LONDON — James Hewes, who became CEO of the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) one year ago, has left the organisation. Board member Sarah Waddington CBE, who has taken on the PRCA leadership role since 1 November, has been appointed as CEO in an interim position until June 2025.

In a LinkedIn post, Hewes announced today he was founding his own consulting business, Soho Consulting International, for clients in the media and entertainment business, returning to his media industry roots; he joined the PRCA from global media network FIPP.

Hewes’ appointment was intended to mark the end of long period of instability at the PRCA, including the death of former director general Francis Ingham in March 2023, the departure of a number of agencies and members of the senior leadership team, and a lengthy governance review that resulted in a slimmed-down board, among other measures.

Waddington, who has been a member of the PRCA board since September 2023, is a professional advisor and non-executive director at Wadds Inc and a former president of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).

She is also co-founder and director of Socially Mobile, a not-for-profit organisation that delivers fully-funded PR training for people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, as well as under-represented and under-served groups including Black and minority ethnic practitioners, the LGBTQ+ community, women returners and those with disabilities.

Waddington told PRovoke Media: "Since 1969 the PRCA has been raising standards in PR, communications and public affairs. While the current economic and political volatility has created challenges for our industry, it has also created significant opportunity. Working with the fantastic PRCA team, I’m looking forward to advocating for our members so that the value of our services is recognised and demand increases.

“The PRCA is the natural home of market trends and insight so we will be developing our data and intelligence sharing. We will also be continuing our important work on equity, diversity and inclusion and through comprehensive professional development, including networking and accreditation, we will equip members to innovate and thrive in today's dynamic marketplace. I’m looking forward to getting out there and championing member needs, not to mention being an advocate of our services to policy makers and the wider business community.”

PRCA chair Ray Eglington added: “Sarah has played an important role over the last two months, stepping in to support the senior management team at the PRCA. She is the unanimous choice of the board to take on leadership of the PRCA over the next six months, ensuring the board-agreed strategy is implemented quickly and efficiently.

“In this role she will focus on building our core proposition, ensuring everything we do is focused on demonstrating and delivering value to members.”