Jane Fordham and Katharine Thiemermann: Welcome to the folgate community
Every agency leader we speak to is wrestling with the same questions. How do we find, grow and keep the right people when the industry is changing this fast? And how do we deliver complex, high-stakes work without the wheels coming off?
This week we’re welcoming two advisors who have spent their careers answering exactly those queries.
Jane Fordham
Most organisations say their people are their greatest asset. Far fewer build the programmes, cultures and careers that prove it. Jane has spent her career closing that gap, with a particular passion for diversity and inclusion, employer branding and wellbeing.
For close to 15 years Jane was at Golin London. As Executive Director of Talent and Marketing, she oversaw talent programmes and recruitment for the 150-strong team, and helped build Golin's reputation as a progressive employer that tackled imbalances of gender, ethnicity and social mobility.
She then spent seven years as Partner, Board Member and Head of People at Hanbury Strategy, the fast-growing corporate communications and public affairs agency. In that time Hanbury grew from 30 to 160 people, opened offices in Brussels, Washington DC and Sydney, and sold its political risk advisory business. Along the way, Jane supported the Government Equalities Office's guidelines on returnship programmes, and spoke about workplace innovation on BBC Breakfast, Five Live and Radio 4's Today programme.
Today Jane advises firms on the people side of growth. She consults on training, HR systems, senior recruitment and promotion cycles, and works on internal communications and culture for a major UK publisher. She coaches communications and public affairs professionals in the UK, Brussels and beyond, delivers PRCA training on people management, leadership, inclusion and wellbeing, and is joining the Global Women in PR committee to lead on mentoring.
Katharine Thiemermann
Great healthcare communication depends on getting complex programmes right, from the science to the logistics. Katharine has more than 20 years' experience doing exactly that, across strategic communications, stakeholder engagement and large international healthcare programmes.
She combines a strong healthcare agency background with years of running her own events consultancy, which gives her both strategic insight and hands-on delivery expertise. Her work spans ethical healthcare communications, scientific congresses, pharmaceutical product launches, medical education, and patient and professional engagement in the UK and internationally.
Katharine has worked with leading agencies, pharmaceutical companies and senior scientific and clinical stakeholders, leading multidisciplinary teams, managing significant budgets and delivering large-scale international scientific programmes. She has provided specialist consultancy to agencies including Ketchum, Edelman and MSL Group, and is known for a calm, collaborative and commercially focused approach.
For more information about Jane's and Katharine's areas of expertise and contact details, see their advisor profiles.
