FTI Consulting bolsters UK team with six new recruits

Global consulting firm FTI Consulting has strengthened its UK team with six new recruits. All six advisors will be based in London and work with Alex Deane, the newly appointed UK head of public affairs and managing director.

Former Labour health secretary Patricia Hewitt has been appointed as a senior adviser. In the last decade she served as a key member of Tony Blair’s political circle – between 2005 and 2007 Hewitt was health secretary and was also secretary of state for trade and industry and Cabinet minister for women. Also Philippa Roe, formerly a director at global banking group Citigroup and the current leader of Westminster City Council, has joined as a senior adviser. Liam O’Keefe joins as a senior director from Accounting for International Development, prior to that he spent six years at Weber Shandwick.

Alex Holroyd joins as a director from FTI’s office in Belgium (Brussels), where for spent three years working with clients in the Benelux region. From his new base in London Holroyd will act as a contact point for FTI Consulting’s international Public Affairs offering, connecting the UK operations with practices in Brussels and Washington DC. Laura Sainsbury joins FTI Consulting from Bellenden, where she worked with global financial corporates and across the housing, education and energy sectors. Meanwhile, John Gusman joins the firm as a consultant from rival PLMR, where he worked in public affairs for education, health and social care clients.

“Adding these talented professionals to our team further strengthens our position as part of FTI Consulting’s global Public Affairs network,” says Alex Deane, who joined FTI Consulting in August from global PR-firm Weber Shandwick. “We’ve recruited some of the best consultants in the business, all of whom will provide another level of strategic insight and depth for our clients' benefit. We’re ready to take advantage of the opportunities arising from FTI Consulting’s cross-sector client base.”