Laffan's replacement at Prosek Partners is Andrew Dowler, currently senior managing director at Stamford Communications – although the scope of the role will change.
Laffan, who was chief comms officer at Lloyds Bank before joining Prosek in 2019, becomes global head of corporate affairs at ICG on 5 January. Her new role encompasses external and internal comms, corporate brand, reputation and public affairs. ICG manages about €45bn of assets in the 'alternatives' space: private equity, private debt, real estate and infrastructure.
Prosek Partners global chief executive Jennifer Prosek told PRWeek that Dowler will take the MD title and join as a senior advisor.
However, the operational responsibility has been removed from the role; this will be overseen by senior vice-presidents Beth Leri and Henrietta Dehn, who lead the office on a day-to-day basis. Dowler – formerly of Finsbury, FTI Consulting and private equity firm Blackstone – will instead have a greater focus on senior client engagements and managing and mentoring staff.
The US-headquartered agency said: "Fiona Laffan will be leaving Prosek for a fantastic in-house opportunity. She has added great value to our growing London office and she will be a very valued member of our global alumni network.
"Andrew Dowler will be joining the Prosek team as of 1 January as a senior advisor to work directly with Jennifer Prosek and team to support Prosek through its next phase of growth in London."
Laffan also previously ran corporate comms for Goldman Sachs in EMEA and was formerly a partner at Brunswick Group.
Her appointment at ICG follows a recent trend of large corporations appointing senior figures for new and strengthened corporate affairs positions. Other FTSE 100 firms WPP, Aviva and Halma have taken similar steps, along with Biffa, the FTSE 250 waste management company.
