icon.pr welcomes six new faces to the PR team

 By Amy Mullins, PR Account Coordinator (Social Media)

There are some exciting changes happening at icon.pr. In December, we moved into a new office with a beautiful modern fit-out and now we are welcoming six new members to the PR team.

On behalf of the everyone at icon.inc and icon.pr, I can confidently say that we are very pleased to be working with such bright and talented colleagues. They have come from diverse professional backgrounds and what we’ve learnt from each other already has been invaluable.

Without further ado, let’s get on with the introductions!

(L-R: Michelle Coffey, John Lindsay, Amy McAlister, Amy Mullins, Karen Pickering, Kate McKenzie)

Michelle Coffey, Director of Strategy

Michelle brings to Icon more than 20 years'  experience in strategic communications leadership, reputation management and media relations. An award-winning print journalist with more than a decade's experience at the Herald Sun and The Australian, Michelle has worked at Haystac Public Affairs (now part of the Aegis Group), the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games and most recently headed up the City of Melbourne's Corporate Affairs and Strategic Marketing branch. In her role as Director of Strategy at icon.pr, Michelle collaborates with Managing Director Joanne Painter to drive strategic insight across the Icon business, to deliver the most effective communications solutions for icon.pr's clients.

John Lindsay, Account Director

John's extensive experience in high profile reputation management, media relations and communication spans leading international brands across a diverse range of sectors including sport, education, NGO and corporate. Since arriving in Australia 11 years ago, John has headed up the communications teams for GM Holden, Oxfam and Tennis Australia, which includes the Australian Open. In his native Scotland, John led communications for the national government advisory body Sportscotland, and internal communications for the University of Edinburgh – one of the UK's leading research universities. With each organisation a brand leader in their respective sector, and offering very different challenges, John brings to icon.pr's clients a wealth of communications expertise honed at the highest levels.

Amy McAlister, Account Manager

Amy joined icon.pr in January 2012 in the role of Account Manager, responsible for building strong relationships with clients and providing strategic advice and oversight to PR programs and strategies. Amy has a broad range of experience across the government, consumer, healthcare and financial services industries, having worked for high-profile organisations including Coles, South East Water and Australian Unity. With close to five years’ experience in the corporate sector, Amy brings expertise in corporate communications, copywriting, media relations and strategy. Before joining the team at icon.pr, Amy was a Communications Adviser at Coles.

Karen Pickering, Account Executive

Karen joined the icon.pr team as an Account Executive in January 2012. She has a strong background in corporate communications, community relations, internal communications and events management. In her previous role as a Communications Officer at the Royal Women’s Hospital, Karen worked on a number of key projects including restructuring the hospital’s internal communications strategy and managing the Royal Women’s Hospital Gala Ball fundraiser.

Since joining icon.pr Karen has work across a range of corporate and consumer clients including Lifestyle Communities, GWA Bathrooms & Kitchens, Europcar, Fleet Partners New Zealand and G.J. Gardner Homes. She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Public Relations) from RMIT University and a Diploma of events Management from William Angliss.

Kate McKenzie, Account Coordinator

Kate began working at icon.pr as Office Manager and subsequently, took up the role of Account Coordinator with the PR team. Kate is a graduate student at The University of Melbourne, currently undertaking a Master of Publishing and Communications.

During her Bachelor of Arts (Communications) at Monash University, Kate served as Contributing Editor at the independent magazine Esperanto who published her writing and photography. She has also contributed feature pieces to a Melbourne lifestyle blog throughout the year. As well as her background in print media, Kate has gained experience in media relations across many sectors including retail, government and industry with clients such as Moose Toys, WorkSafe Victoria, and the Australian Institute of Architects Victoria. Her strengths include internal and external communications, creative thinking and attention to detail. 

Amy Mullins, Account Coordinator (Social Media)

Amy joined the icon.pr team as an intern and took the position of PR Account Coordinator (Social Media) towards the end of her internship in January 2012. Amy is completing a Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy and History) at The University of Melbourne.

Concurrent to her studies and work at icon.pr, Amy has cultivated an online profile writing about Australian politics and the media for ABC The Drum and is best known as the (formerly anonymous) blogger, Get Shortened. She has become a leader in debates around issues of gender, social inclusion, public policy and progressive politics online and on Twitter.

She has appeared on ABC Radio National, Triple RRR radio, and was an invited guest at the Progressive Australia conference, held by the Chifley Research Centre in Sydney. Recently, Amy contributed to a chapter on Australian female political bloggers and gender dynamics in social media in a yet-to-be-published book by Scribe Publications on social media: politics, policy and journalism.

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