Where are they now?

We love to see where PR Academy PR Diploma alumni are now.  We’re 17 years old this year and still in touch with many who studied with us back at the start. 

We asked Hilary Berg, Andrew Copson and Alex Malouf to tell us how studying for the CIPR PR Diploma back in those early days has helped to shape their careers.  

Read on to discover “where they are now….”  

Hil Berg 

Managing Director, One Planet Communications; PR Academy, 2009-2012 

I owe a lot to the team at the PR Academy, where I started out 16 years ago. With their support, I went on to become one of the CIPR’s first cohort of chartered practitioners, completing a Master’s in PR and Communication for Social Change.

One Planet Communications is a specialist advisory business made up of sustainability and social change specialists. We help organisations integrate purpose into their strategy, create positive social and environmental change, and tell their stories to inspire action. My career has taken me all over the world, from South African Townships to the rainforest in Borneo, community courts in Brooklyn and villages in Bangladesh.

I have always been a very curious person – I think the best communications professionals share that trait – but they opened up a world of fascinating theory and insight that brought huge practical benefit and credibility to my work. They also taught me about the importance of evidencing my arguments with sound thinking and data.  And I am still learning – I have just finished my second course with the Cambridge Institute of Sustainable Leadership.  

Andrew Copson 

Chief Executive, Humanists UK; PR Academy, 2008 

As a student I learned clarity and concision: the ability to write and present persuasively are skills that have been invaluable in every context, whether internally to my team or externally, they are skills I use every single day.

Humanists UK is the national charity working to advance a humanist worldview. We support and represent the interests of non-religious people who seek to live ethical lives on the basis of reason and humanity. Learning how to tailor messages and understand different perspectives equipped me to navigate the extremely diverse range of stakeholders I now have. At an organisation like Humanists UK, it really is all about the message – we are promoting certain ideas, beliefs, and values in order to achieve change – and what could be more relevant to that mission than good communications?

My advice would be to master the basics of good writing and speaking, because these are the building blocks not just for a career in communications but more widely (and they are surprisingly hard to find when recruiting!) 

Alex Malouf 

Senior Director, Media and PR, for a giga-project, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; PR Academy 2013 – 2016 

I’m never going to stop learning, so I don’t think of myself as being a student in the past tense.

I work on a transformational project that is building communities and developments within the Kingdom. I lead media engagement and am tasked with telling the project’s story and explaining its benefits to a range of stakeholders, both nationally and internationally.

I’ve been in communications for over two decades. What I’ve learned is that our profession is constantly changing, and we need to keep up with these changes if we are able to do our work well.

I’ve benefited tremendously from CIPR’s diplomas and from the excellent teachers at the PR Academy, and I always push my teams to go and start new courses and keep pushing themselves to grow. And remember, there’s a community of communicators out there, so build your networks and learn from others through associations like the CIPR. My advice would be to enjoy the ride! You are working in a profession that is meaningful, exciting and which will give you a sense of purpose and satisfaction. Invest in yourself, keep learning and keep sharing your story with others.  

These stories were part of a feature originally published in CIPR Influence. 

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