Sturgess Van Damme

WEST’S FORMER NEWSPAPER CHIEF JOINS BUSINESS PR CONSULTANCY

Sturgess Van Damme appoints Paul Kearney as Chairman

Paul Kearney, former Managing Director at the owners of the Western Daily Press, Bristol Evening Post - and many other West newspapers, websites, and a radio station – has joined the region‘s leading independent corporate PR consultancy.

Mr Kearney (49) is the new non-executive Chairman at Sturgess Van Damme, West-based PR specialists for corporate, business, and professional clients.

Having managed Northcliffe media operations in Derby, Leicester, and the South East, Mr Kearney also spent 10 years as Managing Director of Bristol United Press.

His new role at Sturgess Van Damme, which specialises in media relations for corporate and professional clients, will focus on the consultancy‘s continued growth and expansion into new areas of media development.

According to Paul Kearney: “Sturgess Van Damme has achieved solid organic growth over the past 12 years, by providing top level advice and results for some of the region‘s biggest corporate clients. This has secured one of the PR industry‘s top client-retention rates, with many SVD clients having grown with the consultancy over a decade or more.

“The business is now ideally positioned for a growth-surge, at a time when the news-media industry is confronting massive change”, he added.

Founder of Sturgess Van Damme, David Sturgess, said: “Paul is one of the South West‘s most highly regarded boardroom executives, with unequalled knowledge of this region‘s business economy and the transformation taking place in the news media.

“For some years, Paul and I worked together on the judging panel for the West of England Business of the Year Award, which demonstrated his ability to analyse a company‘s performance and potential.

“We are thrilled that he has chosen to join us, and help lead the next stage in our development”, said Mr Sturgess.

ENDS

For further information please contact David Sturgess, Sturgess Van Damme, on 01275 349011 or email david@sturgessvandamme.co.uk

Notes to Editor:

Paul Kearney has served as:

A trustee-director of Bristol Zoo for eight years
A director of the Bristol 2008 bid-team
South West Regional Chairman of the Prince‘s Trust Business Leaders‘ Group
A director of the educational charity, “Ablaze”
A director of the social enterprise charity, “The Hub”

Sturgess Van Damme (SVD) was founded in 1995 as a Bristol-based consultancy, specialising in serving corporate, business-to-business, and professional clients;

Every client is directly served by experienced SVD directors;

SVD clients include:

Amcor – one of the world‘s largest packaging companies
Battens Solicitors – the largest law firm in Somerset & Dorset
Bishop Fleming – the accountancy firm with most offices in the South West
Cardiff International Airport – the UK‘s fastest growing regional airport
The Consortium – the UK‘s market leader in supplying the education and care-home sectors;
Deloitte – one of the “Big Four” accountancy firms;
Integral – the UK‘s biggest independent provider of property maintenance services;
Jordans – Britain‘s biggest provider of business services & information;
King Sturge – the biggest international property consultancy in the South West;
Momentum Corporate Finance – the South West‘s top advisers on management buy-outs and company sales;
RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors)
South West Housing Initiative – the unique partnership of the region‘s biggest house-builders, housing associations, housing professions, and employers.