Henney resurfaces to head Thames Water PR

by GIDON FREEMAN, PR Week UK 15-Sep-00

Former royal press secretary Sandy Henney has resurfaced three months after leaving St James' Palace under a cloud, to head the troubled PR function at Thames Water.

Former royal press secretary Sandy Henney has resurfaced three months after leaving St James' Palace under a cloud, to head the troubled PR function at Thames Water.

Henney quit as Prince Charles' press secretary in June over her failure to secure the copyright of Prince William's 18th birthday photos.

There had been speculation that Henney, who previously worked for the Metropolitan Police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Ministry of Defence, would return to the civil service after being replaced in royal PR circles by former deputy Colleen Harris.

Henney joins Thames next month as corporate affairs director, reporting to chief executive Bill Alexander and running a 25-strong team in media relations, brand PR and community affairs.

She replaces Jonathan Russell in the role. Though Russell left in March (PR Week, 24 March), the post has been vacant since then. News of Henney's appointment was greeted with relief by Thames staff.

Company morale has suffered through Thames dropping out of the FTSE 100 three months ago. This came as trouble in its PR department saw media relations manager Nick Tennant leave to join PR 21 and press officer Jane Frapwell move to Vodafone.

To fill these gaps, Thames has promoted Cathy Little, PR head for overseas operations to head PR for UK work as well. It has also hired Nissan PR manager Frank Shepherd as a press officer.