Stephen Doherty | Influence 100

Stephen Doherty 

Chief Brand & Corporate Affairs Officer
Aviva
UK

 

 

Affable, open and incisive, Doherty joined insurance giant Aviva in March 2021, after eight years at Barclays, latterly as MD and group head of corporate relations.

In the newly-created role of chief brand and corporate affairs officer, Doherty joined the group executive committee, reporting to CEO Amanda Blanc, and oversees brand, public policy, corporate responsibility, communications and customer strategy. Recent developments have included the branding of a new £210 million arts and culture venue in Manchester as Aviva Studios.

Doherty’s arrival at Barclays in 2012 followed a string of reputation crises at the bank; after steering the company's corporate comms, he was promoted in 2018 to an expanded role that also included government relations, citizenship, sponsorship and events. Doherty, who was previously the communications chief at Diageo, helped to guide the bank towards a more enlightened view of corporate reputation, advocating for behaviour rather than just words and building a strong communications function.

Before joining Barclays, Doherty worked agency-side at Cohn & Wolfe for four years, as well as at Weber Shandwick and Edelman, after an early career in politics.