Professional Development Advisory Board
Andrew Harvey
Andrew Harvey is CEO at VMA Group, an international recruitment and executive search specialist, in Communications, Marketing and Digital. VMA Group operates the UK’s largest Interim and Permanent, Internal Comms recruitment team.
Andrew is a Board Director at the Institute of Internal Communication and sits on its Professional Development Advisory Board.
Lara Ibbs
I've been lucky enough to have touched on a variety of industries, from Aviation to Entertainment, and Wellness to Central Government (with what feels like every in between).
Unusually, I pretty much went straight into Internal Comms after I graduated my English Literature with Creative Writing Degree without any stints with our fellow HR or PR friends, however I gravitate towards People-focussed roles. Not unusually, I 'fell into' Internal Comms and I'm hoping to hear of more people choosing this career path instead of finding it in the near future. The IoIC is doing incredible work to make that happen.
I'm on a career break at the moment, however, before that, I was supporting the People function at M&S, as part of the wider Internal Comms team. If I had to choose some career highlights, it would be working on the Sky Glass launch, helping out at the Civil Aviation Authority through their ups-and-downs, and hanging out at No.10 when I was with DExEU.
Liz Cochrane FIIC
Board Director and Chair of the Professional Development Advisory Board at the Institute of Internal Communication.
Liz is the Course Director for the Masters in Internal Communication Management, and also responsible at Board level for IoIC's Professional Development activities. Liz is also a director of Facta Consult, a small employee research consultancy focused on helping organisations understand the perspective of their people. Liz's background includes managing communication in-house, consultancy and training. She is passionate about the difference internal communication can make, and privileged to be playing her part in that through IoIC.
Lucy Aaron
After studying a business and marketing degree at Keele University, I started my comms career at Marston’s PLC, a leading FTSE 250 hospitality business with 13,000 employees, working across internal and external communications.
With five years of experience under my belt and a national IoIC award, I joined the National Employment Savings Trust – an organisation reporting to the Department for Work and Pensions and delivering a workplace pensions scheme for 11 million members – in the internal communications and engagement team.
In 2023, I joined Mondelēz International, as Communications Manager, supporting Digital Services. Mondelēz International is one of the world’s largest snack companies with iconic global and local brands such as Oreo, Cadbury, belVita, Lu biscuits, Milka, Toblerone chocolate, Sour Patch Kids candy and Trident Gum.
I’m passionate about the power of internal communication to nurture company culture and engage, inspire, and motivate people at work. I love sharing my love for creative comms with like-minded professionals.
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyaaron/
Neil Burgess
Neil has a great deal of experience across multiple sectors, including telco, media, logistics, utilities and financial services in both internal communication and broader comms roles. Neil is currently Head of Internal Communication, EMEA for Citi, with a particular focus on Campaigns, Planning and Insight across the region. Neil is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about the power of effective employee engagement and communication and offers a unique perspective to the Professional Development Advisory Board at the IoIC, having worked in a number of roles in his career that focus on communication strategy, planning and insight.
Oli Howard
Oli’s main work is with the CIPD, the body for HR and the wider people profession, where he is Head of Membership. He has previously worked in senior communication roles for public and charity sector organisations, with a strong focus on internal communication. He is the lead author of the IoIC's guide to IC strategy and an alumni of the programme with Kingston University, having graduated with Distinction in 2012. Oli is a Module Leader for the IoIC's Masters in Internal Communication.
Paul Murton
Paul Murton is a senior internal communication practitioner with 20+ years’ experience in developing and delivering communication strategy that drives employee engagement, supports organisational change, and aligns employee action to business strategy, purpose, and culture. Both a ‘thinker’ and a ‘doer’, his career includes corporate communication, internal communication, public relations and media, issues/crisis management, marketing communication and advertising across multiple industries, including financial services, public utilities, government, and professional services.
Sally Otter
Sally has worked in communications for more than 25 years. She trained as a journalist at Sheffield University and then worked in print, television and script-writing before joining the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, where she was Head of Communications with responsibility for PR, publications and digital.
Sally moved to Oxfam in 2010 and took on the role of Head of Internal Communications before joining the National Trust as its Head of Internal Communications where her team won ‘Internal Communications Team of the Year. She moved to BFS in August 2022 to set the internal communications strategy for the global business. This is the sixth year Sally has supported the IoIC Awards.
Sara Vogt
Sara Vogt is Deputy Director for Corporate Communications at the Ministry of Justice; and Deputy Head of Profession for the Internal Communication function across government. Her team won the IOIC in-house team of the year in 2020 and 2021. She has worked in the Civil Service since 2009, at the Home Office, Cabinet Office, Department for Energy and Climate Change; and Department for Work and Pensions; and previously worked in the private sector at BBC Worldwide, and across a number of UK PR agencies.
Sian Jones
Sian was head of internal communications at the Bank of England from April 2015 to the end of 2022, before moving into her current role as head of Communications Content and Strategy in January 2023. Prior to joining the Bank she was deputy director of internal communications at the Department for Work and Pensions after a stint as head of strategic communications there.
Sian has spent most of her career working in external communications in central government, including spells at Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Teacher Training Agency and the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit. She started out her career as a local journalist before moving into press, parliamentary and PR roles in the voluntary sector. Outside work, Sian is a local magistrate, sitting on the East London bench.