CIPR group for anyone working in or interested in international communication
CIPR International Committee 2026
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The CIPR International Committee comprises professionals from diverse areas of PR, including city, public affairs, and education, all of whom are united in their desire to make a positive impact in the industry and extend the global impact of PR.
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Please contact the Committee Chair, Taazima Kala, for opportunities, or the Committee Secretary, Gavrielle Kirk-Cohen, for more information.
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Taazima Kala - Chair
Taazima is a Chartered Member of the CIPR since 2020 and is based in Gaborone, Botswana. She's been part of the CIPR community since 2014 and is currently the General Manager & Chief Consultant of Hotwire, a leading Africa-based PR consultancy. She is a Harvard Business Review Advisory Council member, Forbes Agency Council member, and author of children’s book The Phupie and The Princess. Taazima is also a Member of the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA) and Board Chair of Early Childhood Education social enterprise, Learn To Play. She is passionate about strategy, crisis consulting and reputation management.
Nishika Bajaj – Vice Chair
Nishika is Communications Consultant at Perpetual Motion and Deputy Editor of PlatformAfrica.com with focus on Fintech and financial services, backed with over 15 years’ experience across the financial services and communications space.
She started as an Associate Vice President at HSBC India in 2007 before going on to join the business editorial team at Hindustan Times. She has served as editor of the financial news website AfricaMoney and the Marketing Content Editor/Journalist at fund manager GroFin before joining Platform Africa. She won the title of LinkedIn Top Voice 2018 for Philanthropy and Global Development and is currently a recognised creator on LinkedIn, having authored numerous thought leaderships on FinTech and financial services for SMEs.
Stuart Graham - Treasurer
Stuart is the Finance Director of Lansons Communications LLP. A Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, and with over twenty-five years’ experience in the media & research industry, Stuart not only looks after the partnership's finances at Lansons, but also has a hand in helping run the day to day business operations.
Gavrielle Kirk-Cohen – Secretary
Gavrielle Kirk-Cohen is the communications lead for Species360, an international NGO specialising in technology and conservation. Prior to this she was the Director of Communications at the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). She has over a decade of communications experience working in the non-profit sector in various countries.
She holds an MSc in Sustainable Development through Sussex University, an MA in Journalism from Edinburgh Napier University, a Professional Diploma in Public Relations from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, and a BA in Journalism from the University of Pretoria, in South Africa.
Samantha Seewoosurrun
Samantha is a seasoned international PR professional and CIPR Fellow, with experience across corporate, financial and government communications, having worked for some of the world’s leading agencies and international institutions.
She has been based in Mauritius for over a decade, where she is Managing Director of the PR and publishing firm Perpetual Motion, focusing on finance, innovation and entrepreneurship, and co-founder of the news portal PlatformAfrica.com.
Samantha launched the CIPR network in Mauritius in 2019, and was Chair of CIPR International from 2021 to 2024. She has also served as Group Chairs’ Representative on the CIPR Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Eva Maclaine - Special Advisor
Principal of Maclaine Communications, Eva focuses on strategy development, issues management and stakeholder engagement. Clients include blue chip UK organisations and, as a multilingual PR practitioner, she also advises internationally at senior government level. She is a CIPR Fellow, a past chair of CIPR International and was a CIPR Board Director for four years. In 2021 she was invited to join the Global Alliance’s European Regional Council.
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Eva is an occasional guest lecturer and a contributing author on international communications to An Introduction to Public Relations (Pearson May 2013) and to CIPR’s Platinum (2018). She was awarded the CIPR Sir Stephen Tallents medal and the PRO PR Globe Award.
Professor Anne Gregory PhD – Special Advisor
Anne is Professor Emeritus of Corporate Communication at the University of Huddersfield. She teaches on Executive Education programmes for the UK Government, is an Adjunct Professor at RMIT Australia and LSPR Indonesia and Visiting Professor at the Universities of Navarra; Johannesburg and UTS, Australia. Anne is an international researcher most recently directing the Global Capability Framework which had been adopted by professional associations worldwide.
Anne runs her own consultancy and training company, Practix Ltd , with clients in the UK, Europe and Asia. She is a passionate advocate for the profession, an influential thought-leader and co-author of three major reports for the CIPR: The Effects of AI on the Professions, Ethics Guide to Artificial Intelligence in PR and the AI Readiness reports.
Anjali Patil – EDI Champion
Anjali Patil is the Founder and Director of illumina Consulting that offers services in communications consulting and executive coaching.
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She has over twenty-five years’ experience in communications for global financial services firms, having held senior leadership roles at Morgan Stanley, Fidelity International and BNP Paribas, across India and Southeast Asia. Anjali has also worked with Ogilvy PR and Good Relations PR. Areas of expertise include reputation management, issues and crisis management, executive communications, internal communications and corporate philanthropy. In ESG communications, her focus has been on sustainable finance, just transition and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). She is a Member of the CIPR ESG Communications Expert Panel.
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Anjali is also a registered member of the Commission on Public Relations Education’s (CPRE) research panel and a Member of the Board of Advisors at Aseema Charitable Trust.
Saad Al Rubaiaan
Saad is a Kuwaiti professional who has served previously for both private and government sectors in Dubai and is now running his agency, CYLKA, which specializes in communications and CSR advisory. Currently, he sits in multiple boards including, YAL organization, LSE Generate (GCC), College of Communication at University of Sharjah and RYTS Investment group.
He received his BSc. degree in PR from University of Sharjah and Executive Master’s in Social Business & Entrepreneurship from London School of Economics (LSE). Al Rubaiaan has co-authored 4 publications and writes frequently for the Middle East version of “Harvard Business Review”.
Oluwayemisi Adekunle
Oluwayemisi is an English graduate from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, with over 24 years’ experience spanning journalism, PR and advertising across multiple commercial sectors in manufacturing, pharma, financial services, management consultancy and retail.
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Currently, she is the Government Relations and Public Affairs Lead for West Africa at Burn Manufacturing. Prior to Burn, she was at Pfizer as External Communications & Public Affairs Manager for West Africa.
In her spare time, she volunteers for not-for-profits committed to SDGs 1, 2, 5, 7, 10 & 13.
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Oluwayemisi loves to travel and enjoy tasty foods.
Omotola Akindipe
An External Relations professional in the UN system, Omotola has more than 10 years of experience in interagency coordination and communications. Currently, he leads the External Relations team for WHO in Angola with a focus on partnerships, reporting, donor relations and communications. Omotola is trilingual (English, Portuguese, and German) and has vast international experience having worked in several European and African countries.
Prior to working for the UN, Omotola co-founded Refugees Welcome Portugal and he was deputy project manager for Europe on Track, an initiative of the European Students’ Forum, that sends young people on a month-long trip to 25+ European cities to consult young people on topical issues. Omotola holds a Master’s in Human Rights and Cultural Diversity from the prestigious human rights department at Essex University, where he was awarded the Deborah Fitzmaurice Memorial Prize as the best master’s student of his cohort.
Eunice Asantewaa Ankomah
Is a communications and PR professional based in Accra, Ghana. She currently coordinates a Mastercard funded program that is aimed at training young women in Fintech. With a strong background in fintech, financial inclusion, and strategic communication, she bring experience in managing both corporate and consumer-facing communication across traditional and digital channels. Eunice also consults for fintech brands, helping them build visibility and credibility in a fast-evolving ecosystem.
Klao Bell-Lewis
Klao is a professional communicator with experience in public relations, marketing, journalism, and project management who has led corporate communications for multinational organisations within the Caribbean.
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She is a graduate of the University of Cardiff, Wales, which she attended as a Chevening Scholar, and from which she earned an MA in International Public Relations (Hons).); and of the University of the West Indies, Mona, where she earned a BA in Literatures in English (Hons).
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Klao holds accreditations from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (Chsrtered Practitioner) and the Project Management Institute (Project Management Professional (PMP)®.
Claire Benson
Claire is the Founder and Director of SDG Changemakers, sustainability advisers specialising in food security. As a communications professional for 20+ years, Claire is passionate about ethical marketing practices and purpose-led communications and how data, technology, and nudge theory can influence sustainable development. Claire and the team focus on knowledge sharing, education, sustainable business model design and action plans to help organisations grow within the planet's nine boundaries.
Claire is a Chart.PR with the Chartered Institute of PR, Entrepreneur in Residence at Lancaster University and an assessor on the University of Cambridge's Sustainable Food Processing course. Claire regularly features as a panellist and spokesperson for sustainability and the need for systems thinking across sectors to reduce inequalities, collaborate for genuine, positive impact and create social, environmental, and financial sustainability.
Ferdinand L. Bondoy
Ferdinand is a globally award-winning communications practitioner and a certified digital marketer and crisis counselor in Asia-Pacific. He specialises in a number of disciplines including Strategic Communications, Integrated Marketing Communications, Marketing and Corporate Public Relations, Advocacy Communications, and Digital, Social and Content.
He is the Regional Integration & Chief Executive Director, Partner and Co-Founder of COMCO Southeast Asia, a global award-winning integrated communications agency headquartered in the Philippines with affiliate network presence in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, that champions the practice of the emerging global disciplines of New PR and Smart Social.
Stuart Bruce
Stuart is internationally recognised as a PR Futurist – a thinker and doer in modernised public relations and communications. He specialises in strategy, measurement and evaluation, crisis communications and PR/communications technology. He is the co-founder of Purposeful Relations, a digital transformation consultancy for communications teams and PR agencies. Based in the UK Stuart works globally with clients throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, including Ukraine, UAE, Australia, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey and many more. He helps clients modernise and improve communications and public relations through measurement and use of new technology, professional practice and new workflows.
Since 2003 he has blogged at stuartbruce.biz. Stuart is a frequent speaker at international conferences (in person and remotely) and an international awards judge. He recently chaired the jury for the Global Davos Communications Awards. He is a Fellow of the CIPR, a Chartered Practitioner and has served on the CIPR board.
Olayinka Edmond
Olayinka has over 18 years’ experience in Communications and Sustainability, having worked across agencies in the UK and West Africa, and held senior roles with corporate organisations in various sectors from FMCG to telecoms.
Now, at Mastercard Foundation, she heads global internal communications. Passionate about mentoring young comms professionals, she is the Board Chair of The Comms Avenue, a comms networking platform. Olayinka holds a Business Administration degree and a PR postgraduate diploma.
Jared Meade
Jared Meade, MPS, APR, MPRCA, has over 20 years of experience in public relations as founder of Rayne Strategy Group. He has taught as an adjunct professor at Bowling Green State University and Eastern Michigan University.
Meade has held leadership roles in several professional organizations, including PRSA and PRCA. He is also a co-founder of the LinkedIn #PRethics Community. He received a Gold Hermes Creative Award in 2018 and the Special ICCO Global Award for Improving Society and Reputation of PR in 2024. Meade holds a B.S. in Public Relations and a Master’s from George Washington University.
Abrar Mikkawi
Abrar Mikkawi is Director of Communications and Community Outreach at a UAE government university, with extensive experience across public-sector and higher-education institutions in the United Arab Emirates. She leads strategic engagement initiatives that strengthen institutional reputation, stakeholder relationships, crisis management and community impact, aligning communication strategy with governance frameworks and national priorities.
She began her career as a journalist, developing a strong foundation in media ethics, narrative framing, and public-interest storytelling. She later served as an adjunct faculty member teaching social media and digital communication, bridging academic insight with professional practice.
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Abrar holds a Master’s degree from the University of Wollongong and is further developing her expertise in AI governance and ethical communication and intends to pursue doctoral research in Artificial Intelligence, with a focus on ethical and explainable AI in public-sector communication and decision-making transparency.
Sammy Osei
Bio to follow
Alessandra Plichero
Alessandra is an international PR strategist based in the UK (London) and Italy (Vicenza). Alessandra helps global corporations to manage their communication strategy, to create long-term stakeholders engagement programmes and to preserve reputation alongside continued media presence. Alessandra primarily works in the manufacturing industries of biotech/agri-food/ leather and furniture and has high level of experience in these sectors.
Alessandra holds an MBA, a degree in economics and attended the London School of Journalism and has some academic teaching experience as a guest lecturer at international universities. She speaks Italian (Italy is her home country), English, basic French and Spanish.
Steven Smith
Steven Smith is a certified Strategic Communication Management Professional and holds the Royal Charter from the UK’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations. He has served as a judge for the Middle East PR Association Awards and is a key figure at Marafiq, Saudi Arabia’s leading utility provider. Previously, Steven contributed to corporate affairs at Orpic and Sohar Aluminium in Oman. He also shared his expertise in brand leadership at South Africa’s Milpark Business School and ran a marketing consultancy. With extensive experience in corporate communication, brand leadership, and PR, Steven is highly regarded for advancing organisational success and stakeholder engagement.
Andras Sztaniszlav
Andras is an expert in strategic communications and public relations with a solid track record of building bespoke solutions for different organisations in the UK and mainland Europe (mainly Central-Eastern Europe). His wide variety of projects include reputation, CSR, digital and content strategy as well as crisis comms and public affairs campaigns. Multiple award-winning professional, frequent speaker at international conferences. He is the President of the Hungarian PR Association, a Fellow of the CIPR and Chartered Practitioner.
Thanzyl Thajudeen
Thanzyl Thajudeen is the managing director of Mark and Comm Ltd, a PR and communications agency based in Colombo. Bringing over 12 years’ experience, he also serves on CIPR’s professional standards committee.
A chartered marketer, Thajudeen is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and the Chartered Management Institute. In addition to CIPR, he’s also in PRCA Asia Pacific’s Regional Board and PRCA’s education advisory board and membership committee. Thajudeen was also named among CampaignAsia’s 40 Under 40 for 2024. He is a graduate from the University of Colombo with an executive MBA.