Addition of Jeffrey Ferrier as Senior Vice President, Public Affairs + Advocacy, positions H+K B.C. as one of the leading integrated Public Affairs and Government Relations consultancies.

Hill+Knowlton Strategies (H+K) is pleased to announce the addition of Jeffrey Ferrier to its Western Canada team based in Vancouver as Senior Vice President, Public Affairs + Advocacy. Ferrier is one of Western Canada’s leading progressive public affairs and advocacy executives and leaders. With more than 20 years of experience, Jeff has served as strategic counsel and a trusted advisor to a number of high-profile public and private sector organizations and brands.

“Jeff brings an incredible wealth of experience to our clients and our team as well as unparalleled insights into the people and priorities driving British Columbia’s political and decision-making landscape today,” said Stephen Smart, General Manager for H+K in Western Canada. “But he also recognizes that insights are nothing without leading strategies and an integrated public affairs, advocacy, and strategic communications offering to capitalize on them and deliver results, which is what we are able to deliver at H+K.”

Ferrier most recently served as Executive Director of Health Communications for the Government of British Columbia. In this role, he was responsible for senior communications counsel for the province’s largest and most complex ministry amid two public health emergencies, supporting the work of the Minister of Health, Provincial Health Officer, Premier, Cabinet, provincial health authorities, and the broader public service and health sector.

With the addition of Ferrier leading the agency’s public affairs + advocacy work in in the market, H+K has more than doubled its team in B.C. over the past two years. This has included adding leading talent across not only public affairs, but also its consumer communications, digital advocacy, corporate communications, and data + analytics offerings in order to continue providing exceptional service to clients locally, across Western Canada and nationally as well.

“Over the past year, H+K has focused on growth in B.C., investing in new talent and skillsets to meet current and future client needs,” said Sheila Wisniewski, President + CEO of H+K Canada. “More and more, clients are looking for agency teams to bring innovative, integrated solutions and this is what our team in B.C. delivers in a way that is unparalleled in the market.”

H+K’s B.C. team has focused on strategic growth in the following service areas with some key additions to the team:

• Consumer Communications – Lisa Rossellat joined the Vancouver office as Vice President and Communications Lead, focusing on consumer communications and in particular, consumer tech clients in the region. In addition to Lucy May Bradshaw who was already a core leader on the team, Jenny McKenzie also recently joined H+K’s consumer team bringing a wealth of experience in travel + tourism as well as the CSR space.
• Digital + Advocacy – Edward Leung joined the team as Director, Digital + Advocacy. He is a digital strategist by trade, specializing in designing and leading high-impact advocacy campaigns. Working closely with H+K’s national Content + Publishing team, Edward is key to transforming the digital public affairs offering in Western Canada.
• Integrated Communications – Alex Mitchell and Carlie Pochynok both joined the team in the role of Account Director, Integrated Communications. The two bring a wealth of provincial and municipal level experience as well as a deep understanding of communications strategies and how they impact stakeholders and public affairs strategies.

“We’re so proud of the expanded team we’ve built in Vancouver under Stephen Smart’s leadership, which has allowed us to elevate our capabilities in core areas such as consumer and corporate communications, digital advocacy and public affairs,” added Wisniewski.

With this growth in talent and capabilities, the team has recently won a suite of net new and expanded client mandates, including BC Investment Management, Technical Safety B.C., B.C. Financial Services Authority, Deloitte, and Royal Canin.