The winner of the inaugural Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and Institute of Directors (IoD) Annual Prize: PR Director of the Year is Sarah Pinch MCIPR. Download Sarah's winning entry (PDF format).
The prize celebrates the achievements of senior PR practitioners and their board colleagues, focusing on the strategic importance of reputation management and the value that PR practitioners bring to their organisations. The prize was open to CIPR Members who advise a board, MD or Chairman (as a fellow board member, senior colleague or consultant), on reputational risk or other aspects of reputation management that have a significant impact on their organisation and its stakeholders.
Sarah Pinch MCIPR is Head of Communications for University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, she has worked for the NHS since May 2008, one month before the Trust achieved Foundation Trust status. Sarah started her career at the BBC as a radio journalist, where she stayed for 11 years, latterly as a TV director of BBC One. She left to join an international development agency and set up their PR department, returned to the West Country in 2002 working for Children's Hospice South West and went on to spend five years with the transport company FirstGroup initially in Bristol, then in London as Head of Communications for First Capital Connect.
She became Chair of the West of England CIPR in February this year and is a member of the CIPR's National Council. She is a school governor at Bishop Road Primary School, one of the UK's largest and most successful primary schools, which recently achieved an outstanding Ofsted inspection.
Information on the Prize
Entrants were asked to submit between 500 and 800 words (maximum) in the form of a summary document in PDF format about their role in advising on a major reputational issue that posed a risk to their organisation OR how they have worked successfully with their board on a longer term reputational initiative. This document was submitted with supporting material.
The judging panel
- CIPR Immediate Past President, Jay O'Connor
- Jane Wilson, CIPR CEO
- The Chairman, Chartered Director Committee
- Head of IoD Corporate Governance
The prize
The prize is a place on an IoD Director Development programme (two to three days) and a selection of IoD books. The prize value is approximately£3,000.
Entry criteria
- Entrants had to be a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
- Entrants had to be a member of a board in their own right, a senior executive or a senior consultancy practitioner who advises the board, MD or Chairman on reputation issues.
For additional information, please contact Andrew Ross at AndrewR@cipr.co.uk.
