It comes ahead of a £600m programme to build a new arrivals building alongside the existing existing terminal.
Clifton, who starts his new role in January, will oversee the press office, social media, customer relations and stakeholder engagement teams for the Stansted Transformation Programme.
David Lewy, previously account director at FleishmanHillard Fishburn, joins as head of public affairs and partnerships. Lewy was a senior member of their public affairs team at the agency, specialising in lobbying and political campaigns, public affairs, reputation management and corporate strategy, working with clients such as Nominet, the Omidyar Network and Lendlease. Prior to this he spent six years at Network Rail in a senior role in their public affairs team.
Leanne Ehren, who previously headed a regional team delivering comms and engagement at the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust, has joined as communication and stakeholder engagement manager, reporting to Clifton. The former Cambridge News journalist also worked at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service as the deputy to the director of communications and engagement.
Clifton and Lewy will report to corporate affairs director Jonathan Oates, who joined London Stansted in July 2018 after four years as external communications director at the airport's owner, Manchester Airport Group.
Oates said: "I’m delighted to welcome Ben, Leanne and David to Stansted during what is such an important and exciting period in our evolution.
"We are one of the fastest-growing major airports in Europe, recently obtained local planning approval to raise our passenger numbers from 35 million to 43 million per year and have embarked on a £600m transformation programme that will see us build a brand-new arrivals building alongside our existing terminal. Stansted is changing every day and a key focus of the team will be to deliver a step change in people’s perceptions of the airport."
