Fishburn Hedges

19.05.2010

Fishburn Hedges announced today that it has appointed Dermot Finch, chief executive of the Centre for Cities, as its new head of public affairs. Dermot will move to Fishburn Hedges in August.

Dermot has been Chief Executive of the Centre for Cities since it was set up in 2005. Before that, he was a policy adviser at HM Treasury for 11 years, advising both Conservative and Labour Chancellors. His responsibilities there included financial services as well as holding the post of First Secretary (Economic Affairs) during a three-year posting to the British Embassy in Washington.

Simon Matthews, chief executive of Fishburn Hedges, said: “I’m delighted that we have been able to attract someone of the calibre of Dermot to be our new head of Public Affairs. He is taking charge at an interesting time for the agency, our clients and the country at large as we get to grips with the implications of the first coalition government for seven decades. The deficit and its implications are likely to dominate UK politics for the foreseeable future and it will be invaluable for our clients to have someone with Treasury experience leading public affairs at FH.”

Dermot Finch said: “I'm really looking forward to my new role at Fishburn Hedges. This is a fascinating time to move into public affairs, with enormous policy challenges facing the new Government and difficult decisions facing private and non-profit players. I aim to bring my Whitehall, Washington and think tank experience to Fishburn Hedges.”

For further information contact Jason Nisse or Simon Matthews on 0207 839 4321

Notes to editors

Fishburn Hedges was established in 1991 and, following almost twenty years of uninterrupted growth, now ranks amongst the UK leading PR consultancies. It specialises in providing public relations, public affairs and internal communications consultancy to organisations in both the private and public sectors. 

Centre for Cities is an independent research and policy institute. Committed to helping Britain’s cities improve their economic performance, the Centre produces practical research and policy advice for Whitehall, cities and business.