THE SPEAR’S 500 Business & entrepreneurship John Evans Hawthorn Advisors Group


FOCUS Business, politics, entertainment


John Evans advises across financial services and TMT, plus many of Hawthorn’s private clients. Support on transformation and restructuring plans has been critical for clients this year, as has internal engagement. ‘Of course, the pandemic has had a profound effect on people and organisations, and sadly it will likely do so for some time to come,’ he says. ‘We will continue to work closely with business leaders and entrepreneurs as they navigate this difficult and unpredictable time – overcoming the challenges, while also supporting growth plans.’ The consultancy also launched political risk analysis and research services, delivering critical intelligence to many of Hawthorn’s domestic and international clients.


Patrick Forbes Witan Advisors


FOCUS The Gulf, financial comms


Rory Godson Powerscourt


FOCUS Arts, wealth, media relations


Patrick Harrison Weber Shandwick


FOCUS Expert communications advice


The thoughtful Patrick Forbes speaks fluent Arabic and has 11 years’ experience in the Gulf, mostly in Qatar. He joined Portland in 2018 when it acquired the business he had founded in Doha. Working alongside Philip Hall, Forbes headed up Portland’s new private client offering, working with high-profile individuals on philanthropy and financial communications, and by offering digital support. Clients included the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2020, after completing his earn-out period with Portland, he founded a new agency, Witan Advisors, to ‘provide discreet strategic communications advice to businesses, individuals and organisations worldwide’.


After a stint as business editor of The Sunday Times, Rory Godson served as director of corporate affairs at Goldman Sachs International before setting up Powerscourt in 2004. He previously told Spear’s that he enjoys helping clients to ‘navigate uncharted territory, protecting them from their enemies and getting them home safe’. And, when it comes to clients’ problems, ‘the tougher and more complex it is, the better’. That outlook may be a consequence of his journalism career, which he says ‘taught me to deal with multiple sources addressing challenging issues under great time pressure’. Powerscourt made headlines itself


in 2018, as it was hired by Sir Martin Sorrell’s investment vehicle, S4 Capital, to handle its financial PR.


‘The word “PR” doesn’t really cover it,’ explains Patrick Harrison, when Spear’s visits him at Weber Shandwick’s offices. ‘What we do is much broader than that. We’re more of a mixed communications agency – we provide services all the way from deep data analytics through to public affairs and media relations.’ A former adviser to Prince


Charles, Harrison began his career in journalism before handling communications for the prison service. ‘Like all industries, we are being disrupted,’ he says, referring to the technology that is making communication easier – and more difficult to control. ‘Like we advise our clients, we need to stay up to date with that and embrace it.’


David Hawkins Cliveden Advisory


FOCUS Arts, wealth, media relations


Dave King Digitalis


FOCUS Crisis comms & positioning


Tim Luckett Hill + Knowlton


FOCUS Crisis comms


David McDonough Sanctuary Counsel


FOCUS Leadership counsel


David Hawkins has had a varied career, with spells in the arts, technology, politics and wealth management, as is reflected in the range of services offered by his firm. Cliveden Advisory spans government advisory, media relations, business development and partnerships in the luxury and art worlds. After university, he became a lobbyist for tech companies, then worked in Downing Street’s policy unit. He worked for a UHNW Indian family before becoming MD of Grazeley Family Office Advisory. Hawkins has worked in the


Middle East, notably as acting art fair director for Art Bahrain Across Borders, returning to run his own art events under the Cliveden banner.


Digitalis is unique in the sense that it’s powered by proprietary technology, in which founder Dave King has ‘invested many millions’ to help HNWs and their families combat reputational, physical and cyber-security threats online. The process starts with mining an individual or family’s entire digital footprint, to then monitor where it’s published. ‘We know within six minutes and help lawyers jump into action, before an investigative journalist splashes it on a tabloid,’ he says. The legally trained King has been called upon by FTSE, Fortune and governmental advisers for advice on cyber-security or reputational threats and even ‘the topic of disinformation today’.


The world is becoming increasingly litigious for HNW clients, who need a crisis expert like Tim Luckett on speed dial. ‘We’re stepping in to ensure that


any comms strategy is completely aligned with the legal strategy,’ he says. To ensure this is achieved, he orchestrates plans to bring business leaders together with the very best legal minds. Luckett’s firm is particularly known for steering clients through social media quagmires, through its Flight School simulation tool, which stress tests a client’s response to online crises in real time. The former crime correspondent is also the first point of contact following a data breach, and is highly skilled at ‘keeping stories out of the papers’.


David McDonough OBE, adviser to UHNWs, high-flying executives and corporations, has been busy expanding his agency, Sanctuary Counsel. He helps his clientele – ‘individuals from the mid-40s success bracket’ – with ‘existentially satisfying opportunities’. An environment of uncertainty is,


he says, ‘very fertile ground for close, trusted advisers, who can help clients read the runes while providing discreet, wise counsel’. On his personal philosophy and


USP, he says: ‘Integrity, intelligence (both emotional and intellectual), insight, accumulated wisdom and experience, a sure touch around the highways and byways of the anatomy of Britain, and a capacity for listening as well as talking.’


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