Conway and Howells appointed PA's heads of public affairs and comms

Dan Conway is set to join the Publishers Association as head of public affairs and Ruth Howells has been appointed as its head of communications in two newly-created roles.

Conway comes aboard after spending over seven years in consultancy advising clients, including many FTSE100 and FTSE250 companies, on strategic public affairs. He recently spent a period as interim head of public affairs at TalkTalk plc and previously worked in local government.

Howells, who most recently was deputy head of media relations at UCL, was appointed the PA’s head of communications following 13 years’ experience in higher education and health. She has worked in the central press office at UCL for 10 years in different roles, prior to which she worked in NHS communications roles and as a journalist.

Chief executive of the PA, Stephen Lotinga, said the new appointments represented a "further strengthening" of the PA's team.

Following the departure of the PA's director of policy and communications, Susie Winter, for Springer Nature at the end of June, the following month William Bowes was announced the PA’s new general counsel and director of policy, joining from Cambridge University Press, and Emma House was promoted deputy chief executive.

Welcoming Conway and Howells, Lotinga said: “These appointments are a further strengthening of the team at the Publishers Association. With the industry facing big challenges ahead on Brexit, tax and getting our voice heard as a sector, it’s really important that the PA continues to attract the best possible people to help us respond.”

Howells said: “I am completely delighted to be joining the Publishers Association at such an exciting time for the organisation and the inspiring industry it exists to represent. I look forward to working with members to amplify the voice of publishing and tell its stories compellingly, ensuring both the successes and the concerns of the sector are more widely recognised.”

Conway said: "The publishing industry is a real UK success story and it is so important that its case is articulated and understood in all corners of Westminster and Whitehall. I am very proud to be joining an association which has already done so much to raise the industry's profile and I want to ensure that it remains a powerful and engaging voice in all future policy discussions."