Lesley Smith, former head of government and public affairs for
Railtrack, has re-emerged as a director of Burson-Marsteller’s
government and public affairs practice.
Smith, who left Railtrack in June 1995 to study for an MBA at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, joins B-M as a director
in January.
A Labour activist and former spokesman for ex-deputy Labour leader Roy
Hattersley, Smith joined ScotRail as public affairs manager in 1992. She
moved to the new track authority, Railtrack, when it was hived off from
British Rail in 1993 and left last year in the run-up to privatisation.
Since returning from the US Smith has been working for Railtrack’s
commercial director Michael Howell.
Smith’s is the latest of several recent hirings by B-M’s government and
public affairs division which last week announced the appointment of
Quentin Browell, deputy MD of Ludgate Laud, as a director.
MD Jeremy Galbraith explained that from 1 January he will be
responsible for B-M’s European government relations network and wanted a
team who could take on much of the day-to-day management responsibility
for the UK.
Commenting on Smith’s background, Galbraith said: ‘I was looking for
someone with exceptional government relations experience - they just
happened to have a very good understanding of Labour.’
