Based in England
Email: hyaxley at supanet dot com
Twitter: @greenbanana – and you can find me on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
My work
I am proud to be a rhizomatic author-academic-educator-consultant-practitioner – a 21st century portfolio worker with a range of interests and commitments across public relations and sustainable professional development.
Since 2000, after more than a decade at the sharp-end of PR practice in the motor industry, I have provided strategic consultancy and educational initiatives. Clients of my business, Applause Consultancy, have included large multinationals, trade bodies, public sector organisations, PR/marketing consultancies, not-for-profits and a number of very interesting small-medium enterprises (SMEs).
I was appointed General Secretary of the Motor Industry Public Affairs Association in 2004 and have helped transform this 40-something-year old body representing communicators in the motor industry into a professional company recognised as a learned society, representing 400 professional communicators. With an elected board of directors, I manage membership development, as well as educational and networking initiatives, financial matters and guiding the long-term strategic operation of the association – plus the day-to-day communications and other activities. Check out www.mipaa.com and @mipaa.
Academic Activities
My PhD was awarded by Bournemouth University in 2017 for a doctorate thesis on Career strategies in public relations: constructing an original tapestry paradigm. See: http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/29913/. I am grateful for the guidance of my academic supervisors, Professor Tom Watson and Professor Candida Yates. My work provides insight into this under-researched area. It combines academic understanding of career theory and real-world PR practice at one of the most dynamic times for occupational development.
I have presented at the International History of Public Relations conference, including two papers that were subsequently published in Public Relations Review, with a third informing a co-authored book chapter. Abstracts and papers (proceedings) can be found on the IHPRC site: http://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/historyofpr/ See:
- 2011: The Origins of Careers in Public Relations.
- 2012: Life on Mars – Career experiences of women in British PR in 1970s and 1980s.
- 2013: Tracking the rise and rise of internal communications from the 1980s – with Kevin Ruck.
- 2016: Conducting historical interviews in a transparent age: issues and implications of a visible insider.
- 2017: Opening the box: A ‘pastpresents’ exploration of the archival fonds of a singular PR practitioner.
I am a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, and have worked with a number of Universities, including Bournemouth and the London College of Communications in the UK plus others overseas. I never cease to be amazed at the standard of practitioners entering this exciting occupation who have benefited from gaining a specialist qualification.
Another role in my portfolio is more than a decade’s experience delivering CIPR qualifications and developing online education resources, which have supported excellent results. I am proud to be part of the team at PR Academy as one of its experienced faculty of tutors and assessors. My core courses are the CIPR Specialist Diploma – Public Affairs and the Digital Communications and Social Media Management qualification endorsed by the University of Chester. I also am a tutor for the CIPR Professional PR Certificate and Diploma courses. I have particularly enjoyed working with online students and creating blended learning materials. In 2012, I created an Internal Communications Masters online course unit for Kent State University.
In 2006, I developed a professional development initiative, Greenbanana, to highlight best practice in academic and vocational understanding of public relations. Its main public focus is my blog, www.greenbanana.wordpress.com. The name Greenbanana reflects my educational ethos, that if you’re green, you’re growing.. I have a few other online initiatives – that I hope to give more attention to when I get the time.
I am a published author (see above) with two chapters in the 4th and 5th editions of Alison Theaker’s Public Relations Handbook (on risk, issues and crisis management, and digital public relations); co-author of two editions of The Public Relations Strategic Toolkit (a ‘how-to’ book with brains), and chapter author of The Public Relations Perspective of Promotional Culture in Promotional Culture and Convergence, all published by Routledge.
Interests
I am a voracious reader (anything and everything) and an accomplished writer. I am fascinated by perspectives on thinking processes (reflective, critical, intuitive, reasoned and creative). My hobbies include a futile attempt to practice canine psychology, hypnotically watching the sea and the social sin of driving. I have a marvellous sense of direction, oodles of common sense and a sense of humour. Whilst recognising my personal and professional impact on the planet, I am conscious of the challenge presented by encouraging others to develop their PR career in a sustainable and responsible motor industry.
Professional Background
With a degree in psychology, my entry into PR came through working as an industry analyst at the Motor Industry Research Unit, which was part of the University of East Anglia. On the basis of a series of publications and reports studying the global automotive industry, I was appointed as Public Relations Officer at Peugeot Motor Company Limited. My career progressed through roles at National Breakdown (now Green Flag) and Toyota GB Limited. I also worked as a Business Unit Leader at PRISM LLC (a WPP communications consultancy), notably managing the Henry Ford European Conservation Awards and Ford’s cause related marketing initiative with Breakthrough Breast Cancer in the UK. I now enjoy being my own boss taking full advantage of the global opportunities offered to entrepreneurial PR practitioners.
Professional Community Activities
I am a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, and became an Accredited Practitioner in 2006. I was awarded honorary membership of MIPAA Limited.
Awards and qualifications
PhD Bournemouth University. BSc Honours in Psychology. RSA Diploma in Business Administration. CAM Advanced Diploma and Higher Diploma in Public Relations (received Women in PR award, IPR award + Certificate of Merit from Worshipful Company of Marketors). PGCert in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, ABC Certificate in Information Technology: Image Production and Web Design.
Why PR Conversations?
PR Conversations provides a great opportunity to connect with others who are keen to expand their knowledge and understanding of the profession. I am a co-editor of the site, with the additional responsibility for its technical aspects.
I enjoy conversational posts, as well as more formal reflection on the major challenges facing the profession of PR. Opinions expressed are entirely my own, and not reflective of any of the organisations with which I am associated.
I look forward to hearing from you regarding any topic you would be interested in discussing. Let the conversation begin.