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Thoburns has always been a relationship-driven agency. We help our clients navigate a variety of communications challenges and  we manage reputations through every communications medium. By combining any of our specialist financial, corporate, sustainability, and crisis communications skills (all underpinned by strong digital expertise), we provide a truly integrated, impactful and commercially astute approach to modern communications.

We are headquartered in London with partners in key centres worldwide and can draw on that international network to work cross border and across continents.

Our team

Asa Bennett

Asa joined Thoburns in April 2023 as Associate Director after serving as a ministerial speechwriter in three government departments: International Trade, the Foreign Office and then Number 10.

He previously worked in journalism for nearly a decade, starting in the trade press, going on to the Huffington Post UK and then the Daily Telegraph, where he worked as an opinion editor.

Asa has been a regular media commentator, writing for Prospect and the Critic magazines. He continues to appear on outlets like BBC News and Times Radio.

Ben Rothschild

Ben Rothschild

Ben joined Thoburns in September 2022, after six years’ experience at a corporate communications agency based in London.

Ben has worked with a variety of international clients covering the insurance, risk management, robotics, property, and luxury goods sectors. He has supported and advised clients across a range of campaigns through media relations, copywriting, internal communications, and content creation, helping them communicate effectively with their target audiences.

Prior to working in corporate communications, Ben graduated from the University of Exeter with a degree in History and Ancient History.

Brian Monteith

Brian is a communications and public affairs specialist with nearly forty years’ experience across commercial, corporate and government accounts.

Working initially in the City of London, Edinburgh, and then internationally, clients have included Budweiser, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Royal Lyceum Theatre and international governments.

Brian is a regular TV and radio contributor to the likes of Newsnight and Sky, and has had a weekly column in The Scotsman since 2009. This follows regular columns in the Edinburgh Evening News (18 years) and City AM. He has also contributed op-eds to the Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph and Mail on Sunday.

He has held elected office twice, serving in both the Scottish and European parliaments.

Elizabeth Baker

Elizabeth is a qualified Management Accountant and has over 20 years’ experience working with a variety of well-known brands. This includes 15 years at Procter & Gamble working with brands such as Pampers, Duracell and Pringles.

Elizabeth also spent six years at Perrigo, a pharmaceuticals company, where she was Finance Manager for Ireland.  She joined Thoburns in June 2019.

Georgi Rochford

Georgi Rochford

Georgi joined Thoburns in September 2022, after graduating from Durham University with a degree in Law.

Prior to Thoburns, Georgi completed the Legal Practice Course, and an internship with a Financial Services consultancy specialising in supporting financial institutions with their Financial Crime Compliance Frameworks.

Johanna Lawson Dick

Johanna Lawson Dick

Johanna joined Thoburns in September 2021 as an Account Executive having graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2020 with a degree in Politics and American Studies. Prior to joining Thoburns, Johanna worked for a PR and integrated communications agency specialising in the Technology and Healthcare sectors. She has also completed internships at a Think Tank and with a strategic communications consultancy firm.

Katie Smitten

Katie joined Thoburns in September 2021, following two years working in international communications at CaixaBank, Spain’s leading retail bank.

Previously, she had spent seven years at Edelman, a leading global communications firm, where over her time at the agency’s Barcelona office she worked for both national and international clients, primarily across the financial, tech and industrial sectors.

With a focus on corporate communications, Katie has experience with a diverse range of publicly-listed clients such as Euronext, Repsol, and HP, for which she was involved in the coordination of multi-market campaigns covering up to 40 countries. Katie has also worked as a communications consultant for Prohibition Partners, a leading market intelligence firm for the global cannabis industry.

Born in London, Katie has always had a keen interest in experiencing new cultures and studied Spanish and French at Durham University, before moving to Barcelona in 2012.

Mark Webster

Mark has over 30 years’ experience in journalism and media training. In that time, he has worked with leading international print and broadcasting organisations, companies, governments and civil society organisations.

Mark’s early career in journalism was with the Financial Times, working predominantly in Africa. He then joined Independent Television News (ITN) – one of the UK’s leading television news providers, where he was variously Political correspondent, Business and Economics Editor, bureau chief in Russia and then Ireland.

Mark has also delivered a wide range of media training programmes in his time working for the Thomson Foundation, with extensive experience in Africa and Eastern Europe.

Max Richardson

Having worked in the communications industry since 2006, Max has extensive experience in managing all aspects of financial and corporate B2B client projects. From developing and delivering traditional and digital marketing and PR communications strategies, profile raising, to managing teams of designers and specialists to execute print, digital, and audio-visual communications campaigns, branding, advertising, content marketing, and corporate reporting projects.

Max speaks a number of languages fluently and has a Masters Degree in Translation from the University of Mainz and an MBA in International Marketing from the European Business School, Reutlingen.

Nick Lambert

Nick is a financial and corporate communications specialist with over 20 years’ advisory experience. He joined Thoburns in October 2017 from Bell Pottinger where he spent 13 years and was a Partner in the Financial & Corporate division.

He started his career at Deloitte in audit, and has gone on to advise companies across all sectors from start-ups to FTSE100s on: IPOs, M&A, crisis, activist investor and Foreign Direct Investment campaigns.

Pepper Sells

Pepper is Operations Director at Thoburns and has worked closely with chairman, Richard Thoburn – since 2011 – on all aspects of growing the agency. In addition to working for Thoburns, Pepper is a trustee for Burnie’s Foundation, an animal charity which owns a sanctuary in Norfolk and rescues dogs from Romania.

Before that, Pepper began her career in the US pharmaceutical industry working – in operations – for Hemispherx Biopharma Inc, a manufactuer of clinical drugs.

Richard Thoburn

Richard founded Thoburns in 1986, originally as a communications agency focused on emerging markets. In 2011, Thoburns acquired Greentarget Strategic Communications, a specialist financial and corporate public relations agency with a particular expertise in banking and market structure. Greentarget was sold in 2019 and the Thoburns offering has since been refocused to provide an even more integrated approach.

He is a founder trustee of Burnie’s Foundation, an animal charity which helps alleviate animal suffering.  Richard completed the Owner/ President Manager (OPM) program at Harvard Business School, where he still maintains strong connections.

Sonja Hildebrandt

Sonja joined as Associate Director after over two years at easyJet where she managed the European Public Relations and Public Affairs team and was responsible for the airline’s sustainability communications, including the launch of easyJet’s net zero roadmap.

Prior roles include working at global communications agency FleishmanHillard for over five years with posts in Berlin, Munich, Brussels, St. Louis and London, helping multinational brands to address business-critical reputational challenges in an ever-evolving political and societal environment. She speaks German, English and French.

Simran Randhawa

Simran Randhawa

Simran joined Thoburns in September 2022 as an Account Executive having completed a Master’s in Social Anthropology from the School of Oriental and African Studies, and her Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology at Durham University.

Prior to joining Thoburns, Simran completed internships in publishing and several law firms.

Tristan Schumann

Tristan Schumann

Tristan joined Thoburns in September 2021, after two years’ experience at a renowned German communications agency focused on the energy sector.

He is a graduate from the London School of Economics with a MSc in Global Politics, and completed his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Comparative Literature at Freie Universität Berlin.

Victoria Geoghegan

Victoria has over 15 years’ experience in corporate and financial communications and joined Thoburns in September 2018.  Previously, Victoria was Managing Director of Bell Pottinger Financial and Corporate, one of London’s leading Financial & Corporate communications firms, working for both Stock Exchange-listed and private clients as well as with high profile individuals and investment promotion agencies.

Victoria has advised clients as diverse as James Dyson, FTSE250 real estate companies Unite Students and Workspace, financial services companies CYBG (now Virgin Money) and Investec, 18 companies on retail bond issuance, Bermuda’s investment promotion authority and M&A such as Net-a-Porter’s merger with Yoox and Liberty Media on its $4.4 billion acquisition of Formula One.

She is also very experienced in both profile raising, thought leadership and crisis communications campaigns.  Victoria read International Business, Finance and Economics at Manchester University and is a trustee of charity focussed on education of children and young people in Nigeria.

Interested in joining our team?

If you have a passion for communications and a creative mind, we’d love to talk to you.

SEND US YOUR CV