Careers

Callum

Partner in London
"I’ve always been passionate about politics. Kekst CNC has given me the flexibility to split my time between London and Edinburgh, and secondly to explore my political career. I have been fully supported in pursuing my political ambitions and was able to take leave to stand in the 2019 General Election. It speaks to the ethos of the company, which sees creative thinking as key to effective corporate, crisis and financial communications and encourages its consultants to think differently and pursue their own initiatives."

I advise clients working with them on matters of corporate reputation, crisis preparedness and management, as well as policy and public affairs.

What’s great about our company is that we aren’t siloed. Our approach blurs the lines of communications consultancy and management consultancy, meaning that no day is the same and there’s real variety and new challenges facing you each week. This flexibility, within a defined structure, ensures the business continues to innovate and offers its clients far broader consultancy, beyond core communications, that reflects our changing world.

It’s an approach that’s suited to the environment in which global companies operate in today. As corporate communications becomes increasingly multi-faceted, the majority of mandates I work on rely on communication to a broad range of stakeholders, from media and investors to politicians and local communities. Having begun my career as a government policy adviser, it’s interesting to see the correlation between political and corporate decision making.

An imperative of successful strategic communications – and strength of our company – is understanding what’s going on in the world and its context. I was too political for a career in the civil service though, and outside work, I’m involved in Conservative politics as a City of Edinburgh Councillor and Association Deputy Chair, have as well as standing as a parliamentary candidate. While politics is time consuming, I find that making a real difference for people is rewarding, as is giving back to the communities we live in.

Although flexible working now seems to be the norm, that wasn’t the case earlier in my career. But Kekst CNC, has  given me the flexibility firstly to split my time between London and Edinburgh, and secondly to explore my political career. I have been fully supported in pursuing my political ambitions and was able to take unpaid leave to stand in the General Election in 2020. It speaks to the ethos of the company, which sees creative thinking as key to effective corporate, crisis and financial communications and encourages its consultants to think differently and pursue their own initiatives.

When not working, I like to spend time with my two dogs on Scotland’s beaches, and when in London, I go on long runs to explore the different parts of the city on foot.

Insights by Callum

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Blog

Avoiding a Cyber Nightmare Before Christmas

While 2020 is likely to be a year many would prefer to forget, the changes it has brought to our lives are likely to have lasting effects, even after COVID-19 is finally put to rest. One area of change has been work: Post-pandemic, half of British employees are demanding flexible working arrangements, with 30% prepared to quit should their employer demand a full-time return to the office, according to Kekst CNC’s COVID-19 Opinion Tracker.

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Are You Prepared for a Post-Pandemic Crisis?

Today, most offices and many industrial facilities remain shuttered. Employees are scattered in a state of enforced refuge and we are all leaning heavily on technology for continuity-of-business. The onslaught of Coronavirus has upended the way we operate. It has asked tough questions of organisations large and small across the world and hard decisions are made on a daily basis often in response to quickly changing Government guidance.

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Keeping Data Flowing in the Event of a Hard Brexit

While recent meetings in Europe between Prime Minister Johnson and his counterparts in Brussels, Germany and France may have brought increased hope that a revised deal can be negotiated for Britain’s departure from the EU, it is still the case that a ‘No Deal’ exit remains a distinct possibility. This would see the UK leave the EU at the expiry of the Article 50 extension, at 11 p.m. on 31 October.