Umar Ahmed: Account Manager

Umar works with our government relations team in Brussels, where he manages the lobbying strategies of a range of clients in the financial services sector.

Prior to joining Hume Brophy in March 2010, Umar worked for a strategic communications consultancy in Brussels, where he was responsible for developing online communications strategies for clients. During the 2009 European Parliament election campaign, he was Head of Online Strategy for incumbent member Eoin Ryan MEP. Umar began his career in the advocacy and communications division at Human Rights Watch.

Umar holds a BA in Political Science from Trinity College Dublin and Masters Degrees from King’s College London and Dublin Institute of Technology. An Irish national, his working languages are English and French. He also speaks some Dutch.

Kees Jan Boonen: Account Manager

Kees Jan joined HB in 2010 and works with our government relations team in Brussels, where he manages lobbying strategies of a range of clients in the financial services and energy sector. Prior to joining Hume Brophy, Kees Jan worked for the European Insurance Federation advising members on insurance legislation including Solvency II, pensions and corporate governance. Kees Jan holds a BA in International Management from the Amsterdam Business School and a Masters Degree in European Studies from the University of Amsterdam. A Dutch national, his working languages are English and Dutch.

Robert Condon: Associate Partner

Robert manages strategic national and European political and media communications campaigns for a range of clients at Hume Brophy London. Prior to joining Hume Brophy in 2008, Robert worked at The Communication Group Plc in London, where he advised clients in UK and EU campaigns across sectors such as UK financial services, health, property investment, media and gambling. Previously, Robert worked at the European Commission in the unit responsible for relations with the European Investment Bank. He covered corporate operations, policy compliance and financial services for DG Economic and Financial Affairs. Before this, Robert worked at the Weber Shandwick Group in London and as a business analyst at, amongst others, Bain & Co. He began his career while living in China when he co-founded a magazine, Jinan Global. Robert holds a M.Econ.Sc from University College Dublin and a M.A. in History from Trinity College Dublin, having spent a year on a postgraduate scholarship at Boston College, USA, and a year at the University of Paris-Sorbonne.

David Henry Doyle: Account Manager

David joined HB in 2010 and advises clients on the financial services, energy policy, EU trade policy, international law and EU foreign policy. As a member of HB’s financial services team he manages government relations and lobbying strategies for a range of market participants.

Prior to joining HB David worked as an Analyst at a leading Brussels think tank authoring high level reports for NATO and the European Commission. David holds degrees from the Sorbonne and Trinity College Dublin where he earned a University Gold Medal and a number of other academic awards. After winning a scholarship to the University of Cambridge he graduated with a Masters in International Relations and European Studies. He is bilingual in English and French and has a working knowledge of Dutch.

Philippe Hamon: Senior Consultant

Philippe Hamon works with Hume Brophy as a senior consultant. He has 30 years of top international and multicultural management and government relations experience, mainly in the airport industry.

He was a Senior Advisor at Macquarie Bank from 2004 to 2008 following 17 years as Director General of the Brussels-based Airports Council International – Europe, where he promoted the interests of some 400 airports in 45 countries. Prior to this, he was Commercial Director of UK airports operator BAA plc.

In recent years Philippe has also served on the supervisory boards of Brussels Airport Holding SA/NV, The Brussels Airport Company SA/NV, Copenhagen Airports A/S., Macquarie Airports Copenhagen Holdings ApS & Macquarie Airports Copenhagen ApS. He was also Chairman of South West Airports Limited & Bristol International Airport Limited – UK.

Philippe is a French citizen and lives near Saint Malo in Brittany.

James Harvey: Account Manager

James joined Hume Brophy in July 2007 as an account executive, before being promoted to account manager in January 2009. Since joining the firm, he has managed the communications of a number of hedge funds, fund of hedge funds, retail asset managers, specialist service providers and fund administration companies. This diverse range of clients has included communications experience in specialist areas such as emerging markets, renewable energy and secondary markets, as well as more traditional financial service issues.

His previous industry experience includes working for MTV Europe’s press and communications team. James has also worked extensively for MHA, a media training consultancy, in preparing finance professionals from companies such as Standard & Poor’s and Lloyd’s TSB for media presentations.

James holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Sussex.

Adam Honeysett-Watts: Senior Account Manager

Adam has a track record managing successful lobbying, B2B PR and social media programmes; across the finance, technology and retail sectors; on a UK, pan-European and international level.

Current clients include a FTSE 100 company, global financial institution and trade association as well as a specialist service provider, independent commercial broadcaster and research business.

Prior to joining Hume Brophy in August 2010 he led various accounts at an international communications agency for three years. Clients ranged from investment banks, alternative investment firms and business consultancies to global events, leading technology vendors and industry awards.

Adam worked on the Conservative Party’s 2010 national election campaign and previously assisted the Rt. Hon David Davis MP, former Conservative Leadership Candidate and Shadow Home Secretary, now a prominent backbencher. In addition Adam has been on Bell Pottinger’s public affairs team and the Eastern Daily Press business news desk.

He holds a BA (Hons) in Politics from the University of East Anglia and is an associate of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. He is also a member of the Public Affairs and Corporate & Financial groups.

Lorna Jennings: Senior Account Manager

Lorna joined Hume Brophy in January 2011. She manages press relations and political advocacy for a number of domestic and international clients.

Having worked as a Public Affairs Officer at the Irish Cancer Society for the last two years, Lorna has developed a wide range of political and media contacts.

During her time with the charity she developed and managed the Society’s public affairs strategy and advocacy communications. She also provided public affairs consultancy with a number of industry-wide advocacy organisations.

Prior to joining the Irish Cancer Society, Lorna worked in the Seanad (Upper House of Irish Parliament), where she led the team of a prominent Government Senator who held portfolios in Finance, Environment and Natural Resources.

A partner in a small business since 2005, she has valuable insight in the challenges facing entrepreneurs in a difficult environment.

Lorna has a B.A. and an M.A. from Trinity College Dublin in History and Political Science and a masters in Public Affairs and Political Communications from the Dublin Institute of Technology.

Julie Lassaigne: Account Manager

Julie joined Hume Brophy in February 2010 as an Account Executive and has since been promoted to Account Manager. Julie represents and advises clients in the retail, food, sport and transport sectors. She is a seasoned public affairs professional, regularly developing advocacy campaigns and managing EU grants for the benefit of her clients.

Prior to joining HB, Julie worked in public affairs and public relations for a leading consultancy in Brussels and in the advocacy department of the European Council of the Chemical Industry (Cefic).

Julie holds a masters degree and qualifications in ‘Public Affairs and Representation of Interests’ from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Bordeaux. A French national, Julie’s working languages are French, English and Spanish.

Gerry Lumsden: Senior Consultant

Gerry Lumsden joins Hume Brophy in December 2010 as Senior Counsel and will be advising our growing number of aviation clients on EU and international legislation and policy development.

Gerry Lumsden has spent an entire career at the highest level of the aviation industry and enjoys an unrivalled network of senior government contacts within the EU and governments across Europe. With over 40 years experience of regulation and lawmaking at the highest possible level, Gerry has played a major role in the evolution of air transport policy in Europe especially in key areas such as market liberalisation, environmental policy and aviation security. Gerry is an experienced international negotiator who has spent his entire career bringing countries together on key areas of common interest in aviation policy

Gerry spent 28 years as Secretary General and previously Deputy Secretary General of the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) in Paris. ECAC is the European arm of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and has 44 Member Countries, including all members of the European Union. Gerry successfully transitioned ECAC into a modern international governmental organisation that now plays a major role in the development of all EU aviation legislation.

In recent times Gerry has been heavily involved in the development of aviation security policy in Europe, including the creation of the ECAC certification programme for new security technologies which has ensured the mutual recognition of standards within ECAC countries. This programme has greatly simplified the certification process for new technologies, creating new opportunities for technology manufacturers and allowing airports and airlines to be able invest in new technology with confidence.

Gerry has also driven ECAC’s leadership role in the fields of climate change and environmental protection, and has worked successfully with airlines and airports to ensure their active involvement in crucial new policy initiatives.

Prior to ECAC, Gerry served as Chef de Cabinet to successive Irish Ministers for Transport where he was particularly involved in the development of bilateral air service agreements with key third countries.

Gerry lives in Paris. He is a fluent French speaker.

Belinda Marks: Account and Event Manager

Belinda joined Hume Brophy in January 2008 as account executive and has since been promoted to account manager.

Belinda has responsibility for media relations across a number of asset managers, hedge funds and alternative investment specialists.  She is responsible for managing the daily interaction with the media on behalf of her clients and organising and distributing company news announcements to the media.

As part of her role, Belinda also oversees all events and projects on behalf of Hume Brophy’s UK clients.

Prior to joining Hume Brophy, Belinda worked in an event management role with Concept Sports International, managing projects based around the 2007 Rugby World Cup, held in France, and the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean.

Belinda holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts from University of Ballarat’s Arts Academy in Australia.

Claire Marnham: Senior Consultant

Claire Marnham has 10 years‟ experience in corporate communications and public relations.

Originally from New Zealand, Claire has a wealth of international agency experience, having worked for leading Australasian agency Professional Public Relations (PPR), and with Hill and Knowlton and Weber Shandwick Worldwide in London. Prior to returning to the UK in June 2005, she ran her own practice in Auckland, New Zealand.

Claire has worked on a range of corporate financial, government relations, business to business, personal finance and consumer marketing accounts for leading global brand clients in the investment, construction, manufacturing, energy, healthcare and FMCG sectors.

Prior to joining Hume Brophy, Claire spent 17 months working alongside MasterCard in a start up team at Advanced Payment Solutions in London to launch cashplus® – the UK’s first prepaid MasterCard, which won best new retail financial services product.

Chris Mehigan: Account Director

Chris works with our Public Affairs teams in Brussels and Dublin where he manages Government affairs for a number of clients across Europe. Chris joined Hume Brophy from eircom Ltd., Ireland’s largest telecommunications company where he acted as legal counsel providing professional services and legal advice to the eircom group of companies. Prior to joining eircom, Chris acted as legal counsel for a software company operating in the global market and as policy analyst for a European industry representative body. A member of the New York Bar since 2004, he has participated in commercial tender responses in various jurisdictions, advising on, and negotiating, commercial agreements, and developing commercial partnerships.  Chris has also worked in the Seanad (Upper House of Irish Parliament) where he assisted the team of a prominent opposition Senator. Chris holds a Bachelor of Laws (Irish Law), a Diploma in Public Relations and a MA Political Communication and Public Affairs.

Herman Neukermans: Senior Consultant

Herman Neukermans works with Hume Brophy as a senior consultant and has over twenty years experience in the aviation industry.

Herman joined SABENA Airlines in 1994 and went on to become Airport Development Manager, responsible for strategic negotiations with the Brussels Airport Terminal Company (BATC) on infrastructure and services development.

In 1996 Herman joined BATC as Terminal Operations Manager and when the Brussels International Airport Company (BIAC) was founded in 1998, he was promoted to the position of Vice-President Strategy and Marketing. Herman held this position until his departure from BIAC at the end of 2005.

Herman’s position led to extensive contacts with airlines, airports, industry partners and DG Transport of the European Commission and a broad base of experience in aviation security.

Simon Pettinger: Account Manager

Simon is an Account Manager at Hume Brophy’s Brussels office, specialising in government relations, policy analyses and client lobbying strategies for a range of clients in the financial services sector.

Prior to joining Hume Brophy in 2010, Simon worked for several years as a trade and policy advisor for a Brussels-based agricultural association, responsible for economic and statistical analysis of industry trends, as well as monitoring and lobbying for changes in bilateral and multilateral trade relations.  Simon gained previous experience in the financial services industry working in the banking industry in the UK.

Simon holds a degree in Economics from the University of Kent and a Master’s Degree in European Economics from the College of Europe, Belgium.  A British national, his working languages are English and French.

Dualta Redmond: Account Manager

Dualta works with our Public Affairs and Corporate Communications teams in Dublin where he managers a number of campaigns in the financial services, aviaiton, forestry and online gaming sectors.

Dualta joined Hume Brophy from the Fianna Fáil political party, where he worked in the Fundraising and Finance Department. Dualta also worked as a Parliamentary Assistant in the Seanad with two Irish Senators.

Prior to this, Dualta worked in the Advocacy and Communications Department of the Irish Cancer Society, where he dealt directly with political activities and press relations.

Dualta holds a MA in Public Affairs and Political Communications from DIT, and a BA in Media Management from DCU.

Dualta also studied TV Production for three years, worked as a free-lance Producer and Cameraman for four years, and is familiar with all aspects of digital media and audio-visual communications.

Kevin Sammon: Account Director

Kevin works with our public affairs and corporate communication teams in London and Dublin where he manages media relations and government affairs for a number of clients.

Since joining Hume Brophy in 2007, Kevin has advised on crisis communications for several multinational companies.

He regularly manages media engagement for corporate clients and retains contacts across the UK and Irish media scenes.

Outside of Hume Brophy, Kevin is a Board Member of the London Irish Business Society (LIBS), one of London’s most successful networks. As part of his media relations role, Kevin has secured coverage for LIBS with Bloomberg and Reuters, amongst others.

Kevin is also active in politics and has spent time as National Communications Coordinator for Ógra Fianna Fáil.

From 2008-2009, Kevin advised on the group’s press strategy and relations. He has also provided strategic communications advice on several political campaigns during this period.

He has also worked as a Press Officer with the Tour of Ireland in 2009. While there, Kevin dealt with major press agencies including Press Association, Agence France Presse and Associated Press.

Kevin graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2007 with a Moderatorship in Economic and Social Studies, specialising in Business and Politics. He completed a Diploma in Journalism in 2008 and is currently studying towards a Diploma in Crisis Communications with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in London.

Anna Sedzik: Account Director

Anna Sędzik is an Account Director for Hume Brophy. She joined Hume Brophy in 2007 and specialises in the energy, consumer goods, shipping and transport (air, road and rail) and financial services sectors. She is involved in developing lobbying strategies and overseeing their subsequent implementation, including the management of client relations, position paper preparation, monitoring EU policy developments and drafting regulatory briefs and reports. Anna’s previous experience includes serving as an assistant to the former Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mr. Janusz Onyszkiewicz MEP. She has also worked in consular affairs section at the Polish Consulate General in London. Anna has a Masters degree from Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland and from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. She is a native Polish speaker and is fluent in English. She also speaks  French, Russian, and some German.

Trevor Smith: Senior Consultant

Trevor is a consultant specialising in the agri-food business, with 20 years’ experience across the agricultural spectrum and notable expertise in the dairy, cereals and meat sectors.Trevor is also widely experienced in food, environment and trade policy and has co-authored a number of studies in these areas.

Prior to working with Hume Brophy, Trevor worked in the Brussels office of the England and Wales Milk Marketing Board (MMB) and UK Federation of Agricultural Co-operatives (FAC), where he was responsible for communicating MMB/FAC opinions to EU-level decision-makers and represented them at meetings of the pan-European trade body of agricultural co-operatives, and later as a consultant with Brussels-based strategy advisers Business Environment Europe (BEE).

Trevor is fluent in English (mother tongue) and French.  He also speaks Russian, Spanish, German and Croatian.

Gary Titley: Senior Consultant

Gary is a seasoned former European legislator and well-known authority on EU foreign and security policy. He was first elected to the European Parliament in 1989 and went on to serve four consecutive terms. During this time Gary served as the UK Labour Party’s leader in the EP and also a member of the party’s National Executive. His Committee assignments included Transport, Industry and Energy, Internal Market, Economic and Monetary, Legal Affairs and Foreign Affairs, where he was the spokesman for the Socialist Group. Gary is a specialist on enlargement questions and was the Socialist Group’s Vice-President responsible for the 2004 enlargement.

Karen White: Account Manager

Karen has extensive experience in advocacy and lobbying campaigns and has worked closely with the European and Irish institutions on a number of issues and on behalf of a number of sectors throughout her career. Karen’s expertise lies in lobbying, government relations, corporate communications and political profiling in the areas of international trade, transport, energy and environment.

Prior to joining Hume Brophy, Karen worked as a public affairs consultant for a Brussels based agency. In this role, she provided strategic, political, regulatory and communications advice to a broad range of clients from multinational corporations to non-profit organisations.

Before this, Karen worked as a campaign adviser on two Irish referendum campaigns and a Seanad election campaign where she contributed to developing a national media campaign as well as a national communications strategy. She has also worked as a Parliamentary support assistant to an Irish TD who held portfolios in Social and Family Affairs and Health and Children.

Karen holds a B.A. in European Studies and an MSc. in European Economics and Public Affairs from University College Dublin. She has also studied at the Université de Bourgogne in France as well as the European University Institute (EUI) in Italy and the Louvain Institute for Ireland in Europe in Belgium.

Kelly Zwartouw: Account Director

Kelly joined Hume Brophy in April 2011 as Account Director from Citigate Dewe Rogerson.  Kelly has seven years experience working in public relations for the financial services sector with a specialist knowledge of PR for asset managers.

Kelly’s past and present clients include a wide variety of financial services and investment management clients including Morgan Stanley Investment Management, EFAMA, EquiLend, Baring Asset Management, ING Investment Management, Lyxor and State Street.

Before working in public relations, Kelly gained experience in the financial sector with a stint at FIM, a London-based hedge fund manager, and two years at Eveleigh and Huckle, an independent financial adviser, where she gained the FP1 certificate.

Kelly also volunteers as a communications adviser for UN Women, the United Nations Development Fund for Women.