Showcasing individuals and teams who have
positively impacted business results through
strategic internal communication

Jean Burke

Director, Esensia Communications

Jean helps organisations use communication to achieve improved business performance and change. In particular she specialises in supporting leaders and communicators in understanding and measuring the effectiveness of their communication efforts.

She held senior in-house communication and marketing roles in organisations such as GE, Hertz and Thomas Cook for 18 years before setting up her own consultancy in 2007.

Jean has a Masters in International Marketing from University College Dublin, is a trained coach and is currently studying for an MSc in Counselling and Psychotherapy. She is also skilled in GE WorkOut, Facilitation and the Change Acceleration Process (CAP).

As well as running her own business she is a trainer on the Melcrum Internal Communication Black Belt Programme in EMEA and on the marking team for the Accredited Internal Communicator (AIC) Programme.

Lynne Gray

Deutsche Bank, SCM Award Winner 2011 - Lifetime Achievement

Lynne Gray is an experienced internal communications professional with a significant and successful track record of achievement in the international financial sector.

Her experience includes major change programmes, mergers and acquisitions and leading high performing teams. Lynne spent 14 years with Aviva where she was internal communications director. Whilst at Aviva she was involved in delivering innovative, award-winning campaigns recognised by multiple IVCA Awards (2005, 2007, 2009, 2010), best internal communication of a rebrand (Communicate Magazine's Transform 2010 Awards) and best corporate communication (Brainshark 'Sharkie' Awards 2009).

Lynne currently works at Deutsche Bank where she's running communications for a major HR transformation programme.

Lynne was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for Internal Communications last year at Melcrum's SCM Awards 2011.

Linda Holbeche PhD

Director, The Holbeche Partnership

Visiting Professor at Bedfordshire University, Cass Business School and Imperial College

An established author, commentator, consultant and developer, Linda Holbeche is a thought and practice leader in the fields of leadership, HRM and organisation development.

Regularly judged an HR Power Player by Personnel Today and voted 3rd most influential HR thinker by Human Resources Magazine in 2009, Linda is co-director of The Holbeche Partnership, a research-based consultancy providing services in strategic leadership, change management, organisation development (OD), HR capability and high performance working.

Linda's previous roles include research and policy director at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, leadership and consultancy director at the Work Foundation, research and strategy director at Roffey Park and management development manager at American Express.

She's visiting professor at the following Business Schools: Cass (HRM and OD), Bedfordshire (Leadership Innovation) and Imperial College. She's also visiting fellow of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, and of Roffey Park. She is associate at Ashridge Management College and Erasmus Business School.

Linda's most recent books include:
HR Leadership (2009), Aligning HR and Business Strategy (2009) and Organisation Development:  a practitioners' guide for OD and HR (with M-Y Cheung-Judge, 2011); People and Organisation Development: a new agenda for organisational effectiveness (with Francis and Reddington, 2012). Her next (co-authored) book Engaged: Unleashing your organisation's potential through employee engagement, (Wiley) will be published in May 2012.

Victoria Mellor

CEO, Melcrum

Victoria Mellor is the CEO and co-founder of Melcrum, a research and training business that is the leading authority on best practice, emerging trends and strategy in internal communication.

Since she started the business with her husband Robin Crumby from their kitchen table in 1996, Melcrum has become a thriving multinational business with offices in London, Sydney,
Washington DC and Cape Town and over 45 staff worldwide. Today Melcrum advises internal communication leaders at 69% of the Global Fortune 100.

Victoria is an experienced public speaker and facilitator and has been instrumental in developing Melcrum's products and services including the Internal Communication Black Belt Programme and the Strategic Communication Research Forum.

Bill Quirke

Managing Director, Synopsis Communication Consulting

Bill is one of the leading authorities on internal communication, engagement and change. He has extensive practical experience in helping leaders achieve their business strategy through engaging with their people.

He is Managing Director of Synopsis, a specialist internal Communication consultancy whose international blue chip clients include such companies as AstraZeneca, BBC, Diageo, EDF, Lloyds Banking Group, O2, RBS, Shell, UBS Group, Unilever, Vodafone and Whitbread.

Educated at Oxford University, Bill is a regular international speaker, and the author of numerous works on communication and change.