LLM Communications has lost board director Olly Grender to rival
public affairs shop APCO.
Grender is expected to stand down from LLM in the new year following a
decision last week to join long-term friend and APCO London MD Nick de
Luca in a senior management role.
She refused to comment on the move, but it is understood a client
portfolio has already been established for her when she joins early in
2002.
Although she has never worked with de Luca before, the two are known to
be close friends.
De Luca was a consultant at Westminster Strategy when she led the PR
unit at that firm's then client, homelessness charity Shelter.
The Liberal Democrat stalwart joined LLM two years ago, after five years
at Shelter. Prior to that she worked at Lib Dem HQ as head of
communications for three years, a job that followed a three-year stint
as researcher, press aide and policy adviser to the party's then leader
Paddy Ashdown.
Her LLM appointment led to the agency - a lobbying outfit founded in
1997 by three former New Labour advisers - being rebranded as LLM
Communications in a bid to position itself as a more up-to-date
strategic PR provider.
De Luca refused to comment on the details of the Grender hire, but it
comes just weeks after APCO board director Alan Butler left the agency
to join Burson-Marsteller as a director in its public affairs practice.
