Laura is a Partner and co-owner of Connect who provides strategic advice to clients across the public, private and charitable sectors.   Laura has been recognised in the Public Affairs Awards as one of the UKs most successful and effective public affairs consultants and she recently led our award winning work with the London Mathematical Society. 

Paul leads Connect’s work across the education, health and tech sectors.  He designs successful strategies and provides senior counsel for globally-recognised organisations to meet their policy objectives, raise profiles and bring about positive change together.  He has extensive experience across politics and public affairs, as an Adviser to a former Secretary of State, Chief of Staff to a former Government Minister, and leadership roles across the communications sector.   Paul is a Board Member of the communications industry’s trade body, the PRCA. 

Sebastian joined the Connect Board as a Non-Executive Director in 2014, bringing over 20 years’ experience advising small and medium sized businesses on governance, finance and accounting matters. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. 

Joe is an experienced consultant who primarily specialises in local government engagement and community consultation across the built environment sector. He has worked across a variety of planning projects including in the residential, logistics, retail, transport and energy sectors and is familiar with the key issues which often surround large development proposals. ​  Joe provides strategic advice on effective and genuine community consultation, as well as helping his clients navigate the politics of planning and development to give them the best chance of gaining local consent. 

The vast majority of Connect’s client events and conferences since 1997 have passed through Fiona’s hands. With a wealth of experience of project managing the day-to-day logistics of large policy conferences, Fiona ensures that client events run smoothly – to time and to budget. She leads the majority of our clients’ events in Parliament and at the annual political party conferences. 

David provides senior counsel to clients drawing on his expertise in housing, planning, regeneration and skills policy. David uses his knowledge and networks, especially within the Labour Party,  gained through working at the heart of London government. 

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Prior to joining Connect, David was a senior adviser to the Mayor of London. At City Hall, David was integral to the publication of the London Plan and devolution of adult education. With an extensive career across the public, private and third sectors, David has played a strategic role in award winning influencing campaigns. 

James is an experienced public affairs and political advisor who works with businesses across a range of sectors to refine their messages and objectives. His work has secured meaningful change for clients including legislative changes and policy inclusion in party manifesto’s. James leads Connect’s Health team. Prior to joining Connect, he was Chief of Staff to a Conservative MP.    Before politics, James worked in the agri-business sector helping start-ups to expand their businesses in sub-Saharan Africa, the UK and on continental Europe. James is also a local Councillor in Wiltshire.

Áine is an experienced policy and public affairs consultant who works with organisations across a range of sectors to refine their messages and objectives. She has extensive public affairs experience in the health arena and across her career has achieved major success in achieving policy change with the NI government. Prior to joining Connect, Áine was the NI Public affairs and Media manager of Carers UK as well as the Policy and Public Affairs Manager for the Royal College of Surgeons (England) and the Royal College of GPs in NI. She is a former journalist.

Catriona is the founder of Linco, an Edinburgh based agency, which became part of the Connect Group in 2025.  As well as leading our team in Scotland, she is a member of the Group Board.   Catriona was previously Special Adviser to the First Minister in the Scottish Government, and Chief of Staff to the SNP Leader in Westminster. A graduate of the University of Glasgow and the University of Sydney, Australia, Catriona is a Trustee of The David Hume Institute. 

Louis is an experienced political consultant, having worked in Westminster since 2014. His broad private sector experience includes public affairs, political campaigns, third-party coalition building, corporate due diligence, and strategic advisory services. Louis also worked for two senior MPs and a public policy think tank. He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Newcastle University. 

Harry is a Senior Counsel and advises our corporate clients on communications strategy, political and parliamentary engagement, reputation management and wider public policy issues.  Harry has previously held a variety of roles across Government, including as Special Advisor and Spokesman for the Home Secretary, in No10 Downing Street and in Conservative Campaign Headquarters.  He is a Board member of the industry standards and best practice body, the PRCA Public Affairs Board.   

James advises clients on media relations.  Prior to joining Connect, he spent 30 years working as a journalist including over 12 years writing about politics as a lobby correspondent and freelance for titles including The Sunday Post, The New Statesman and The Daily Telegraph.   ​He is also the author of two books - The Gender Agenda (JKP 2017) and Dads Don’t Babysit (Ortus 2018) - and has presented and produced The Brexit Breakdown podcast  and A Podcast of One’s Own with Julia Gillard for The Policy Institute at King’s College London.

Adam joined Connect Belfast in 2018 after more than a decade as a Senior Parliamentary Assistant at the Assembly. As Account Director, he advises organisations on engaging with the Executive and Assembly, with client work spanning housing legislation, cancer strategy, and food regulation post-Brexit. He leads Connect’s Assembly Training Programme and delivers tailored sessions on political engagement, communications, and campaigning. A Belfast City Councillor from 2011–2023, Adam brings deep insight into local government and public affairs, helping organisations achieve strategic outcomes.

Holly leads a team in our London office focussed on government and stakeholder relations, including complex regulatory environments.  Holly has over a decade of experience advising on political strategy and campaigns. She has worked for a range of sectors from leisure, retail, and energy to food and drink and the environment.   Holly is an elected Councillor in a London Borough and she has particular expertise in local planning. She has also been involved in a range of election campaigns from national, local, mayoral and the EU referendum.

Andy is Managing Partner and co-owner of the Connect Group.  He provides strategic advice and senior counsel to our clients on media and political strategy, issues management and crisis communications.  

Andy draws on his experience as a former Member of Parliament, representing Corby and serving as a Shadow Minister, member of a Select Committee and Bill Committees. 

Lora leads our corporate and design function, presenting innovative creative solutions for clients across all sectors. Her work has featured in hundreds of Parliamentary events, the boardrooms of FTSE 100 companies, as well as on social media of some of the UK’s best-known brands.  As a Board Director, Lora has a broader role in the leadership of Connect and draws on two decades of experience in public affairs.  

Dan is Managing Director in our London office. He works with Connect clients in all sectors, providing strategic advice and leading public affairs programmes and campaigns that influence legislation and regulation.   Prior to joining Connect, Dan worked in a range of roles in political communications, including as Secretary to the Parliamentary Labour Party, working closely with Labour MPs in Westminster. In 2016 he served as Agent to Sadiq Khan, playing a key role in Mayor Khan’s successful campaign to win power in London. 

Innes has advised politicians in Holyrood and Westminster, most recently as a Special Adviser in No10 Downing Street.   Having started her career as a Researcher in the Scottish Parliament, she moved to Westminster in 2018 and became Head of Policy for the Conservative Party. Following a stint as a Special Adviser in the Department for Education, Innes returned to Scotland to write the Scottish Conservative Manifesto for the 2021 Scottish Election. In 2022 she rejoined the UK Government, advising Rishi Sunak on policy relating to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and gaining an unparalleled insight into the internal workings of government.

Gráinne is one of the most experienced public affairs practitioners on the island of Ireland, with more than two decades advising organisations at the highest levels of politics and policy. A native of Dublin, she leads Connect’s Belfast office and is part of the Connect Group leadership team. Gráinne is a trusted adviser to senior leaders, recognised for her judgement on political strategy, issues management and crisis communications. She has worked with every political party and across all government departments over the lifetime of devolution, and has extensive experience of engagement at Westminster, the Dáil and in local government.