LONDON — Headland has appointed two new directors and promoted Tom Bage to partner as the strategic communications firm continues to be one of the fastest-growing agencies in the UK.

The first new hire is brand and campaigning specialist Jo White (pictured ,left), who joins Headland from Freuds, where she worked across the consumer and corporate practices during her five-year tenure including balancing brand and reputation work for vaping brand Juul.

Before Freuds, White led multiple award-winning campaigns for NHS Blood and Transplant as head of consumer life at Red Consultancy. She also worked at Unity in its early days. White has designed and run campaigns for clients including Facebook, EY, Durex and Dettol, as well as charities including Girl Effect, Law Centres Network and Centrepoint.

Also joining Headland is financial PR specialist Will Smith (pictured, right), previously a director at Tulchan Communications where he spent nine years advising listed and private businesses on capital markets, crisis and corporate communications. Smith he has worked for clients including AO World, Balfour Beatty, Ladbrokes-Coral and Odeon.

In addition, director Tom Bage has been promoted to partner. He joined Headland in 2018 to expand the firm’s offer to technology and platform businesses, with a focus on corporate communications and campaigning.

Bage leads Headland’s work for Shopify, JustGiving and Just Eat, as well as key workstreams for TikTok. He was previously head of communications and marketing for coffee recycling company Bio-bean, and before that communications director at Change.org.

Headland CEO Chris Salt said: “Will and Jo reflect what Headland is all about. They’re highly experienced specialists in their fields who will add significantly to the breadth and depth of our offer. But they’re also keen to learn and experience parts of the communications landscape that they haven’t before.

“It’s exactly that mindset that has seen Tom thrive since joining us three years ago. He’s a brilliant adviser to clients, understands the way platform businesses work in particular, and is integral to the fabric of Headland.”