About

Nicky Forrest

With a background in publishing and 15 years behind her in PR, Nicky has tried to keep her youthful looks and sense of humour intact. A thoughtful strategist at heart, Nicky turned to PR and has never looked back.  She sees it as the marketing discipline for thinking people and is known in the industry for her perceptive and intuitive approach.  A regular on the speaker circuit, a judge at the PRCA awards and Chair of the ISC Marketing Awards Nicky is known for her strong counsel and leadership.

Miranda Kendall

Phipps founding director and chairman, Miranda now leads a portfolio career as a non-exec and consultant.  Her food world starts with the family farm, Maple Farm Kelsale, producing organic eggs and flour, and a regular host to young children through the Country Trust schemes.  A trustee for prison charity Fine Cell Work and for Snape Maltings, home of Aldeburgh Music, she has broad experience in governance and change management.  She is an ambassador for The Woodland Trust and governor of a secondary school with responsibility for external relations and the extended school day.  Miranda practises the Phipps approach that good communications, internal and external, underpin every good organisation.

Johara Chambers

Having lived on both sides of the globe, Johara’s taste buds developed from the shores of Vancouver to the vineyards of Alsace before taking on the food and drink scene in the UK. A consumer heavyweight, her last decade of campaigns include creating edible gardens with Raymond Blanc OBE,  highlighting the 17 cuisines of London’s Chinatown, creating the first ever Jersey Royal potato pop up, and a Krug Creperie in Covent Garden.

Rebecca Wallis

Rebecca spent a year living and working in Valpolicella while studying Italian at Oxford University. She has nearly 10 years’ experience in wine and wine communications, and holds the WSET Diploma.

Lorna Evans

Lorna is a Linguistics graduate with a Masters in Management, so communications was an obvious career choice. After working in the fashion industry for two years, she decided to follow her heart and pursue a career in food and drink. She spent a year running a small communications agency where she devised marketing strategies for independent food and drinks brands before joining Phipps. Lorna spends her free time perfecting street dance routines, brushing up her skills at cocktail classes or sampling the tastiest dishes that London has to offer.

Olivia Hedges

Olivia grew up in Singapore and has recently graduated from UCL. Passionate about food and drink, she did a course at Leiths School of Food and Wine in her university holidays and has worked in the hospitality sector and as a brand ambassador for food start-ups. After completing an internship at Phipps and falling in love with the communications industry, Olivia joined full-time to work across the Rioja, Adnams, Whitley Neill and JJ Whitley accounts.

Connie Kissock

After starting her PR career in B2B tech, Connie quickly set her sights on consumer PR and moved to a new role working on household name brands including Morrisons and Disney. While handling the PR for Morrisons’ BWS division, she discovered a passion for wine which led her to her current role at Phipps. She holds the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines with Distinction, and is currently studying for her Level 3.

Poppy Dean

Coming from a wine retail background Poppy has quite literally grown up in the world of wine and is thrilled to be pursuing her passion at Phipps. She has previously worked in outside catering for weddings and events as well as working in the on trade so has strong knowledge around drinks which she now channels into her clients.

Martha Beale

Martha has always had a passion for the food and drink industry, being a part of the hospitality sector and working at many foodie events over the years. She previously worked for a low alcohol beer company, where she fell in love with the PR industry and is now super excited to get stuck into the world of wine!
Martha spends free time running with friends, playing hockey, and eating out in London.

Klara Lago

Klara joined Phipps after working in Mallorca for a beverage brand and restaurant group. Having grown up in Paris and Burgundy, where her family now reside, Klara brings her expertise to regional wine campaigns and is one of the French speakers in the team.

She grew up hearing stories from her grandfather (who was a restauranteur in Stockholm and Spotorno, Liguria) and being passed down cocktail-making and cookery books – he’s one of the main reasons Klara fell in love with the world of food and drink!