Broadcasting, government, telecoms and now banking – Howell James’ career has seen him take on one high-profile comms role after another: But, reports Neil Gibbons, this famously cool head thrives at the eye of the storm

Photographs by Sam Friedrich

The Howell James Story would make for a desperate movie pitch. In it, Kenny Everett, Roland Rat and a succession of British prime ministers star in a rip-roaring story of tabloid intrigue, big business, political skulduggery and the aftermath of a global crisis.

Sadly, the closest Howell’s life comes to Hollywood is his involvement on the board of the Chichester Festival Theatre, so there’s little chance of the project being green-lit. But the director of corporate affairs at Barclays does have a weakness for the dramatic – and his career in communications has been eventful to say the least. Now responsible for group’s media and government relations, corporate communications and global community initiatives, he’s taken on a brief that has continued to ladle on more drama.

Howell’s work ethic was manifest at an early age. His last year at school in North London was, in his understated words, “slightly disrupted” by the death of his mother, domestic upheaval and the remarriage of his father, a lawyer based in Gray’s Inn.

So, forgoing university, he spent three years as trainee account executive at advertising agency Masius Wynne-Williamsig. But all the while another career was bubbling away: at Capital Radio.

Capital was a rapidly growing radio station, fast-becoming number one in London. As well as meeting-and-greeting guests on the station’s music shows, Howell worked evenings answering phones for Alan Hargreaves’ contentious phone-in and Anna Raeburn’s show.

Ambitious and young, Howell had no qualms about holding down two jobs. “The radio work was a central part of my social life.”

But amid the showbiz – and in an office populated by the likes of Kenny Everett, Tommy Vance and Nicky Horne – there was proper work to be done. And so Howell jettisoned his career in advertising and joined Capital full time, working in the sales department.

But ad revenues didn’t come, so Capital threw resource into its promotions and publicity dept. Howell was asked to run it. “I was 24 years old and knew it was a fantastic opportunity.”

Besides, he was having fun. The team – DJs and all – are still close and met up at a 35-year reunion last year. But as comfortable as this was, another opportunity presented itself when, in 1982, breakfast TV franchise TV-am began recruiting for its launch.

Howell secured the job of Head of Publicity – as if any were needed. The flagship show Good Morning Britain was helmed by ‘the Famous Five’ – David Frost, Robert Kee, Michael Parkinson, Angela Rippon and Anna Ford. But when the channel went on air in February 1983, it “went broke almost instantly”, says Howell. “The audiences didn’t come and we didn’t have stability.”

Another understatement. In the three years Howell was there, the management team changed every year. “Funding problems led to shifts of board, and that led to shifts of managers. Plus, we were on the front page every week. I had to consider the interests of the programme makers, the presenters, and the business. A consistently bad press makes those relationships tough.”

In 1984, Howell was introduced to David Young, the Government’s minister without portfolio, who wanted him to become Special Adviser at the Cabinet Office. Howell took the job.

“I had no experience of politics or Whitehall or government. But I seem to specialise in steep learning curves, and I picked it up. I had a lot of support from the private office, mainstream civil servants, and party central office.”

Howell later switched to the Department of Employment when Margaret Thatcher made David Young its Secretary of State and they found themselves at the Department of Trade and Industry soon after. But in 1987, Howell was invited to throw his hat into the ring for the role of director of corporate affairs at the BBC.

“To this day, that was the most frightening board interview I’ve had,” he says. “I was interviewed by the director of HR, the chairman of governors Marmaduke Hussey, two other governors, plus the recently appointed director-general Mike Checkland, Michael Grade, then director of television, and dDeputy DG John Birt.”

But Howell loved the BBC, and still does. He joined at a tough time. Programmes had been criticised, the previous DG Alistair Milne had left and the governors wanted news and current affairs revamped.

“It was a busy five years of reform. Mike Checkland wanted the BBC to behave like a 1,000 million pound business. He thought we needed more vigorous dialogue with viewers.”

To address that, the BBC began to make an annual report broadcast every year, putting management in front of the viewers. “It was a difficult programme to make – it became known as The Mike and Dukie Show. But as an early attempt at openness and transparency, it was the proper thing to do.”

In 1991, Checkland asked Howell, and policy chief Patricia Hodgson, to look at the programme and channel mix. “That was great for getting to know the internal audience. As a communicator, unless you bring them with you, it’s difficult to make the case. If our colleagues aren’t convinced, they’re a terrible weight to carry.”

Howell recalls this as a very challenging period – but change came calling again. “I enjoyed the BBC very, very much, but I’d done it for five years. John Birt was about to take over and I wasn’t sure I wanted to commit to another five. And I like challenges.” In search of one, he hooked up once again with David Young, then chair of Cable & Wireless. “It was a huge international conglomerate,” says Howell. “David painted a very tantalising picture – and I decided it was time to take myself out of broadcasting and politics.”

“I expected Barclays to be in the news, but this year has been all consuming. It put an even higher premium on communications”

Following him into the director of corporate affairs at the BBC was Colin Browne, with whom he is still friends. “Howell has a wonderful knack of getting to the essence of a subject, cutting through flummery and obfuscation,” he says. “He also has the immense, and sometimes underrated, ability to lighten the mood. He’s a very witty person.”

Joining Cable & Wireless in 1992, Howell was responsible for its press, public and government relations in the UK, North America and Hong Kong. It was his first taste of big corporate life, but again he joined at a fascinating time. Young was convinced wireless communications were was going to leapfrog cabled telecoms and had the capacity to open up markets.” “The Ccomms challenges were everywhere:, the growth of mobile phones, Mercury in the UK challenging BT, and owning Hong Kong Telecom as China opened up after the Government deal on Hong Kong.”.

Within two years, government came calling again. In 1994, Howell was invited to meet the Prime Minister . “I didn’t know John Major at all, but went to meet him and liked him immediately. He was the most charming man. Our conversation ended with him asking, ‘When can you join?’” And so Howell became Political Secretary to the Prime Minister and worked in No 10 until 1997.

“It was a difficult period. Major had had huge success in the 1992 election. But the party was still fractious. There were wounds from 1990 and over Europe.”

When Major stood down as party leader to face off a leadership challenge, civil servants were still able to work for him but Conservative central office had to cede control of his communications. “His political colleagues stepped up, but he needed volunteers. I found  myself working with ministers, MPs and advisers to brief the media, and persuade the Parliamentary party. It was a very intense, tight contest.”

On the horizon was the next general election, a daunting prospect. “The rising tide of expectation was that Labour was going to succeed,” he says. “But in politics anything can happen. It’s a two-horse race and the other side can screw up. So you don’t sit gloomily staring at your navel. You drive on.”

Of course, the other side didn’t screw up. And Howell – now a CBE – took the Conservative’s election defeat as the cue for another change of direction.

He opted to set up his own business and - with Peter Brown and Sir Nicholas Lloyd - founded corporate PR firm Brown Lloyd James. He was director of the firm from 1997 to 2004 and, although he describes the time as “seven very, very happy years”, he couldn’t resist becoming involved with the Phillis review of government communications which established the new post of permanent secretary for government communication in the Cabinet Office. Howell became the first person to fulfil the role.

“I was reminded of the things I’d missed in government: the intractability of issues, the involvement in public discourse,” he says. “I wanted to work with the civil service to create a cadre of professional communicators, drive up professional standards, bring in talent from the private sector. But it was testing – most particularly when we had to manage the Government’s response to the Underground bombings in 2005.”

His colleagues responded to him well. One was Julia Simpson, then at the Home Office, now director of corporate communications at BA. “Howell is a consummate professional,” she says. “It’s no surprise he could navigate one of the toughest jobs in the business as director of government communications and not just survive but make real, lasting change. He is a joy to work with – loyal, fun and with a razor sharp intellect.”

After four years – three under Blair and one under Brown – Howell sought a new challenge. “There were two years before the election. As a civil servant, you have to plan round the electoral cycle.”

So in the summer of 2008, Howell found himself in a conversation with senior figures at Barclays and interested in what was on offer. “I wanted to find somewhere where professional communications are at the heart of delivering business.”

He admits to being a little nervous. “I hadn’t worked in financial services before. But I had good communications practice and a degree of experience. I found myself seduced.”

The banking sector was experiencing a turbulent time - you may have read about it - with Barclays conceding defeat in its fight for ABN Amro and Northern Rock having collapsed . But Howell couldn’t have foreseen the reputational slump that was to follow.

“I’d have had to be a soothsayer to predict that,” he says. “I expected banking and Barclays to be in the news, but this last year has been all-consuming; virtually every week, we were responding to or making our own announcements. It was incredibly challenging for the whole bank. It put an even higher premium on communications. I was very fortunate to inherit a strong comms team, a good media desk, a smart, experienced public policy team. And, in John Varley, we have an exceptional cChief Eexec.”

Howell now describes the banking crisis in the past tense but admits the task is still tough – “There no such thing as out of hours anymore.” Priorites have shifted. His objectives now are to tackle reputation issues and make sure the bank makes its case to all communities with which it operates.

Today, Howell is undertaking a major piece of work to glean how Barclays is perceived, given the convulsions across the banking sector.

“I’m a great believer that effective comms is two-way. As well as the communicating our own messages, at times our role is also to deliver tough messages back into the organisation.”

Away from the frayed nerves of the Square Mile, Howell unwinds at his second home in Chichester. But he has another passion too.

“I’m the accidental hotelier,” he says of the Riad El Fenn, his boutique hotel in the medina in Marrakesh which he owns with Vanessa Branson, Richard’s sister. “I didn’t expect to own one." 

Curriculum Vitae: Howell James
2008 – present Director of corporate affairs, Barclays
2004 – 2008 Permanent Secretary for Government Communication,
Cabinet Office
1997 – 2004 Founding partner and director, Brown Lloyd James
1994 – 1997 Political Secretary to the Prime Minister
1992 – 1994 Director of corporate and government affairs,
Cable & Wireless
1987 – 1992 Director of corporate affairs, BBC
1984 – 1987 Special adviser at the Cabinet Office, and in the Department
of Employment and the DTI
1982 – 1984 Head of publicity, TVam
1976 – 1982 Head of promotions, Capital Radio
Education: Mill Hill School, North London 1967-72
Interests: Theatre, film, hotel ownership