experience management company Amplience will provide strategic advice on the future growth of the agency.

LONDON — Clothing and lifestyle retailer Urban Outfitters has hired Bianca Richards, formerly a senior account director at W Communications, as acting PR and communications manager while Lucy Hirsch is on maternity leave.

LONDON — Independent B2B technology agency Babel has made new senior appointments: Katie Owen joins from Nelson Bostock as a director, having led PR and integrated campaigns for clients including Canon, WorldWide Technology, Hubspot, and Sophos. Ash Lockett returns to the agency as head of B2B marketing after running PR, social, and marketing campaigns for brands including OPPO, AMP Bank, Fuji Xerox, Ascender, Dell and more recently as head of global marketing at Lumiant in Australia.

LONDON — Brand and social impact agency We Are Futures has appointed Becky Hipkiss as its new business director. She joins from WE Communications agency Hopscotch Consulting, where she was new business and marketing director.

LONDON — Independent financial, tech and climate transition specialist Cognito has appointed Harry Sheward as director of brand marketing. Sheward has held brand and marketing roles at advertising firms including VCCP, TBWA and Fold7, and has led integrated campaigns for Cathay Pacific, Go Compare and Carlsberg.

LONDON — Strategic communications and stakeholder engagement agency Atalanta has promoted COO Elizabeth Ames to CEO. Ames has been COO since 2020 and has been instrumental in driving the company’s growth to a team of 20, working with Atalanta’s founder and inaugural CEO, Eva Barboni, who becomes executive chair.  The agency’s head of client engagement, Claire Fyfe, has been promoted to COO.

LONDON — Online safety technology company VerifyMy, whose products include VerifyMyAge and VerifyMyContent, has appointed Emma Robert-Tissot as head of marketing. Robert-Tissot will lead the company’s global marketing strategy to drive international growth and advance VerifyMy’s mission of safeguarding children and society online. She previously worked at YouGov, where she was product marketing lead.

LONDON — Engineering and science PR agency Stone Junction has hired medical technology journalist Ian Bolland as an account manager. Bolland was previously editor of Med-Tech Innovation News for five years.