Terence Collis, managing director of Lowe Bell Financial, is leaving to
join NatWest Group as director of corporate affairs.
The appointment, believed to carry a package worth pounds 200,000 and a
seat on the bank’s executive management committee, ends an exhaustive
selection process prompted by the departure of NatWest’s corporate
affairs director Simon Lewis in September.
The move also marks a return to the client side for Collis, who joined
Lowe Bell four years ago from Rolls Royce manufacturer Vickers, where he
was director of public affairs.
Despite a one year notice period from Lowe Bell, Collis is expected to
join NatWest in spring 1997. He will report directly to chief executive
Derek Wanless and chairman Lord Alexander of Weedon.
Commenting on his appointment, Collis said: ‘I spent many years as an
in-house PR man and was keen to get back to that. It’s a broader
spectrum of work and you get a real insight into what is going on inside
a company.’
His departure has prompted a number of changes at the financial arm of
Sir Tim Bell’s Lowe Bell Communications group - currently thought to
rank among the top five UK financial PR firms with a fee income of over
pounds 5 million.
Deputy MD David Beck has been promoted to the position of managing
director while Piers Pottinger - currently group managing director of
Lowe Bell Communications in addition to his role as chairman of Lowe
Bell Financial - returns to a more hands-on role in the running of the
financial operation.
