Grayling announces the appointment of Heather Blundell as CEO for the UK business. Heather comes with significant leadership experience in the market and has spent 15 years working as a trusted advisor to business leaders for some of the biggest companies in the UK and internationally.

She is recognised as one of the industry’s most established experts in leading integrated campaigns that help drive corporate reputation and business growth. She has won seven Cannes Lions over the last three years, including a Gold Lion for ‘Creative Commerce’ in partnership with Iceland Foods this year.

Prior to joining Grayling, Heather has worked for Edelman, Weber Shandwick and most recently as the Deputy UK CEO of Ketchum. Heather’s announcement follows the appointment of Jonny Curtis, who previously led the UK business, to a newly created role of Chief Commercial Officer for Grayling Global.

Both appointments come on the back of the recent news that Dickie Jukes is taking over as Global CEO of Grayling, from December 2023. Jukes has been building his global team in his new role and he will be supported by Nathan Kemp as Chief Innovation Officer; Fiona Koh as Chief of Staff; Laura Cowley as Head of People, Steve Whiting as Finance Director, and Jonny Curtis as Chief Commercial Officer.

Heather Blundell said: “I’ve watched and admired Grayling over the last few years. We share the same values, and Sarah and Dickie’s natural entrepreneurial approach combined with Grayling’s uncompromising focus on high quality work, has created one of the UK’s top PR agencies, with an established network of offices across the country, which uniquely positions them to be able to support clients across the UK.

“Today, our clients are navigating change and opportunity at a pace previously unseen. My focus will be on ensuring we use our scale and breadth to execute flawlessly for our clients and our people.

“In partnership with the UK leadership team, I have ambitious plans to take this already incredibly high performing agency to new heights. I’m looking forward to working with our teams across the UK, and internationally, to ensure Grayling is the agency of choice for clients and talent.”

Jukes commented: ‘We are delighted to welcome Heather to Grayling UK; she brings enormous industry experience and expertise and a fresh perspective to our business that I am sure will prove hugely successful. Our UK network has flourished over recent years, and we are excited about this next phase of growth and innovation.

“I am also delighted to announce my global senior leadership team who will work with me to continue Grayling’s growth trajectory around the world. I particularly want to thank Jonny Curtis for his expert leadership of Grayling UK, and I am delighted that he now is able to deploy his expertise as part of the global executive team.”