LIONEL STANBROOK

+44 7734 970163    UK national

Lionel Stanbrook is an accomplished communicator, strategy and policy advisor. He has worked as the speechwriter and head of communications for the President of the European Parliament, the President of the African Development Bank, and for several CEOs and political leaders. He has considerable experience adding value as an advisor and leader in strategic communications, issue and reputation management, thought leadership, message development, and stakeholder engagement at senior levels in the public and private sector, EU and international institutions, NGOs and agencies.

 

Since January 2020:  SENIOR PARTNER, CLEMENT WRITE RIGHT COMMUNICATIONS, Burgess Hill, UK

• Communications Lead and Senior Editor for worldeconomics.com – short articles on world economics, government statistics, and specialist articles on economic development issues; identification and development of online media promotions, analysis, and integrated campaigns on social media platforms
• Communications Advisor and Editor for FT Communications – articles and press materials on a variety of consumer, health, social and educational subjects. Training on commercial communications, writing and editing, creating and maintaining house styles, reputation management, corporate messaging and stakeholder engagement.

 

Nov 2016 – January 2020: CHIEF OF COMMUNICATIONS / PRESIDENT’S SPEECHWRITER / SENIOR EDITOR, AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK, Cote d’Ivoire

• Chief of communications, speechwriter and political advisor to the President
• Senior Editor for significant Bank publications and proposals approved by the Board

 

Key Achievements:

• Helping to transform the international perception of the President as a prominent and positive thought leader on African economic development issues
• Development of a central online corporate message directory of positions, policies and commitments for use, inter alia, in brand communications, social media, information, news reporting and research material.
• Re-designed and restructured the Bank’s communications function so that it related closer to institutional strategy and was coherent with partnerships and stakeholder engagement.
• Proposed and created the Bank’s new House Style for English language communications and publications
• Accompanying the President as special adviser on key foreign missions and in meetings with national presidents, prime ministers and ministers of finance, discussing Bank investment projects, policies and programmes

 

June 2015 – December 2015: SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS ADVISOR (short term contract), WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME, Rome, Italy

• Advising and assisting the Executive Director (Ertharin Cousin) in a review of WFP communications policy, reputation and news management in the light of the Zero Hunger policy and action responsibilities under the SDGs

 

Key Achievements:

• Wrote comprehensive internal report on the communications arguments for and against accepting a commercial and working partnership proposal from a major global multinational food company.
• Developed an audit and reputation management exercise for future partnering initiatives
• Took major role in the comprehensive re-evaluation of the WFP’s communications and external relations, including reputation, social media and news management, for the Zero Hunger action responsibilities under the SDGs
• Developed a working “message house” for key issues in external relations and reputation management

 

JAN 2012 – NOV 2016: MANAGING PARTNER and SENIOR EDITOR, CLEMENT REPUTATION GmbH Basel, Switzerland

• Development of corporate communications and strategic advisory programmes for multinational organizations, thought leadership, reputation management, training, and stakeholder engagement services

 

Key Achievements:

• With the French PR agency Cohn & Wolfe, I arranged and led a group of French senators in a fact-finding expedition to the Indonesian rain forest in July 2013, investigating and reporting on palm oil and pulp and paper production. I prepared and wrote their report, which led to changes in French policy on forest products.
• I coordinated a team of writers and edited the 2015 edition of the Annual Report of Roche, Basel, Switzerland.
• I wrote and edited the highly praised staff journal of the Huntsman Corporation for 4 years and 10 issues 2012-16
• I developed a corporate communications training programme, ICEPICK, for senior business executives.
• Interim communications director and editorial specialist at several companies including Roche, Novartis, Huntsman, Colgate Palmolive, and Syngenta Crop Protection.

 

JUN 2004 – JAN 2012: GLOBAL HEAD OF REPUTATION MANAGEMENT, SYNGENTA INTERNATIONAL GmbH, Basel, Switzerland

• Global corporate communications, thought leadership, stakeholder engagement, messaging, and external relations 

 

Key Achievements:

• I developed an integrated global reputation and issue management, stakeholder engagement and messaging communications programme, mentioned in trade media as “exemplary and mould-breaking”
• I was commended for an outstanding reaction to a communications crisis / emergency in 2007 involving the reporting of our products subject to an expensive recall. This commendation became a company award the same year.

 

OTHER POSTS:

2001- 2004         Managing Director and Partner at PRM European Lobbyists Ltd, Brussels

1991- 2001           Director of Communications & Deputy Director General, Advertising Association, London

1989- 1991           European Director at Shandwick Public Affairs, London

1983- 1987           Communications Director, European Parliament, Brussels

1987- 1989           Speechwriter, spokesman, and press officer for Lord Plumb, President of the European Parliament

President’s Cabinet and European Parliament Political Staff, Brussels

1983                     Journalist and freelance/stringer for UK daily newspapers Europolitique, Brussels

1982 – 1983         Communications and media adviser Cabinet of Sir Ivor Richard European Commission, Brussels

 

EDUCATION

Pembroke College, Oxford University BA (Hons) in Modern History and Modern Languages, MA (Oxon)

Languages: English (mother tongue), French (fluent), Spanish (advanced).    

Contact:  cjlcs50@gmail.com,                                                  

January 2021