Cratus Communications, the public affairs agency specialising in local public services, has announced the appointment of Chris Roberts, a former Labour leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, as its Deputy Chairman.
Roberts, who stood down in 2014, will work alongside Ben Sherreard (Executive Director of Cratus Planning Communications) to expand the agency’s work in London as well as lead on major regeneration projects. As Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, he was involved in ambitious regeneration schemes including the Greenwich Peninsula, Royal Arsenal and Kidbrooke Village developments.
Roberts has also served as Chair of the Thames Gateway London Partnership of ten local authorities in London and formerly been a member of the Mayor’s London Housing Board and Local Enterprise Partnership. He led Greenwich to securing Royal Borough status and through the period when it hosted major events in the 2012 Olympic Games.
Cratus’ newest hire complements last year’s appointment of Sir Merrick Cockell, the former Local Government Association chairman and previous Conservative Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, as Executive Chairman. Further appointments include Holly Strang-Jones as Director of Marketing and New Business and Ian Lawrence as Director of Planning Communications.
Sir Merrick Cockell said: “We are delighted to welcome Chris to Cratus. We have both had the privilege of being long serving leaders of Royal Boroughs in London, for our respective parties.
“Chris knows what it takes to be a leader, he shares our passion for all things local and he wants to make a difference as much today as he did when he first entered the world of Local Government. We are all looking forward to working together and enjoying the vigorous political debates that will ensue as we help our clients navigate all things local.”