1
Matthew Freud
Chairman, Freuds

No change at the top: the legendary comms figure still commands respect across the industry and oversees a PR business few can rival. Freud was the first person to be inducted into the PRWeek UK Hall of Fame.

2
Ruth Warder
Co-chief executive, Edelman UK, and EMEA Brand chair, Edelman

Warder oversees one of the country’s biggest consumer PR businesses. As co-CEO, her influence extends beyond consumer and, with her EMEA Brand chair role, way beyond these borders.

3
Warren Johnson and Frankie Cory
Founder/co-CEO and co-CEO, respectively,
W Communications

The experienced Cory is back on the consumer list after returning to W this year following a stint in-house, in a global role, at TV production company Fremantle. The former boss at Mischief, Frank and Citizen now leads W – which is among the UK’s biggest agencies for consumer comms – alongside founder Warren Johnson.

4
Jo Carr and James Gordon-MacIntosh
Co-founders, chief client officer and chief creative officer, respectively, Hope&Glory PR

The affable duo rise up our list after the agency they formed 12 years ago hit the top spot in PRWeek’s recent league table of the biggest winners across multiple industry awards, beating much larger rivals. Their agency also bagged a hat trick in the 2022 PRWeek UK Awards.

5
Sophie Raine
Managing director, consumer brands, Ketchum

Ketchum has also had a creative spring in its step of late. The Omnicom agency, whose UK consumer business is led by Raine, landed in second place in PRWeek’s aforementioned PR awards league table, which covers a period roughly matching her tenure.

6
James Herring and Cath Taylor
Co-founders, Taylor Herring

It’s almost two years since Taylor Herring, the agency founded by the duo in 2001, joined the Publicis stable, and there’s no sign the ownership change has dented its capacity to produce cracking PR stunts. ‘No Bounty’ for Celebrations was arguably the best earned-media-led Christmas campaign of 2022.

7
Joe Mackay-Sinclair and Lucy McGettigan
Co-founder and executive creative director, and partner, respectively, The Romans

The Romans, co-founded by the charismatic Mackay-Sinclair, continues to be a growing force in creative comms. Last year McGettigan was promoted to oversee the agency’s UK operations as it spreads its wings overseas.

8
Matt Buchanan and Nicola Dodd
Global head of consumer PR and UK managing director, respectively, Ogilvy PR

Ogilvy PR feels like it’s regained its mojo under the leadership of Buchanan and Dodd. The agency picked up four accolades at the PRWeek UK Awards 2022, including Large Consultancy of the Year, aided by a string of account wins including Cadbury, Tata Consultancy Services and Google’s GenZ EMEA business.

9
Chris McCafferty and Jo Grierson
Group chief executive and UK managing director, respectively, MSL London

The duo recently marked three years together at the helm of one of the UK’s biggest agencies, which has a sizeable consumer comms offering.

10
Jess Dyas
Managing director, consumer,
Weber Shandwick UK

A newcomer on our list, Dyas recently took on oversight of the IPG agency’s UK consumer comms business – worth an estimated £19.5m, according to the most recent PRWeek UK Top 150 Consultancies project.

11
Maneeze Chowdhury and Raoul Shah
Chief executive (UK), and founder and chief executive, respectively, Exposure

Chowdhury and Shah lead the well-regarded agency, which is known for its integrated and creative approach.

12
Charlotte Brooks
Managing director, MHP Mischief

Another newcomer in the top 20, Brooks was promoted to lead MHP’s consumer business last year after four years in the leadership team.

13
Alex Grier
Managing partner, Frank PR

Grier leads the consumer PR agency, which continues to be an influential player in the sector.

14
Mike Morgan
Chief executive, The Red Consultancy

The Red veteran continues to head the London-based corporate-to-consumer shop, which generated a cool £9m in UK consumer revenue in the most recent PRWeek Top 150 Consultancies table.

15
Pippa Arlow and Greg Jones
Global chief executive and European chief executive, respectively, Smarts

Consumer revenue at the Belfast-headquartered agency surged 55 per cent in the most recent PRWeek UK Top 150 consultancies table, topping £10m, and it’s a testament to Arlow’s leadership. Former Mischief managing director Jones joined last year in a new role overseeing the firm’s UK and mainland Europe operations.

16
Alex Myers
Founder and group chief executive, Manifest

Having picked up the International Agency prize at the 2022 PRWeek Global Awards, Manifest, led by Myers, shows no sign of slowing down – adding Los Angeles as its sixth global location this year. Back home, the agency is arguably as famous for its progressive employment practices as its creative nous.

17
Mitchell Kaye
Co-founder and chief executive,
The Academy Group

Nine years on from its launch, The Academy continues to grow under the watchful eye of Mischief PR founder Kaye. Sports retailer Decathlon and Zurich Insurance Group are among the agency’s recent wins.

18
Sian Morgan
Founder, Cow PR

A double PRWeek Award-winner last year, Cow isn’t the biggest agency on our list, but it continues to pack a creative punch, and boats a client roster that includes Heineken, Asda and Nestlé. Morgan remains an influential figure despite taking a step back from day-to-day operations with the promotion of Matt Wilcock to managing director this year.

19
Jane Boardman
Chief executive, M&C Saatchi Talk

Boardman has had a significant – and challenging – role overseeing the merger of two M&C Saatchi PR agencies during the height of the first COVID-19 wave. M&C Saatchi Talk sits 25th in the most recent PRWeek UK Top 150 consumer consultancies table.

20
Mandy Sharp
Founder and chief executive,
Tin Man Communications

Sharp leads an impressive comms business whose major wins in the past year or so have included Vodafone, Virgin Atlantic and Gumtree. PRWeek’s Small Consultancy of the Year at the 2022 PRWeek UK Awards underwent a restructure last year for its “next stage of growth” – watch this space.