Lisa Tremble

Chief People, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Officer
British Airways
UK

After two and a half years at British Airways as director of corporate affairs and sustainability, Lisa Tremble’s role was elevated and expanded at the end of last year to include people, giving her one of the few comms leadership roles that also encompasses talent and culture.

An exceptional communications and policy leader with a track record of success at the highest levels of UK business and government, Tremble joined British Airways in 2021 after more than three years in the same role for insurer Direct Line Group.

Tremble sits on the airline’s management committee, reporting directly to chairman and CEO Sean Doyle, and works closely with the government affairs team at BA’s parent company, International Airlines Group (IAG).  Before joining Direct Line, Tremble had been director of external affairs at leading law firm Mishcon de Reya since 2013. In 2010, she ran David Miliband’s leadership election campaign for the Labour Party and before that was a parliamentary special advisor. She has also been a director at public affairs firm Lexington Communications.

Can you share a moment in your career when you saw PR's direct impact on business performance?
As part of announcing our exciting £7 billion investment programme, my team delivered an immersive showcase event in London to outline how we are transforming our business, inviting more than 100 members of the media, UK government, partners and customers to events across two days. The showcase attracted significant favourability across the media, alongside creating a renewed sense of energy and excitement amongst our people. It was a really proud moment and we were delighted to take it to the US in June.

What are the communications industry's biggest challenges and opportunities in the year ahead?
The industry continues to evolve at a rapid pace and it’s important for brands to remain relevant to their audience, continue to be agile, leverage new technologies and adapt to shifting consumer expectations. I see AI as both a challenge and an opportunity. At British Airways, we are embracing it in some areas of our business to improve the customer experience and are exploring it in other areas, and this forms part of our storytelling. AI’s role at BA is to help our people do their jobs better, and not reduce roles, by providing our colleagues with tools and technology which can summarise complex information for them to save time and reduce the need for repetition, freeing them up to deliver the warm, unique and personalised service our customers know and love.

What have you most admired about the communications industry over the past year, and what has disappointed you?
I've loved seeing more innovative campaigns that use emotive, creative storytelling to connect with audiences. One brand that does this well is Nike. Their storytelling is often emotive, featuring athletes’ journeys and stories of success and allows audiences to establish a strong emotional connection with the brand, which resonates with customers and reinforces their brand values. Also, using colleagues at the front and centre of communications campaigns is really impactful. Our colleagues make us who we are and are at the centre of our storytelling at British Airways, which not only makes them feel valued, but it also highlights their brilliant and varied expertise.

What work from your team are you most proud of over the past year?
For me it has to be our BA Showcase. The team worked incredibly hard to deliver three highly successful events to show people, not just tell them, how we are investing £7bn into transforming our airline and improving our customer and colleague experience. Hosted in London, New York and Los Angeles, the team worked with colleagues from across the business to create an interactive event to announce and raise awareness of some of the great initiatives we are delivering. We achieved blanket media coverage and the feedback we received has been fantastic.

How have you switched off from work and maintained wellness over the past year?
Health and wellbeing are incredibly important to me and I enjoy spending time with my family. It’s important for all of us to achieve a work-life balance and take time out of the office and ensure we lead by example.

Which book/movie/TV show/podcast/playlist/other cultural source has helped you get through the past year or provided inspiration?
‘Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals’ by Oliver Burkeman.

If I wasn't working in marketing/communications, I would be...
Working in the people space and I’m delighted that I’ve been given the opportunity to combine everything together at BA.