“Good people invested in me – now it’s time to pay it forward.”

Francis is an international, award-winning Communications practitioner with over 40 years’ experience. Francis built his reputation for issues and crisis management across a wide range of sectors.

He has advised politicians, CEOs and FDs representing some of the world’s most high-profile brands including LEGO, Boots The Chemists, No7, Clearasil and Nurofen. He was awarded Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in 2009

His management specialisms include: Public Affairs; Corporate, City and Financial PR, Reputation and Crisis Management, Retail & Consumer PR, Media Relations, Government Relations (national and local), Customer Relations, Brand management, Cause Related Marketing and Stakeholder Management.

Here are just a few examples of his work in reputation and crisis management:

•       Managed the crisis response to six major rail crashes.

•       Crisis managed the Daily Telegraph’s expose of cheating by Exam Boards

•       Successfully managed Ofqual’s communications response to unprecedented levels of exam paper errors in 2011.

•       Managed Suffolk’s image during the ‘Suffolk Murders case’ including to global media attention.

•       Led the communications response to the UK’s first outbreak of H5N1 Bird Flu. Including co-ordinating communications across all local and national government agencies.

•       Led a multi-agency communications response to tidal flooding in 2007.

•       Successfully managed employer communications during a six-month trade dispute with the Fire Brigades Union.

•       Flew to Tokyo, at two hours’ notice, to handle the Japanese and UK media when Boots’ partnership with Mitsubishi was terminated.

•       Represented The Boots Company on ‘The Cook Report’ when the programme was investigating the causes of cot deaths. The handling of the programme and the maelstrom of media attention resulted in Boots being seen as a calm and authoritative voice at a time of heightened national debate of a highly emotive subject.

•       When Europe's biggest fire in fifty years destroyed a 50,000 sq ft Boots warehouse national media coverage was minimised to just two sentences in the Daily Telegraph.

•       Reviewed and restructured communications at a major NHS Trust following a major crisis.

·       Managed the aftermath of murders and firebombings by terrorists in the West Midlands and the South of England.

A life-long Christian, Francis plays an active role in Dunchurch Baptist Church preaching and chairing Church meetings.