Meet Our Team
James Henderson
Founding Partner
James Henderson is one of the industry’s most experienced public relations specialists and PR entrepreneurs. His communications career spans over thirty years working at some of the City of London’s leading strategic communications agencies. Until September 2017, James was the CEO and principal shareholder of Bell Pottinger, where he developed the agency into an integrated multi discipline communications business offering financial, corporate, litigation, crisis, regulatory, political, brand, digital, and personal reputation advice.
James started his career at College Hill (today Instinctif Partners) where he specialised in the energy, insurance and luxury goods sectors advising a variety of clients ranging from Lloyd’s of London to Mulberry. He left College Hill in 2004 to set up his own boutique agency, Pelham PR, which became one of the UK's fastest growing communications agencies. As a result, Chime Communications Plc merged its Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial business with Pelham in 2009.
James has advised a wide variety of listed (FTSE 100/250, Fortune 500) and private companies, prominent individuals and organisations from the UK and internationally.
In 2023 James relocated to Dubai to create a sister agency, JBH Public Relations, to provide a seamless international offering and a window on the Gulf, currently one of the fastest growing economic regions in the world. In Dubai, he is currently advising Raffles The Palm, Fundamental Hospitality and leading Esports business, VSPO.
George Hudson
Director & Co-Founding Partner
George Hudson is a financial and corporate communications professional with over twenty five years experience spanning agency (FTI, Maitland, Smithfield) and in-house (Diageo, AB InBev, SABMiller). He has advised a variety of FTSE 100/250, AIM and international organisations and individuals. He specialises in providing executive board-level counsel on media relations, reputation management, financial calendar execution, capital markets transactions, stakeholder engagement and external communications strategy.
George is a leisure/consumer sector expert and has advised some of the world’s leading FMCG and brand-led organisations including Fever-Tree, Nyetimber, Wagamama, Bwin.party, Sportingbet, Coffee Republic, Mitchells & Butlers' biggest shareholder, Neat Burger, Scottish & Newcastle and Bulmers.
James Chapman
Director & Co-Founding Partner
James Chapman has unrivalled experience at the top of both journalism and government. A former chairman of the Westminster Parliamentary lobby group of accredited political journalists, he was the youngest political editor in the history of the Daily Mail, where he covered the governments of three prime ministers, from Blair to Cameron. He left journalism to work as director of communications at HM Treasury, where he was one of George Osborne’s most senior advisers. He played an integral part in advising on Budget policy and managing communications for fiscal events. James left Government to become a communications consultant in 2017 and is a co-founding partner and director of Soho Communications.
He has represented a wide range of corporate and charity clients and high profile individuals, including Rocco Forte Hotels, the National Trust and Sarah, Duchess of York. Representing 400 leading businesses in the retail, hospitality, tourism and arts sectors, he masterminded a campaign to restore tax-free shopping which has been covered prominently across the media.
Katrina Hadsley-Chaplin
Director
Katrina works across Soho Communications’ luxury brand clients including London Hilton on Park Lane, Nyetimber, Rocco Forte Hotels, Kurt Geiger, Paracelsus Recovery and Irene Forte Skincare.
Katrina is responsible for pitching and securing high-level media profiles and features for her clients, planning and managing launch events, organising journalist visits and meetings with clients, and securing a steady stream of coverage, She is particularly focused on creating brand growth strategies for her clients, as well as building relationships with features, luxury, lifestyle and business editors.
Before joining Soho Communications, Katrina spent five years in São Paulo where she worked in the Business Development team for Brazil’s largest messaging company where she was responsible for developing and bringing to market two new multi-channel platforms. Prior to TWW, Katrina worked as a Strategic Planner at the advertising agency, Idealista for two years, where she created television and print campaigns for various clients including Brazil’s largest television network.
Ryan Child
Account Director
Ryan Child joined the firm in July 2023 after running his own hospitality PR agency for the previous decade. He specialises in media profiling of restaurants and hotels, regularly devising news hooks and creative media opportunities. Ryan has been responsible for strategic brand advice, event-planning and strengthening client media relationships.
Jay Jammal
Account Executive
Jay Jammal joined Soho Communications in September 2023 after moving to London from Denver, Colorado where he graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with a bachelor’s degree in Strategic Communications. He has worked in tech and beauty before moving over to London to begin his career.
Felix Henderson
Non-Executive Director
Felix is the Co-Founder of Look After Group, a London-based digital marketing agency specialising in support for start-ups through to publicly listed multinationals. An experienced founder, Felix grew his first venture in the technology space into one of the most recognisable student brands in the UK, having begun his career as a consultant to global brands including Samsung, Microsoft and BMW.
Paula Steele
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Paula Steele is a director of the Collidr group of companies, which provide digital investment solutions, and of the John Lamb group, the UK’s foremast specialist protection adviser. Paula has worked in financial services for over 40 years and has overseen the development and growth of multiple small businesses. She has extensive knowledge and expertise across all areas of financial planning and in particular life assurance and later life planning.