Gavin Grant (executive)

Last updated

Liam Gavin Grant (born 20 June 1955) is a British public relations professional and from January 2012 to 25 February 2014 was chief executive officer of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. [1] Grant is a former UK Chairman of PR firm Burson-Marsteller. [2]

Contents

Early life

Grant was brought up on a south London council estate though had moved from the estate by the time he was attending secondary school. His mother was a needleshop-worker and his father was a cellophane salesman. Grant was educated at Roan Grammar School for Boys (1966–1973) and the University of Reading (1973–1977). [3]

He was a member of the Young Liberals and became the University of Reading's youngest student union president.

Career

After graduating, he joined an anti-racism campaign group and reported for the Thatcher government on community race relations.

From 1987-88 he was campaigns director at the Council for the Protection of Rural England. He worked as director of communications for the RSPCA from 1988-91. In 1991, he joined as public affairs director at the Association of Unit Trusts and Investment Funds.

He worked as corporate communications manager at The Body Shop International from 1993 to 1999, where he campaigned against the use of animal testing for cosmetics. As UK chairman of PR company Burson-Marsteller from 2006 to 2011, his corporate clients included Unilever, and he helped establish its corporate social responsibility unit. [4]

Politics

Gavin Grant has been a lifelong member of the Liberal Party and its successor the Liberal Democrats. [5] He chaired the Western Counties regional party in 2011.

Grant has advised successive Liberal Democrat leaders, including Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, [6] and in 2007 he was part of Clegg's campaign to become party leader. [5]

He was elected to Wiltshire Council as the councillor for Malmesbury at the 2017 Wiltshire Council election [7] and re-elected in 2021.

Grant was Mayor of Malmesbury from 2023 to May 2024 [8]

Personal life

He lives in Wiltshire and rents a flat in Horsham, West Sussex.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

Jacqueline Margaret Ballard has been a charity senior manager, politician and journalist in the United Kingdom. She served as Liberal Democrat MP for Taunton from 1997 to 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Clegg</span> British media executive and politician (born 1967)

Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Hallam from 2005 to 2017. An "Orange Book" liberal, he has been associated with both socially liberal and economically liberal policies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Mond, 4th Baron Melchett</span> English farmer, jurist, and politician

Peter Robert Henry Mond, 4th Baron Melchett, also known as Peter Melchett, was an English farmer, jurist and politician. He succeeded to the title of Baron Melchett in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Rennard, Baron Rennard</span> British politician

Christopher John Rennard, Baron Rennard, is a British life peer in the House of Lords, appointed to the Liberal Democrats' benches in 1999. He was Director of Campaigns & Elections for the Liberal Democrats from 1989 to 2003, and Chief Executive of the party from 2003 to 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burson (company)</span> American public relations firm

Burson is a multinational public relations and communications firm, headquartered in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Thornhill, Baroness Thornhill</span> British politician (born 1955)

Dorothy Thornhill, Baroness Thornhill, was the first directly elected mayor of Watford, Hertfordshire, England. She was the Liberal Democrats' first directly elected mayor, and was also the first female directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. She served as Mayor of Watford from May 2002 until May 2018. She was nominated for a life peerage in August 2015.

Peter Galbraith Kelly Sr. is an American lobbyist and political consultant. He received the 2015 Luminary Award in The World Affairs Council of CT.

Ryan Nicolas Coetzee is a South African politician and political strategist, who served as special adviser to Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Nick Clegg and was the 2015 General Election Director of Strategy at Liberal Democrat HQ. In 2016, he was director of strategy for the campaign for the UK to remain in the EU.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duncan Hames</span> British Former Liberal Democrat politician

Duncan John Hames is a Director of Policy at Transparency International UK and a former Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Chippenham constituency in Wiltshire from 2010 to 2015. Between 2012 and 2015, he served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Nick Clegg when he was Deputy Prime Minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum</span> 2011 referendum in the UK on reforming the voting system

The United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, also known as the UK-wide referendum on the Parliamentary voting system was held on Thursday 5 May 2011 in the United Kingdom to choose the method of electing MPs at subsequent general elections. It occurred as a provision of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement drawn up in 2010 and also indirectly in the aftermath of the 2009 expenses scandal. It operated under the provisions of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 and was the first national referendum to be held under provisions laid out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. Many local elections were also held on this day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Parminter, Baroness Parminter</span> British politician (born 1964)

Kathryn Jane Parminter, Baroness Parminter is a Liberal Democrat life peer, and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunil John</span> Indian businessman

Sunil John is the founder of ASDA'A BCW and President - Middle East of BCW owned by the $20.7 billion WPP Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 England and Wales police and crime commissioner elections</span> Local elections in England and Wales

The 2012 police and crime commissioner elections were polls held in most police areas in England and Wales on Thursday 15 November. The direct election of police and crime commissioners (PCCs) was originally scheduled for May 2012 but was postponed in order to secure the passage of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 through the House of Lords. The government considers the elected commissioners to have a stronger mandate than the "unelected and invisible police authorities that they replace". The elections took place alongside by-elections for the House of Commons in Cardiff South and Penarth, Corby and Manchester Central, and a mayoral election in Bristol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PSB Insights</span> Company

PSB Insights is a consultancy firm founded in 1997 by Mark Penn and Douglas Schoen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Isle of Wight Council election</span> 2013 UK local government election

The 2013 Isle of Wight Council election was held on 2 May 2013 to elect all 40 members for a four-year term to the Isle of Wight Council, a unitary authority which governs the Isle of Wight. Going into the election, the Conservative Party was looking to gain a third term in power after first being elected to overall control in 2005, but in one of the shock results of the wider local elections being held in the country, the Conservatives lost overall control of the council, having been reduced to 15 seats, 6 short of a majority of 21. The 'Island Independents', a mutually supporting group of candidates and councillors running as independents, gained the same number of seats, whilst other independents, UKIP, Labour, and a Liberal Democrat made up the remainder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Leaf</span> American public relations executive (1931–2021)

Robert Stephen Leaf was an American public relations executive. He is best known for creating the international network of offices which made Burson-Marsteller the world's largest public relations firm in the 1980s, where he eventually rose to be international chairman. Debrett's have recognised him as one of Britain's 500 most influential people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michiel van Hulten</span> Former Dutch politician

Michiel Frans van Hulten is an analyst, writer, teacher and consultant. He is a former director of Transparency International EU and a former Dutch politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament (1999–2004) and was chairman of the Labour Party from December 2005 until April 2007.

Mike Fernandez is a business executive who has led communications, marketing, government relations and sustainability for a number of large companies. Fernandez also served as the US CEO for two agencies, Burson-Marsteller and Llorente y Cuenca. He was a full-time professor of practice at Boston University and an adjunct professor at several universities. He currently is the senior vice president of public affairs, communications and sustainability at Enbridge which is headquartered in Calgary, AB, Canada.

As part of the British honours system, Special Honours are issued at the Monarch's pleasure at any given time. The Special Honours refer to the awards made within royal prerogative, operational honours and other honours awarded outside the New Years Honours and Birthday Honours

Bob Pickard is a Canadian businessman known for his work in public relations. He was the former global communications director of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), where his departure became notable for his whistleblowing activity, explaining the influence of the Chinese Communist Party over the AIIB.

References

  1. "Our directors: Gavin Grant is RSPCA chief executive". Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  2. Annabel Jaram (19 October 2011). "Gavin Grant, UK Chairman of Burson-Marsteller, has been appointed Chief Executive of the RSPCA". Burson-Marsteller UK. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  3. "Gavin Grant" by Eleanor Mills in The Sunday Times News Review, 23 December 2012, p. 5.
  4. "Gavin Grant: 'If David Cameron wants a vote on hunting let him have it. He will lose". 26 December 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Interview: Gavin Grant". Third Sector, February 2012.
  6. "Search | Civil Society".
  7. Cllr Gavin Grant at wiltshire.gov.uk, accessed 12 July 2017
  8. "AS OUTGOING TOWN MAYOR CLLR GAVIN GRANT PREPARES TO HAND OVER HIS ROLE TO HIS SUCCESSOR, HE REFLECTS ON A BUSY YEAR OF PUTTING MALMESBURY ON THE MAP". Your Wiltshire magazine. 3 May 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.