Stratton Craig welcomes the appointment of Leighton Barnish as Director of Stakeholder Advisory at Positive Change Group.
Leighton brings more than 25 years of experience across strategic communications and positioning, sustainability and ESG, and stakeholder advisory into this Group-wide role. He will work alongside the businesses within Positive Change Group, including Stratton Craig, to strengthen the senior strategic counsel available to clients.
Leighton brings extensive experience from both in-house and advisory roles. Most recently, he was Head of Sustainability for EMEA at Sodali & Co, where he also led the practice’s strategic communications function. Previously, he was Head of Sustainability & ESG Advisory at Powerscourt, advising organisations including Airbus, Mazda, Bellway Homes, Laing O’Rourke and the King’s Sustainable Markets Initiative.
Earlier in his career, Leighton held senior in-house roles at AstraZeneca and Syngenta in the UK and Switzerland before moving into specialist sustainability consultancies. He also previously worked at Positive Change Group agency, Black Sun Global, as Sustainability Communications Director, making his return to the business particularly significant.
His experience across positioning, sustainability and strategic communications will be particularly valuable to Stratton Craig clients as they navigate increasingly complex issues, from sustainability and regulation to AI and stakeholder management.
The appointment follows Helen Bennett’s arrival as Group CEO in June and is part of Positive Change Group’s continued investment in broadening its C-suite advisory capabilities.
Nina Whittaker, CEO at Stratton Craig, said:
“I’m really pleased to see Leighton Barnish join Positive Change Group as Director of Stakeholder Advisory. Leighton’s experience working with senior leadership teams on sustainability, reputation and strategic communications adds another layer to the expertise available across Positive Change Group. We’ll be working closely with Leighton to help clients navigate the increasingly complex strategic landscape and how it affects the stories and content needed to build trust among investors, clients and employees alike. We look forward to working together to help our clients achieve more from their content.”
Helen Bennett, Group CEO of Positive Change Group, said:
“Clients are not dealing with neat, single-discipline problems. A decision about AI, sustainability, or business change can quickly affect employees, investors, customers and regulators, with immediate implications for reputation. They need advisers who can see those connections and understand the commercial reality behind the decision.
“Leighton understands that complexity from both sides. He knows what it is like to work inside a major global organisation and what senior leaders need from an adviser when there is no simple answer. I have real confidence in his judgement and in what he will bring to our clients. We’re thrilled to have him on board.”
Leighton Barnish, Director of Stakeholder Advisory at Positive Change Group, said:
“Having worked at Black Sun earlier in my career, I knew the quality of the business and its client relationships. What attracted me back was Positive Change Group’s ambition to make stakeholder engagement part of how businesses make decisions and deliver change, rather than something that happens separately across different teams and audiences.
“The businesses that best navigate change today understand how their decisions will affect different stakeholders and build support before they act. That is exactly the kind of work I wanted to come back to do.”
About Positive Change Group
Positive Change Group is a global stakeholder engagement business. Our specialist agencies work as one, bringing together reporting, culture, communications and sustainability through a connected model that helps organisations close the gap between what they say and what people see, so they can present a clear and consistent story across every stakeholder group.
When that alignment is in place, organisations move faster, make better decisions and build confidence in their direction.
Headquartered in London, with an international network across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and South Africa, Positive Change Group supports over 100 multinational organisations at C-suite and board level.
For more information, visit: www.positivechangegroup.com
