Victoria Dean (pictured) joins Portland as deputy chief executive in January 2022 and will work alongside chief executive Mark Flanagan to "deliver an ambitious strategy for growth", the Omnicom agency said.
Dean spent three years at Portland until October 2019 as a partner in the corporate team. She also led the agency's Brexit Unit. Prior to that, she held senior Foreign Office roles including British High Commissioner to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean and the FCO’s deputy director of Europe.
Flanagan said: “We are thrilled to welcome Vikki back to Portland. She’s an exceptional leader and client advisor. Portland has a strong heritage but we’re now building something exciting for the future – and Vikki will be a big part of that. You can see that the communications market is in flux and we intend to be at the forefront of what comes next.”
Dean said: “I’m really excited to help lead Portland through its next phase. It’s a real privilege to be able to come back to a business I’ve loved, as part of its past and its future.”
Chris Foster, chief executive of Omnicom Public Relations Group, said: “Having the right talent is mission-critical to driving growth, so it is a pleasure to welcome Vikki back to Omnicom. Building on the successes of Portland under Mark’s leadership, I am confident that we will continue to drive growth and support our teams with the addition of Vikki as deputy CEO.”
Portland recently announced the arrival of Boris Johnson’s former deputy chief of staff, Katie Lam, as chief policy adviser and Gabriel Milland from Public First as partner for research and strategy.
Last week, PRWeek reported that Portland managing director Sam Ingleby and Deliveroo global public affairs director Nick Hargrave are to leave their roles by the end of the year and launch an agency together.
