THE TEAM

Directors

  • Alexis Krachai

    Alexis Krachai

    Managing Director

    Alexis has 20 years’ experience in communications and public policy and has headed up Counter Context for more than 10 years.

    He has advised some of the world’s largest energy, property and healthcare companies on strategic engagement, corporate PR, stakeholder management and community consultation.

    Alexis is also a founding Director of the Sheffield Property Association and also at Sheffield Chamber of Commerce.

  • Harriet Knowles

    Harriet Knowles

    Director

    Harriet is an experienced strategic communications professional with almost ten years’ experience. During her time at Counter Context she has worked across numerous sectors, including city centre regeneration, residential development, waste and energy infrastructure and transport.

    In her current role, Harriet designs and implements communications and PR programmes to support projects at all stages of development, but she is a recognised specialist in designing community and political engagement programmes needed to support sensitive and challenging planning applications.

  • Leigh Bramall

    Leigh Bramall

    Director

    Leigh is an experienced communications professional having worked in both London and Sheffield in private-sector PR roles. Leigh has a deep understanding of local government and related bodies and was Deputy Leader of Sheffield City Council up to March 2017 leading on regeneration, planning and transport.

    At Counter Context, Leigh leads on public policy and our work to support local government projects. He also advises clients on engagement with local authorities and national government.

  • Beth Motley

    Director

Transport and Regeneration team

  • Clare Birch

    Clare Birch

    Account Director

    Clare is a stakeholder communications professional with expertise in delivering creative and inclusive community engagement and consultation activity. Clare supports a wide range of projects across both the public and private sector.

    Clare’s particular specialism lies in regeneration and transport projects and she also has experience in stakeholder management for renewable energy and flood defence schemes.

    Clare is one of our event specialists and works closely with clients to successfully manage and deliver a range of events from community engagement through to high profile inaugurations.

  • Ian Thompson

    Ian Thompson

    Senior Account Manager

    Ian joined Counter Context in 2021 as a Senior Account Manager, bringing over 10 years of experience in consultation and engagement. Based in Manchester, his role involves leading on stakeholder engagement and consultation strategies supporting property, regeneration and transport schemes across the Northwest.

    Having worked on several complex and large-scale development projects, Ian specialises in stakeholder management and communications, consultation analysis and reporting.

  • Lucy Brown

    Lucy Brown

    Senior Account Manager

    Lucy joined Counter Context in 2015 after working in a local authority’s planning department. She is now part of Counter Context’s Place division providing consultation support for property and transport projects across both public and private sector clients.

    Lucy has managed and supported the delivery of communications and engagement strategies for both city centre regeneration and highway improvement schemes and specialises in producing consultation materials for both print and digital distribution. Lucy is experienced in pre-application feedback analysis and consultation reporting.

  • Jenny Tully

  • Jade Anderson

    Jade Anderson

    Account Mananger

    Jade is based at our Manchester office, joining Counter Context as an Account Manager in 2022. Her role involves delivering communication and consultation activities for regeneration and transport projects.

    Prior to this, Jade has worked in public sector roles which have involved leading on high-profile transport and regeneration initiatives across Greater Manchester. She is also highly experienced with media management from organising PR events to dealing with challenging media enquiries.

  • Niall O'Callaghan

    Niall O'Callaghan

    Account Manager

    Niall studied History and Politics at the University of Sheffield where he developed a strong interest in political communication and the built environment. He furthered these interests, completing a Master’s in International Public and Political Communication and spending two years as a News Editor for his university’s newspaper.

    At Counter Context, Niall uses his acquired skills and political knowledge to support the delivery of communications and stakeholder management in the built environment.

  • Tom Blin

    Tom Blin

    Account Manager

    Tom is a PR and communications professional with 5 years of experience in both agency and in-house positions. With a range of specialties in sectors including the third sector, construction, campaigning, public projects and finance, Tom brings a valuable and varied skillset to the team.

    Tom has a keen eye for detail, and leverages his experience and international background, having lived and worked in four continents, to support the delivery of communications and stakeholder engagement across several client projects.

  • Will Doherty

    Will Doherty

    Senior Account Executive

    Prior to joining Counter Context as an account executive in 2021, Will graduated from the University of Leicester with a BA in History and Politics and then from the University of Sheffield with an MA in International Relations.

    At Counter Context, Will uses the skills he acquired during the completion of both of his degrees to support the delivery of communications and stakeholder management as part of the Transport and Regeneration team.

  • John Prendergast

    John Prendergast

    Senior Account Executive

    John joined Counter Context as a Senior Account Executive in September 2023. Before this, he worked in a variety of marketing and communications roles across a diverse array of sectors, including tourism, Saas, and the charity sector.

    John has a particular interest in the built environment and has spent several years as a local campaigner on housing issues. At Counter Context, John uses the skills he has acquired through these roles to support the delivery of communications and stakeholder management across a range of projects.

  • Abigail Kirk

    Senior Account Executive

    Abbi joined Counter Context as an account executive in January 2023. Prior to this, Abbi graduated from the University of Sheffield with a BA in Sociology with Social Policy where she developed a keen interest for political policy, communication, and social research.

    At Counter Context, Abbi uses the skills and knowledge acquired from her degree to support the delivery of project communications and stakeholder management in the built environment.

  • Brandon Henderson

    Brandon Henderson

    Senior Account Executive

    Brandon is a public affairs professional with a passion for political and stakeholder engagement. Before joining us, he graduated from the University of Hull with a BA in Politics and worked in an MP’s office in his final year, then went on to complete an MA in Political Communication at the University of Leeds.

    At Counter Context, Brandon brings an abundance of expertise in the political space to the team, utilising his skills and knowledge to effectively map stakeholders. He is also highly skilled in political monitoring and insight.

Energy and Utilities team

  • Tom Mothersole

    Tom Mothersole

    Associate Director

    Tom works in our Energy and Utilities division. He supports clients delivering nationally significant and locally sensitive infrastructure projects.

    With expertise in designing and delivering effective engagement strategies, Tom has contributed to a variety of projects across multiple sectors, including a secondment within HS2’s Phase 2b Engagement Team.

    Tom joined Counter Context with a first-class degree in Economics and Politics and experience as an HM Treasury Economist.

  • Angelika Solomons-Tibi

    Angelika Solomons-Tibi

    Senior Account Manager

    Angelika joined Counter Context as an Account Executive in September 2021, having completed an MSc in Global Politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

    Angelika specialises in politics, communications, and public affairs; having acquired a BA in Political Science at McGill University and worked as a news producer in the United States. Throughout, Angelika also honed significant planning, project management and creative strategy skill. Angelika has focused much of her past experience on the climate crisis, her expertise including domestic and international policy, sustainable development and effective climate communication strategies.

  • Lucy DaVolls

    Lucy DaVolls

    Account Manager

    Lucy studied an undergraduate degree in BSc Geography at the University of Sheffield where she developed a strong interest in sustainability and renewable energy. Her passion stemmed from her role as the Environmental Officer at university and internship working as an Environmental Analyst for a carbon offset start-up company.

    At Counter Context, Lucy supports the delivery of stakeholder management for a variety of projects within the Energy and Utilities industries.

  • Edward Brown

    Edward Brown

    Account Manager

    Edward joined Counter Context in January 2022 as an Account Executive in the Energy & Utilities team. Prior to this, he studied politics at the University of Sheffield, focusing on the impacts of corporations in global industry, particularly within the green economy. He also focused on political communications, including a dissertation that looked at the impact of communication before and around the 2016 US Presidential Election.

    Since leaving university, Edward has worked in the NHS, working on a variety of projects and developing his skills in stakeholder engagement and communications.

  • Michael O'Sullivan

    Senior Account Executive

    Michael joined Counter Context in 2022 as an account executive. Michael’s work at Counter Context consists of stakeholder engagement on local renewable energy projects. Specialising in producing written and verbal communication strategies with stakeholders.

    Michael’s previous experience in intern and work experience roles within the civil engineering and hospitality sectors, providing effective external media content for relevant stakeholders and establishing business partnerships with clients to increase sales.

  • Caitlin Hughes

    Account Executive

Operation, Production and Design team

  • Jessica Jenkins

    Jessica Jenkins

    Director of Operations

    Jess leads the operations, production, and design team. She ensures her team have the right tools and knowledge to support the client delivery teams. Jess ensures that new technologies are integrated into the team, to help us to streamline the way we work.

    Jess has gained experience in a range of operational and production roles across different industries ensures everything at Counter Context runs smoothly and efficiently.

  • Paul Watkinson

    Paul Watkinson

    Head of Design

    Paul manages all the print design elements for the team, utilising skills gathered from over 20 year of experience. Paul has developed branding, website design, printed collateral, and exhibition materials, building up thoughtful and impactful design portfolios for our clients and their projects.

    Paul’s relationships with suppliers and clients, ensures we deliver designed documents and a range of tailor-made solutions on time for all our clients.

  • Nathan Asquith

    Nathan Asquith

    Finance Manager

    Nathan is responsible for the all the financial management of the business by making sure we are compliant with the relevant legislation and ensuring the business is running on a secure financial basis.

    Nathan especially enjoys reporting on monthly figures and making sure we hit the relevant targets.

    Nathan has been with the company for over 20 years and has witnessed Counter Context’s steady growth over the years.

  • Angela Sands

    Angela Sands

    Digital Designer

    Angela completed a BA honours in e-Communications in 2015, which began an interest in website building, digital design, and online marketing.

    Angela plays an important role in the operational, production and design team, with building websites - predominantly for consultations - and the production of printed and digital collateral for projects across the company.

  • Josh Pickering

    Josh Pickering

    Graphic Designer

    Josh joined Counter Context at the beginning of 2022 as a Junior Graphic Designer. Graduating with a BA honours in Graphic Design and Communication, Josh developed skills in both printed and digital design, including an interactive pop-up publication entitled “Staying Sane with the Pandemic,” which aimed to support mental health during the UK lockdown in 2021.

    Josh now uses the skills he learnt during his degree to further Counter Contexts printed and digital consultation materials, as well as providing design support in both CC’s social media presence and website creation.

  • Harley Mousley

    Junior Graphic Designer

    Harley joined Counter Context in 2022 after graduating from Sheffield Hallam University with a BA Honours in Graphic Design. Community and sustainability were both key themes throughout Harley’s final year, taking up projects such as the RSA brief ‘Without Waste’, to redesign blister packaging for medication.

    Harley now works in the operational, production and design team at Counter Context, using his skills in both print and digital design.

  • Emilia Williamson

    Operations Assistant

    Emilia has achieved a Masters degree from the University of Leeds in Corporate Communications, Marketing and Public Relations. Since graduating back in 2021, Emilia has worked in Sheffield and gained experience in an in-house Marketing and PR role.

    Through this, she has gained insight into the working world of PR and communications and specialises in campaign planning, event organisation and social media creation. At Counter Context, she helps support the needs of the wider PR division by writing releases, researching and liaising with the media.

The Altitude Team

Altitude is a dedicated PR brand of Counter Context focussed on delivering bespoke PR services and solutions. We are a team of PR specialists working across a portfolio of accounts inside and outside of the built environment.

  • Jane Whitham

    Director

    Jane leads our dedicated PR brand. Jane specialises in strategy, positioning and developing PR campaigns to raise profile and drive commercial growth. Jane has worked at a senior level in private sector, charity, and public sector roles for more than 25 years and is a trained journalist.

    Jane’s expertise is in strategic development, positioning, campaign management, internal communication, media relations, copywriting, analysis, and evaluation.

  • Adam Reeves-Brown

    PR & Communications Director

    Since graduating, Adam has amassed over a decade of experience in consumer and business-to-business PR and communications.

    Specialising in content creation, copywriting, media relations and brand building, Adam works primarily within the PR arm of the business. He also manages creative corporate communication projects – from printed brochures and hoardings, to digital websites and social media campaigns.

  • Amy Lloyd

    Senior Account Manager

    Amy has worked in content and communications for the last eight years, and before joining Altitude, she specialised in B2B PR for clients in niche, often complex, industries. She has a real passion for language and is well-versed in helping brands to tell their unique stories — enabling them to communicate and connect authentically with their target audiences.

    Her professional experience, coupled with an academic background in languages, means Amy sits naturally within the dedicated PR arm of Counter Context, Altitude. As such, the various strings to her bow span copywriting, content creation, media relations, and strategic communications planning.

  • Rachel Measures

    Account Manager

    Rachel has a degree in Media and a Masters in PR from Sheffield Hallam University. She’s worked in events and PR roles since leaving university, building valuable agency and in-house experience.

    Specialising in copywriting, social media content, media management and events, Rachel works on our dedicated PR brand of the business delivering a range of traditional PR services such as media relations, campaign planning and a variety of social and digital content.

  • Max Haley

    Max Haley

    Account Executive

    Max graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in Politics and Sociology, he has taken his interest in social affairs and merged that with his passion for PR in order to develop exciting campaigns for a range of clients.

    Working primarily in the dedicated PR brand of Counter Context, Max combines this interest with the experience he has gained working in hospitality and education in both London and Sheffield, enabling him to deliver a variety of PR services such as event organisation, an array of social and digital content, and media releases.

GET IN TOUCH

SHEFFIELD
Office 4
1 New Era Square
Sheffield
S2 4RB
T: 0114 252 1170

MANCHESTER
Jactin House
24 Hood Street
Ancoats Urban Village
Manchester
M4 6WX
T: 0161 669 5035