He joins on 6 November, reporting to Precise agency chief, director Robbie Macduff. Booth will be part of the management team of Precise parent firm Unique Communications Group, with a brief to drive joint business opportunities with Unique Creative, the Manchester-based issues management and media relations business.
Booth, who stood unsuccessfully for the Conservatives in York at the last general election, said the experience had enabled him to ‘find out that I don't want to be an MP'. He said he had media-coached 33 of last year's new intake of Tory MPs and will look to improve the media-handling skills of Precise's eight staff.
He said he planned to pursue new business for Precise in the areas of ‘clean technologies, the impact of the UN, healthcare, and the impact of India'. He added he would aim also to provide an ‘understanding of the political landscape for clients that wouldn't necessarily look to lobby government'.
At Lewis, he said his role had been to ‘farm [PA] opportunities from the 40-strong client base'. Booth has provided public affairs advice for clients such as Thales, Bonusprint and outsourcing and tech firm Xanxa. Booth joined Lewis seven years ago, before which he had spells at Shandwick and Ptarmigan.
Lewis has appointed Royal Bank of Scotland senior public affairs executive Ben Wilson as PA consultant, to assume all of Booth's responsibilities, reporting to associate director Anna Longstaff. Wilson, who joins Lewis in December, was previously an associate with APCO Scotland.
