Incomms

Thales UK has appointed Daisy-Ellen Omissi, former group director of communications at emergency aerial services operator Avincis, as director of communications. She started her new role this week [17 Aug] and reports to Phil Siveter, chief executive, Thales UK. The appointment comes just months after Pam Simpson stepped down as director of communications to become workplace transformation director at Thales UK. Omissi sits on the leadership team and heads up a team of around 15 people.

Victoria Kent has been appointed to the newly created role of head of consumer communications at Argos and Habitat. She has joined from fashion retailer ASOS, where she was senior internal and external communications manager for the past two years, and started her new role earlier this month. Her initial priorities include strengthening the Argos brand, and ensuring communication activity supports commercial priorities and long-term brand growth.

THE SCENARIO Since the end of the pandemic, an organisation has operated a fairly relaxed hybrid working policy. People were expected to come into an office three days a week. While most people stuck to the policy there were some notable exceptions, with some people coming in significantly less than their expected days. Up until now, there have been few consequences for those who did not adhere to the policy and attendance by the team has varied considerably.

Uniqlo has appointed Greg French, former global communications manager at Swedish fashion brand Axel Arigato, as senior PR manager. French announced his new job in a LinkedIn post earlier this month: “This week I’m delighted to join the incredible team at Uniqlo, leading UK PR and contributing to the story of a brand I’ve long admired.” He added: “At the heart of Uniqlo is LifeWear, a philosophy built on creating timeless, high-quality clothing that earns a lasting place in your wardrobe.

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Jasmine Sevan, who has spent the past four years as global communications and brand partnerships director at Victoria Beckham’s eponymous fashion brand, has been appointed vice president of global communications at Skims. She started her new role earlier this month.

‘Rethinking what strategy means can make us more agile’ How repositioning internal comms as mission-critical helps tackle ever more pressing and competing priorities.

‘Left me uneasy’ – Was the national emergency alert a comms misstep? A government-issued wildfire phone alert startled many across England and Wales last week, prompting PR professionals to debate whether the message could've been better communicated.

Dealing with bad news is fraught with risk. Just ask Jo Moore. She was a special adviser to Stephen Byers, the then transport secretary, when she emailed colleagues on the day of 9/11 to inform them: “It’s now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury.” An apology for her infamous advice failed to stop her position becoming untenable and she resigned five months later. It does not have to be that way.

Alice Stewart, who has spent the past few years as communications lead, UK & Ireland, for H&M, has been appointed global communications project manager at H&M Group.