Hill+Knowlton Strategies (H+K), the international public relations agency, has appointed Scott Dodsworth, a public affairs and reputational management specialist with a long career of international government counsel, to head up H+K’s public affairs team in the UK with a specific focus initially on the Energy, Industrials and Defence sectors.
Dodsworth said, “Working with government has shown me there is a need for a fresh approach to public affairs as part of a broader public relations offer, and that’s exactly what H+K is giving me the opportunity to do in the UK and on an international level.”
In his last role, Dodsworth was head of strategic planning at BAE Systems. He was formerly chief of staff to the CEO and a former director of parliamentary relations, and as part of the senior leadership team, he provided a global enterprise view of BAE Systems’ operations and government relationships, including how they inform and contribute to company strategy and key international campaigns. Dodsworth played a central role in delivering the successful £20bn Future Frigate procurement to the Government of Australia by coordinating responses from the UK Government and Royal Navy. Previously he spent six years as senior political advisor at FleishmanHillard in public affairs and corporate communications.
“I am delighted that Scott is joining us in London to spearhead the expansion of our public affairs efforts”, said Simon Whitehead, H+K UK CEO. “With his government and strategic background in the UK and internationally, Scott will continue to redefine and modernise our public affairs offer as well as connecting it to the broader stakeholder and communications work with do with many clients in the UK. I have no doubt he will also bring his extensive experience to our EMEA and global One H+K network.”
H+K has offices in more than 40 countries worldwide, delivering award winning campaigns to clients across all sectors and disciplines and with a focus on continued innovation for the industry. Recent innovations include Flight School +, a crisis communications training and simulation tool, Better Impact™, a new approach to brand purpose and CSR, and H+K Smarter™, a behavioral science unit.
