UK & Global
Will Painter, Global CEO / Founder – London, Global HQ
Beginning his career in PR as a technology and business communications specialist, Will has worked with consumer and corporate brands including the likes of Microsoft, Coca- Cola Enterprises, Logitech, Trend Micro, and Ericsson.
Will is a highly commended and trusted PR practitioner working at top ten agency Ogilvy as a director of brand storytelling and media strategy, delivering award winning campaigns for consumer, corporate, CSR, and technology brands including the Ford Motor Company, Telstra Global, IBM, Carlson Rezidor, and HSBC.
Will launched WP Communications in February 2018 with a passion to support brands on a flexible basis, through deploying teams of best in breed PR specialists to maximise results and business impact.
Will is a skilled publicist, copywriter, media trainer working with top Fortune 500 companies. Educated at the University of Durham, Will holds a BA(Hons) Anthropology.
Professor Richard Crisp, Behavioural Change Specialist – UK
Professor Richard Crisp is an award-winning scientist, writer, and educator. He is Founder of the Behavioural Science Programme at Durham University, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Applied Social Psychology and was recently Durham’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost. His books include The Social Brain: How Diversity Made the Modern Mind and Social Psychology: A Very Short Introduction and he has written many articles on social influence for the national and international press (e.g., The Guardian, Scientific American, THES, HR magazine, Vision Dubai, and The Singapore Times).
Richard’s consultancy work includes pioneering approaches in ‘behavioural communications’. By applying behavioural insights to internal and external messaging he helps organisations frame communications in ways that can energise, engage and influence. Richard has helped clients in a range of industries, including those in the financial and technology sectors, adopt behavioural principles in their communication strategies. In the public sector, he has helped redesign services to improve public health and well-being as well as facilitating pro-environmental behaviour using evidence-based behavioural insights.
Neil Duerden, Creative Design Specialist – UK
Neil has worked for design agencies all over the globe including BBDO, Grey and Saatchi & Saatchi to name but a few for clients ranging from Coke and Google through to P&Q and Unilever.
His work has been seen on all media, across all territories. Each answering the clients brief with an effective creative solution.
He has been featured in many creative magazines and his projects have won many accolades.
Rick Lacroix, Strategic Communications Specialist – US
Rick Lacroix is an independent senior communications leader with over 30 years of experience advising public and private companies.
Rick previously served as Vice President and Head of Global Communications at Cognizant, where he was a member of the Executive Leadership Team and led communications for the company’s global business, supporting a $17 billion organization with more than 280,000 employees.
He has also held senior communications leadership roles at Toptal, Progress Software and EMC Corporation, where he led global teams and supported multi-billion-dollar business units, including EMC’s flagship product divisions prior to its merger with Dell.
Rick has been recognized with numerous industry awards and is based in the Boston area.
Ashling Lee, Strategic Communications Advisor, Australia
Ashling is an independent strategic communications advisor with over a decade of experience spanning journalism, agency, and in-house roles across Australia and the US.
She has built and led communications functions at high-growth scaleups, advising executive teams on go-to-market narratives, media positioning, and reputation management in complex, regulated environments.
Combining the creative instincts of a journalist with strong commercial and operational rigour, her work has driven company repositioning, supported acquisition communications, and established thought leadership platforms for businesses navigating crowded or unfamiliar markets.
Ashling specialises in narrative and message development, executive communications, and content strategy. She is based in Sydney.
Audrey Lacroix, Independent Technology PR specialist (France)
As an employee for several international communication agencies, Audrey is a specialist in B2B and B2C IT brands for the French region.
Audrey began her career in consumer technology and has since developed extensive experience working with a diverse portfolio of B2B clients including AI companies, data computing manufacturers and software developers. Throughout her career, she has managed key accounts in the IT and telecommunications sectors. As PR freelancer, since 2009, she has worked for several communication agencies and also companies directly.
Graduated from IAE (Companies Administration Institute) at Lille, Audrey holds a Master’s degree in International Economy and a Master’s degree in International Communication. Audrey speaks English fluently.