The PHA Group appoints Corporate head for Northern division

PR, Digital and Creative Agency The PHA Group has appointed Catherine Walker as Senior Vice President, Corporate for its PHA North operations.

Walker is a senior communications professional with over 16 years’ experience advising companies on corporate reputation, stakeholder engagement and B2B communications.

She has held a number of agency roles as well as senior in-house positions at Bevan Brittan LLP, Morrisons and Yorkshire Building Society.

Walker’s remit at The PHA Group is to help grow the agency’s portfolio of clients headquartered in the North and be a senior advisor to the firm’s roster of national and international corporate clients. She will report to Becks Wiper, EVP, PHA North.

Walker has deep expertise across the professional services, retail, manufacturing, logistics, food and drink, agriculture and health sectors. She has worked with a range of blue-chip brands, such as Ab Agri, Centrica, Quorn, Taylors of Harrogate, Essity, DFS. Finsbury Food Group and Froneri, delivering programmes focused on corporate profiling, issues management and strengthening relationships with trade, industry and policy stakeholders.

A proud Yorkshire woman, Walker brings a passion for helping organisations tell their corporate stories and build long-term reputation equity.

PHA North – with offices in Manchester and Leeds – partners with regional and national brands and businesses across the corporate and consumer sectors, including adidas Manchester Marathon, University of Liverpool and Pink Lady Apples.

Commenting on the appointment, Walker said: “This is a really exciting new chapter that I can’t wait to get underway. My time working in-house gave me real insight into how professional services businesses think, what they need from their communications strategies and the pressures they face day to day. Now I’m looking forward to bringing that perspective back into agency life, working with a brilliant new team and helping clients tell their story in the most impactful way possible.

“The PHA Group has already built something special in the North, and I’m thrilled to be working with the team to look at what more we can do to support the amazing businesses and people that call this region home.“

George Coleman, CEO at The PHA Group, added: “We’re all-in on expanding our operations across the North. We see so much potential, and Catherine’s appointment is another important step in making PHA the go-to PR agency for brands across the region.”