Lodestone Expands Leadership with Three Council Appointments and New Associate
Award-winning agency Lodestone Communications has appointed four sector-leading experts to their team of advisors, bolstering the agency’s provision across strategic communications, insight and public affairs to facilitate an enhanced offer to clients.
Lodestone has added three industry specialists, with experience across print and broadcast media, polling and public sector leadership, to the Lodestone Strategic Advisory Council. They join Tom Watson, former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, in lending their sector-specific expertise in business, political analysis, and thought leadership to provide strategic counsel to Lodestone as it continues to expand its team and offering. The Council will continue to support the Lodestone team in assessing domestic and global trends and identifying avenues for long-term growth.
Sonia Sodha, a senior journalist, broadcaster, columnist, and author, has been appointed to the Council, bringing invaluable experience and drawing from the breadth of her career across the politics and media sectors. She is a former Chief Leader Writer and columnist at The Observer, a regular contributor to The Times and The New European and a prominent political broadcaster. She also brings a wealth of experience in Britain’s leading think tanks, including IPPR and Demos, alongside her direct political experience as an adviser to Ed Miliband when he was Leader of the Opposition.
Damian Lyons Lowe, Founder and Chief Executive of Survation, will also join the Strategic Advisory Council. This appointment builds on Lodestone’s longstanding partnership with Survation, working together to deliver market insights and industry-leading analysis for clients. Damian’s appointment brings 27 years of work experience within leading research environments, across technology, healthcare, financial services and political science.
Lodestone has also appointed Dr Susan Gilby, a senior leader within the health service and former CEO of the Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust. Susan has worked as a healthcare senior executive since 2011, directly benefitting NHS Trusts in a range of roles. As Chief Executive of the Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust, Susan deftly led the Trust through the Covid-19 pandemic, demonstrating extensive leadership and management skills that will be an asset to Lodestone’s Strategic Advisory Council.
Lodestone have also gone further to strengthen their team of Associates by bringing in Adam Miller, the former TV Editor at The Metro and an experienced journalist with a focus on entertainment and LGBTQ+ content. Adam will join Lodestone’s team of associates to provide senior counsel on PR and story-building.
Lodestone was the winner of this year’s PRCA Voluntary Sector Campaign of the Year Award and shortlisted for the Sabre EMEA Public Affairs Award. In 2024, Lodestone was awarded PRCA’s Medium Consultancy of the Year and PRWeek’s Public Affairs Award for their InvestHER Campaign. Lodestone is the only B Corp public affairs agency in the UK. The agency has seen strong year-on-year growth since 2020 and is now ranked 14th in PR Week’s Top 150 Public Affairs agencies in the UK and is ranked in the top 150 PR consultancies.
Martha Dalton, CEO said:
“We are thrilled to be welcoming three fantastic industry-leaders to join Lodestone’s Strategic Advisory Council in Sonia, Susan and Damian. They are each bringing a rich pool of experience that will add invaluable insight to the product offering for our clients.”
Fran O'Leary, CSO, said:
“At such an exciting time for the agency, as we grow and develop, we are delighted that Adam will be joining our team of associates. This appointment adds a new scope of media knowledge to the team that builds upon the strong base of expertise represented across the team. We are looking forward to pushing forward the agency’s capabilities to deliver for our clients.”