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Bradshaw Advisory

Havard Hughes has joined financial services communications consultancy MRM to add a full-service public affairs division to their award-winning offering. Prior to MRM, Hughes spent four years as Senior Public Affairs Associate at the Financial Conduct Authority, after three years as Campaigns Director at the Electoral Reform Society.

Hughes told PubAffairs: "When I started in the industry people were solely focussed on Westminster, manually cutting out debates from hard copies of Hansard so that they could fax them to clients. The world has changed; particularly in financial services. Westminster is still important, but these days the crucial debate is just as likely to take place on twitter. Moreover, Westminster is far from the only instigator of rules and regulation. 

"Consequently, we are offering clients public affairs and public relations consultancy across all the different media, parliaments and other bodies involved in developing financial services regulation and policy. Given the integrated and increasingly international nature of financial services we are focussed across the entire regulatory landscape."

Andrew Appleyard, Director at MRM said: “It has been our intention for some time to enhance our existing offering to include parliamentary relations and regulatory affairs. Having looked at a number of options and spoken to a wide range of highly experienced practitioners, Havard was the standout candidate. In him we have found a regulatory insider with a comprehensive understanding of the political challenges the financial industry faces and we are thrilled to have him on the team.”

Hughes is working with consultant Sophie Robson who before joining MRM worked for the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation (CSFI), the respected City think-tank. Robson is Chair of the Young Fabians financial services network, and the author of the widely publicised report on young people and financial services, "Generation Y: the (modern) world of personal finance".