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Profile Communications/Public Affairs Director with 20 years experience at organizations such as Financial Services Authority, National Autistic Society, Ernst & Young, Crawford-THG and Tate & Lyle. Now working as freelance interim communications specialist through own company – Stuart Notholt Communications Limited. Provides support across the communications mix, including a specialism in internal communications, which is widely recognized as the most technically challenging and emotive of communications issues, particularly at times of merger/acquisition or rapid internal change.  |
"It was a pleasure to work with somebody of such calibre and dedication to the task in hand. He is a highly gifted and creative communicator. He is a man of scrupulous integrity and great energy and enthusiasm. I cannot commend him to you too highly.” (Alan J. Cleary, Commissioner, United Nations Compensation Commission).
Principal areas of expertise
Strategic agility and leadership
| < | Led, with two other senior directors, the overall direction of £110m business employing 2,800 people throughout UK. (National Autistic Society) |
| < | Created and led Development Directorate for new national organization. (Victim Support) |
| < | Delivered brand development projects during times of major change, winning approval at Board and throughout the organization at all staff levels. Internal survey (NAS) indicated 95% acceptance of new brand proposition. (Crawford-THG; National Autistic Society) |
| < | Audited and re-designed PR strategy for the Europe, Middle East and Africa Division of a major PLC to make it more cohesive and responsive to business needs. (CB Richard Ellis) |
| < | Developed post-9/11 disaster recovery internal communications strategy. (Financial Services Authority) |
| < | Effective people manager with highest managerial approval rating within organization, as measured by staff survey. (Financial Services Authority) |
A record of delivery
| < | Developed CD-ROM and on-line delivery of FSA Handbook of Rules and Guidance to 23,000 regulated firms, resulting in overall saving of £9m; project used by Adobe as a case study. (Financial Services Authority) |
| < | Launched Public Autism Resource & Information Service (PARIS) a unique web-base database of resources for people with autism and their carers. Ten thousand hits in first year. (National Autistic Society) |
| < | Launched AutismCounts, an on-line campaigning tool used during the course of the last General Election to boost awareness of autism and expand size of All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism (APPGA). APPGA actually grew from 300 parliamentarians before election to 320 afterwards. (National Autistic Society) |
| < | Launched worldwide internal communications using technological developments to reduce overall production costs by one third. (Tate & Lyle PLC; Crawford-THG; National Autistic Society) |
Political acumen
| < | Extensive experience in complex global organizations; attuned to international cultural, legal and commercial sensitivities. (Tate & Lyle PLC, Crawford-THG, CB Richard Ellis) |
| < | Have worked across public, private and voluntary sectors, ensuring the different and diverse needs of each are met. Through work with Parliamentary and official groups, including All Party groups in the House of Commons, have operated at Ministerial and senior official level, gaining support for the aims of organization at Whitehall, Westminster, and the devolved institutions. (National Autistic Society, Financial Services Authority, Victim Support) |
| < | Worked on project basis with major donors (such as Vodafone) to ensure alignment of donor and charitable objectives. (National Autistic Society, Victim Support) |
| < | Took leadership role in a highly sensitive and potentially business-threatening reputational issue, ensuring PR, confidentality, and legal aspects were co-ordinated, with result that there were no repercussions for the organization. |
Technical skills
| < | Managed introduction of content management system for website, boosting hits to over 1m per annum – by far largest in sector. (National Autistic Society) |
| < | Developed integrated ‘pitch suite’ of presentations and resources aimed at enabling organization to pitch for bigger business opportunities, including successful £40m bids to United Nations. (Crawford-THG) |
| < | Developed Welsh Language Schemes and other non-English language services in accordance with legislative and consumer requirements, increasing accessibility of services and information (Financial Services Authority, National Autistic Society) |
| < | Project management of major publication. (CD, web and hard copy) launch. (Ernst & Young) |
| < | Widespread publications design, commissioning and editing. (Tate & Lyle; Crawford-THG; Financial Services Authority; National Autistic Society) |
Career History
STUART NOTHOLT COMMUNICATIONS LTD 2006-
Internal and external communications roles providing specialist interim management support (See below)
THE NATIONAL AUTISTIC SOCIETY 2002-2006
Divisional Director, Communications & Public Affairs
FINANCIAL SERVICES AUTHORITY 1999-2002
Head of Communications & Publications
ERNST & YOUNG 1999
Senior Marketing Manager, National Audit Division
CRAWFORD-THG LTD 1996-1998
Group Marketing Manager
FOREIGN & COLONIAL 1995-1996
Client Communications Manager
TATE & LYLE GROUP 1985-1995
Editor, Tate & Lyle Corporate Communications
Interim management roles 2006-8
July-April 2008: Director of Development for Victim Support, responsible for the establishment of a new division covering communications, fundraising, policy work, and volunteer development. Victim Support was merging 77 local organizations into one national body so new national systems had to be developed from scratch. Established and led divisional Senior Management Team, introducing new internal communications process, formed national fundraising team and created new training and development resource. Led on creation of three-year strategy and drafted Annual Plan.
March-June 2007: Interim Head of Internal Communications for the new Wealth Management business within Lloyds TSB. Corporate communications and business transformation programme arising out of merger of three advisory/sales teams to create new business. Wrote and then implemented Strategic Communications plan. Worked with individual workstreams to determine, and deliver, their internal communications requirements. Specific projects included management and organization of high-profile launch conference.
December 2007: Completed reference book, Fields of Fire – An Atlas of Ethnic Conflict, aimed at students of current affairs, journalists, and news gatherers. (see www.ethnic-conflict.info)
August-November 2006: Editorial work for Bangkok-based TransAsia Media. Primarily a series of journalistic and editorial projects on Asian defence and security issues.
October 2006 - February 2007: Destination Benin 2007. Field trip, business fact-finding and promotional programme aimed at raising the profile of Benin, in West Africa, as a tourist and business destination. Tie-in with numerous other programmes aimed at commemorating the 200th abolition of the slave trade (Benin was main source of trade). Liaised and co-ordinated with publishers, travel writers, Benin consular officials, tourism services providers, potential business partners, and personally organized and led field trip to Benin. (see www.notholt.net/benin)
November 2006: Project with a group of MPs and peers with view to establishment of an All Party Parliamentary Group on alternative proposals for the future of the House of Lords. Proposals delivered and accepted, however project overtaken by events following House of Commons vote on Lords reforms.
June-July 2006: Pro-bono work for the Nsumbi Trust in Kampala, Uganda. Nsumbi Trust raises funds for a number of child/youth related projects in the Kampala area. Work involved fundraising PR, training of teachers (and 250 pupils) in computing, IT and internet skills. Broader aim (carried out in conjunction with UK contacts through Business Action for Africa) was to develop the possibility of older students learning more formal office skills, to enable them to better compete in the buoyant Kampala professional services market. Project delivered, personal involvement and fundraising continues.
March-April 2006: Consultancy services to CB Richard Ellis (international property developers). Brief was to develop a cohesive public relations and media strategy for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) division. The division's regional offices had been acquired through acquisition and/or local expansion, so there was little commonality in approach to PR matters and inadequate synergy on cross-border issues and projects. The differing legal and logistical positions of the PR discipline in a very wide range of countries and cultures needed to be considered. Strategic report was delivered, followed by a detailed media process guide and implementation plan, which was adopted by the newly recruited EMEA PR manager.
External posts
| < | Fellow and Past President, Chartered Institute of Journalists |
| < | Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society |
| < | Guest lecturer in Communications Technology and use of plain English, Civil Service College |
| < | Consultant to a Foreign Office sponsored ‘Know How Fund’ project for the training of Hungarian, Russian and Polish managers |
| < | Member, Royal African Society (occasional contributor to journal, African Affairs) |
| < | Steering Committee member, Glass Slipper Appeal |
| < | Official Gibraltar Government Observer, Gibraltar Referendum, 2002 |
| < | Steering group member, Business Action for Africa |
| < | Member, Parochial Church Council, St Luke's Chiddingstone Causeway |
“Stuart is a highly intelligent and intellectual person. He is analytical in his approach and demonstrates sound judgement and common sense. He is a good listener. His powers of written expression are very good indeed and he can be relied on to draft clear, concise and accurate statements of policy covering a range of complex and sensitive issues.” (Vernon Beauchamp, CEO, The National Autistic Society)
Qualifications: MA, Geography, (2.1) University of Oxford
Date of birth: 26/3/1962
Email: stuart@notholt.net
Mobile: 07881 944514
Web: www.notholt.net
