‌Sally Sykes was the first of a number of guest speakers arranged for this year to give the current MBA class – and invited guests – the opportunity to learn about leadership at the highest level. 

Sally Sykes is the Director of External Affairs at EEF, The Manufacturers Organisation, and former Communications Director, Health & Safety Executive (HSE), Merseyside and London.

She is also President of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations 2012, representing 10,000 members in the PR and Communications profession.

Sally is a communications and public affairs practitioner who has held roles as a UK Senior Civil Servant, plus global leadership roles with AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, Ciba-Geigy (chemicals), Scottish Courage (beer), Littlewoods (fashion retailing). She was also Head of Press and Public Relations at the Manchester Airports Group from 1996–2002, leading the PR and political lobbying for its controversial second runway. She is an English Literature graduate from Leeds University, with a Master’s degree in Public Relations from Stirling University, for which she won a bursary from "Cosmopolitan" magazine.

Sally delivered insights about the role PR and communications play in an organisation, providing practical experience and perspectives from the world of industry, adding to the students' learning experience.

The audience was inspired listening to Sally’s knowledge on the criticality of communications, and the importance of communicating with employees, the markets and media, along with how to manage crises effectively.

This was a great start to the series and the class are very excited to welcome the next speaker.