Mobile telecommunications firm Orange is to take its press office
functions in-house early next year with the arrival of three staff
from its public relations agency Paragon Communications.
The three member team will transfer to Orange’s newly refurbished
offices in St James’s Square in the new year to manage media enquiries.
They will continue to work under Paragon director Mark Davis who remains
on secondment with Orange but will not be joining the company as a
permanent member of staff.
Davis said that Paragon would continue to provide consumer and business-
to-business PR advice.
‘Eighteen months ago it was agreed the press office would move in-house
and we cherry-picked the best people to do the job,’ he said. ‘It will
be a seamless and planned transition.’
He added that Orange was continuing its search for a head of public
relations and marketing communications to replace Mark Humphrey who quit
in July (PR Week, 9 August).
The press officers at Orange will be joined by Deborah Young who is to
take up the post of head of internal communications.
Young was previously internal communications chief at Bristol and West
Building Society. Young starts on 1 February.
