Francis Ingham MPRCA is being installed as the Master of The Company of Public Relations Practitioners at an Installation Ceremony at the Church of St Stephen Walbrook, on Monday 12 October.

Ingham is the PRCA director general and ICCO chief executive, and is one of the leading voices of the PR profession in the UK and internationally. Ingham takes his role as the 16^th Master of The Company.

Aged 39, Ingham will be the youngest ever Master of The Company.

Ingham has set out a fourfold plan to use his leadership to; launch a membership drive for The Company, establish a broader events programme, broaden the horizons of its charitable endeavours and provide a focus on the UK’s place in global PR.

Ingham says, “I will be continuing the excellent work of The Company following Kevin Moore’s highly successful year as Master, whom I would like to thank for all of his hard work. I will build on that by delivering a trailblazing campaign to increase The Company’s membership and its charitable activities. I will be leading an ever better events programme, starting with the City and Financial PR Awards 2016, taking place in February. 

"But most of all, in the year ahead I want to shine a light on Britain’s place in the world of PR. This is topical because I lead ICCO, the global organisation for PR. London is one of the two global PR hubs, and this issue is likely to be high on the agenda in the coming year as we prepare for the EU Referendum.” He says. 

The Company has an active programme of activities planned for the year ahead including providing training and development workshops for third sector organisations, working with young people in London schools to develop work-based skills as well as coaching and mentoring students of PR and journalism and developing qualifications for injured servicemen and women.

In addition, the PRCA City and Financial PR Awards in support of The Company will be taking place on 25 February 2016, at The Merchant Taylors’ Hall in the City.

The Awards are aimed at recognising the talent and impact of individuals, teams and campaigns from the best of the City PR profession. Consultancies, in-house teams and individuals are all welcome to enter the Awards, and an Awards website will be launched on 12 October.

On the charitable endeavours side, The Company is currently affiliated with the Territorial Army’s Media Operations group (Volunteers), the Royal Naval Reserves Media Operations Specialisations and the Royal Auxiliary Air Force’s 7644 Squadron.

Since he joined the PRCA eight years ago, the association has grown five-fold in size, and is now the largest professional body for PR practitioners anywhere in Europe. His background is in public relations and politics, having worked for the Conservative Party, and for the UK’s leading business lobby group, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). He is external examiner for the University of Richmond, and spent three years as a visiting fellow of the University of Westminster.

The Company was formed in 2000 and aims to promote modern best practice in public relations while upholding the unique spirit and values that have sustained the Livery over the centuries. This is achieved through charitable endeavour, education and fellowship of its members. The Company provides an effective route for members of the public relations industry to contribute to the community, the profession, and the City of London.